[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23507-23512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10058]
[[Page 23507]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
43 CFR Part 2360
[PO #4820000251; Order #02412-014-004-047181.0]
RIN 1004-AF02
Rescission of the Management and Protection of the National
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Regulations
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to rescind
the ``Management and Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve in
Alaska'' final rule, issued on May 7, 2024. We solicit comment on all
aspects of this proposed rule.
DATES: Comments must be received by August 4, 2025. The BLM is not
obligated to consider any comments received after this date in making
its decision on the final rule.
Information Collection Requirements: This proposed rule includes
revised and new information-collection requirements that must be
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). If you wish to
comment on the information-collection requirements, please note that
those comments should be sent directly to OMB. OMB is required to make
a decision concerning the collection of information contained in this
proposed rule between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document
in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment to the OMB on the
proposed information-collection revisions is best assured of being
given full consideration if the OMB receives it by July 3, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Mail, Personal, or Messenger Delivery: U.S. Department of
the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C St. NW,
Room 5646, Washington, DC 20240, Attention: 1004-AF02.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the
Searchbox, enter ``BLM-2025-0002'' and click the ``Search'' button.
Follow the instructions at this website.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle Moorman, Chief, Division of
Regulatory Affairs, telephone: 202-208-6913, email: [email protected].
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States. For a summary of the proposed rule, please see the
proposed rule summary document in docket BLM-2025-0002 on
www.regulations.gov.
For Comments on Information--Collection Activities
Information-Collection Requirements: Written comments and
suggestions on the information-collection requirements should be
submitted by the date specified earlier in DATES to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this specific information-collection by
selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by
using the search function.
If you submit comments on these information-collection burdens, you
should provide the BLM with a copy at one of the addresses shown
earlier in this section so that we can summarize all written comments
and address them in the final rulemaking. Please indicate ``Attention:
Paperwork Reduction Act Comments (OMB Control Number 1004-0221).''
Comments not pertaining to the proposed rule's information-collection
burdens should not be submitted to OMB. The BLM is not obligated to
consider or include in the Administrative Record for the final rule any
comments that are improperly directed to OMB.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM's governing regulations for
management of surface resources within the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska (the Reserve or NPR-A) are located at 43 CFR part 2360. These
regulations were previously updated by a final rule ``Management and
Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska,'' 89 FR 38712
(May 7, 2024), with an effective date of June 6, 2024 (the 2024 Rule).
The BLM has concluded that the 2024 Rule conflicts with and exceeds its
statutory authority under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act
of 1976, Public Law 94-258 (90 Stat. 303; 42 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.)
(NPRPA), undermines the purpose that Act, and is inconsistent with
National energy policy, and the BLM is therefore proposing to rescind
the 2024 rule and revert to the regulations that were in place prior to
May 7, 2024.
Designated by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 as Naval
Petroleum Reserve No. 4, in Executive Order (E.O.) 3797-A, the Reserve
is one of several naval petroleum reserves established on public land
in the shadow of World War I as an emergency oil reserve for the U.S.
Navy. The Reserve, which is nearly the size of the State of Indiana,
extends from the north slope of the Brooks Range to the Arctic Coast
encompassing approximately 23 million acres of public land.
Various exploratory programs by the Navy were undertaken in the
Reserve between 1944 to 1953, resulting in the discovery of two small
oil fields (Simpson and Umiat), one prospective oil field (Fish Creek),
a gas field (South Barrow), and four prospective gas fields (Meade,
Square Lake, Titaluk, and Wolf Creek). The Navy also pioneered numerous
methods for oil exploration in the Arctic and collected a significant
amount of scientific information regarding northern Alaska.
Motivated by private industry's 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe
Bay and the increasing price of oil due to the embargo that started in
1973, Congress passed NPRPA in 1976, which transferred administrative
jurisdiction over the Reserve from the Secretary of the Navy to the
Secretary of the Interior and redesignated the ``Naval Petroleum
Reserve Numbered 4, Alaska'' as the ``National Petroleum Reserve in
Alaska.'' At the time the NPRPA was enacted, the Reserve remained
``largely unexplored and almost completely undeveloped.'' H.R. Rep. No.
94-156, at 3 (1975). Between 1974 and 1977, the Navy drilled seven test
wells in the northeast corner of the Reserve. These early explorations
were significant undertakings that involved public funds, with a single
test well costing the Federal Government approximately $100 million.
They were also carried out with now-outdated technologies that left
behind unsightly reminders of human activities, including tracks across
the tundra, excavated rill sites, installation of pilings, and open
reserve pits.
Congress recognized that accelerating exploration of the Reserve
was ``vital to the national interest to assess the amount and location
of the potential oil and gas available in the . . . Reserve,''
particularly in light of the national need for energy independence,
while acknowledging that the ``wildlife and many other values [in the
Reserve] will have to be considered'' and determined that ``the
Secretary of the Interior is best qualified to make judgments regarding
these other values.'' H.R. Rep. No. 94-81, at 8 (1975).
As a result, the NPRPA directs the Secretary of the Interior to
commence petroleum exploration within the Reserve as soon as the
administration of the Reserve is transferred to the Interior
Department, the development of which needs to be regulated in ``a
manner consistent with the total energy needs of the Nation,'' while
authorizing the
[[Page 23508]]
Secretary to ``promulgate such rules and regulations as he deems
necessary and appropriate for the protection of [environmental, fish
and wildlife, and historical or scenic values] within the reserve.'' 42
U.S.C. 6503(b), 6504(d).
The NPRPA further directs the Secretary to ``assure the maximum
protection of areas containing significant subsistence, recreational,
fish and wildlife, or historical or scenic value, as determined by the
Secretary, but only insofar as that protection is consistent with the
requirements of [the NPRPA] for the exploration of the reserve.'' 42
U.S.C. 6504(b). Soon thereafter, the BLM promulgated regulations to
govern management and protection of surface resources in the Reserve
that implement the direction in the NPRPA.
In 1979, the BLM completed a comprehensive ``Study of the
Reserve,'' as required by the NPRPA, which determined the best overall
procedures to be used in the development, production, transportation,
and distribution of petroleum reserves in the reserve, the alternatives
to those procedures, and the environmental consequences and submitted
the results of that study to Congress. In response, Congress amended
the NPRPA through the Department of the Interior Appropriations Act,
Fiscal Year 1981, which directed the Secretary to ``conduct an
expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas'' in the
Reserve, while ``provid[ing] for such conditions, restrictions, and
prohibitions as the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate to
mitigate reasonably foreseeable and significantly adverse effects on .
. . surface resources . . . .'' Public Law 96-514, tit. I, 94 Stat.
2957, 2964 (1980). The Fiscal Year 1981 Appropriations Act also
exempted the Reserve from the requirement to prepare land use plans
under section 202 of FLPMA. Id.
Combined with the original direction in the NPRPA, the Fiscal Year
1981 Appropriations Act's amendments clarify that the Congress intended
to dedicate management of the Reserve to the exploration and production
of oil and gas in the NPR-A, while taking into consideration the need
to protect surface resource values. Id. Further, because management of
the NPR-A is expressly exempted from FLPMA section 202 by statute, the
BLM is not required to manage the area subject to multiple use and
sustained yield because it is subject to the dominant uses outlined in
the NPRPA.
Decades later, Congress again revised the NPRPA to add more
``production incentives'' for private investment in the Reserve. See
H.R. Rep. No. 96-1147 at 33 (1980); Energy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-
58, tit. III, subtit. E, 347 119 Stat. 594. 704 (2005). Specifically,
Congress extended the potential terms of leases out to 30 years, made
it easier to renew leases, provided for unit agreements to efficiently
develop leases, and included other measures ``[t]o encourage the
greatest ultimate recovery of oil or gas . . .'' H.R. Rep. No. 96-1174,
at 33. Congress also added language mandating that BLM ``shall
conduct'' the expeditious program of competitive leasing'' required by
the Act. Id. (codified at 42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)).
It is important to note that Congress, when it established a
competitive oil and gas leasing program in the Coastal Plain of the
Artic National Wildlife Refuge--an area similar to the Reserve on the
North Slope of Alaska--in 2017, directed the BLM to manage that program
``in a manner similar to the administration of lease sales'' under the
NPRPA in recognition of the balanced and well-established process that
had been established and implemented over decades with respect to the
management and protection of surface resources in the Reserve, as well
as the importance of Alaska's energy resources to the Nation's energy
needs. See Public Law 115-97, tit. II, section 20001(b)(3), 131 Stat.
2054, 2236 (2017).
The 2024 Rule updated and expanded ``procedures for the BLM to
mitigate reasonably foreseeable and significantly adverse effects of
proposed oil and gas activities on the surface resources of the''
Reserve, and to ``provide maximum protection for surface values within
Special Areas for proposed oil and gas activities.'' The 2024 Rule
provides standards and procedures to mitigate adverse effects on the
NPR-A and to govern exploration on the NPR-A. Specifically, the rule
requires ``the BLM, in each decision concerning oil and gas activity in
the Reserve, to adopt measures to mitigate the reasonably foreseeable
and significantly adverse effects on surface resources, taking
particular care with surface resources that support subsistence.'' The
2024 Rule also codifies five existing Special Areas and establishes a
process for designating and de-designating Special Areas in the future.
Id. In those Special Areas, the rule requires the BLM to manage oil and
gas activities while protecting and supporting, among other things,
wildlife and habitats. In particular, the 2024 Rule requires the
Authorized Officer to ``presume that proposed oil and gas activities
should not be permitted unless specific information available to the
authorized officer clearly demonstrates that those activities can be
conducted with no or minimal adverse effects on significant resource
values'' in areas that ``are allocated as available for future oil and
gas leasing or new infrastructure.''
After a thorough review of the 2024 Rule, among other things, the
BLM has determined that the rule imposes restrictions on oil and gas
activities in a manner that is inconsistent with the NPRPA. While the
NPRPA includes provisions that require protection of surface resources,
including the maximum protection of significant resource values in
special areas, the NPRPA is a dominant use statute that is focused on
the management of exploration and production of oil and gas in the NPR-
A. Driven by the oil embargo imposed by OPEC and energy crisis in the
1970s, Congress enacted the NPRPA to set aside the NPR-A as a petroleum
reserve to help meet the Nation's total energy needs including the
specific need for oil and gas and directed the Secretary to carry out
an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas on BLM-
administered lands within the Reserve. While the NPRPA provides for
``maximum protection'' of significant surface values in certain areas,
it is clear from the text of the statute that Congress envisioned those
areas would also be developed for oil and gas production.
Provisions in the 2024 NPR-A Rule that would hamper the
exploration, leasing, and development of oil and gas resources within
the NPR-A are contrary to the Congressional direction in the NPRPA to
develop lands within the NPR-A, including special areas, as part of an
expeditious oil and gas leasing program. For example, 43 CFR 2361.40(f)
creates a presumption that proposed oil and gas activities should not
be permitted on lands within Special Areas that are allocated as
available for future oil and gas leasing or new infrastructure unless
there is evidence that ``clearly demonstrates that those activities can
be conducted with no or minimal adverse effects on significant resource
values or unless they are necessary to comport with the terms of a
valid existing lease.'' Section 2361.40(f) would effectively prohibit
any new oil and gas leasing and new infrastructure not required for
existing leases in areas that the BLM has already determined that the
balancing of objectives required by the NPRPA leans in favor of
allowing future oil and gas leasing and new infrastructure, contrary to
the purposes of the NPRPA. Federal case law is clear that while the BLM
is required to strike a balance between the NPRPA's two directives of
conducting an expeditious oil and gas leasing
[[Page 23509]]
program in the NPR-A while protecting significant surface resources, a
decision by the BLM that would, ``leave considerable quantities of
economically recoverable oil in the ground is quite simply inconsistent
with the Congressional policy objective of resource extraction in the
NPR-A.'' Sovereign I[ntilde]upiat for a Living Arctic v. BLM, 701 F.
Supp. 3d 862, at 880-81 (D. Alaska 2023).
Further, the rule is unnecessary to effectively manage surface
resources in the NPR-A. Management decisions, including what
stipulations and required operating procedures are necessary to ensure
proper protection of surface resources are made through the integrated
activity plan process. The new provisions within the 2024 Rule simply
add additional, unnecessary processes that could complicate the BLM's
ability to make timely decisions for protection of surface resources
and for authorized uses within the NPR-A.
The 2024 rule is also inconsistent with the priorities of the Trump
administration. In January 2025, President Trump issued E.O. 14153
Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential highlighting the
need to unlock the abundant and largely untapped supply of energy
resources within the State of Alaska to increase the prosperity of
American citizens while helping to enhance our Nation's economic and
national security for generations to come. To do so, the E.O. explains
that it is ``imperative to immediately reverse the punitive
restrictions implemented by the previous administration that
specifically target resource development on both State and Federal
lands in Alaska,'' and specifically directs the rescission of the 2024
rule consistent with applicable law. On the same day, the President
also issued E.O. 14154, Unleashing American Energy and E.O. 14156
Declaring a National Energy Emergency, which directed Federal agencies
to appropriately address the inadequate development of domestic energy
resources to maintain the United States' prosperity and national
security.
Finally, the 2024 proposed rule and economic analysis framed the
regulatory changes as largely clarifying and concluded that the rule
would not have major economic impacts. The agency received
approximately 89,000 public comments on the proposal. Many of these
comments, including those submitted by representatives of industry,
Tribes, and the State of Alaska, expressed concern that the 2024 rule
would have wide-ranging economic impacts that may have been materially
underestimated in the analysis. In re-evaluating the 2024 rule, the
agency is taking a closer look at those public comments and believe
that they may raise important questions about whether the economic
impacts of the 2024 rule were materially underestimated. The agency is
therefore soliciting comment on the economic effects associated with
both the 2024 rule and this proposal to repeal that rule.
Consistent with the direction from the President, the BLM's policy
is to allow the maximum possible extraction of gas and oil to meet the
Nation's total energy need, consistent with statutory requirements. The
BLM is seeking comments on all of the above, including but not limited
to the 2024 Rule's consistency with statutory authority, its costs and
benefits, and its effects on extraction of oil and gas, and economic
impacts.
Therefore, we propose to rescind the 2024 Rule in full, returning
the regulations in 43 CFR part 2360 to their prior status quo under the
rule promulgated in 1977 (42 FR 28721, June 3, 1977) and seek comment
on that proposal.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (as amended by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996; 5 U.S.C.
601 et seq.), whenever a Federal agency is required to publish a notice
of rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make
available for public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that
describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small
businesses, small organizations, and small government jurisdictions).
No regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of an agency
or an appropriate designee certifies that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Here, if adopted as proposed, this rule may have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The proposed rule seeks comment on the rescission of the 2024 NPR-A
rule. When it promulgated the 2024 rule, the BLM certified that it
would not have a significant effect on a substantial number of small
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. That analysis identified
four small businesses and four small government jurisdictions that may
be affected by the rule. However, the BLM did not find evidence
suggesting there would be a significant impact on these small entities.
The proposed NPR-A rule is expected to provide regulatory cost savings
to small entities. We anticipate the removal of the 2024 rule
requirements will generate small entity regulatory cost savings and
allow for further benefits in the form of additional economic
opportunities for energy development, such as the ability to work on
energy infrastructure projects and reduced energy prices once those
projects are completed. Because the proposed rule would fully repeal
the 2024 rule, the proposed rule maximizes the regulatory cost savings
for affected small entities. However, BLM considered two alternatives
to the NPR-A proposed rule to assess whether benefits could be further
increased for small entities. First, BLM considered a partial repeal of
2024 requirements that would meet BLM's statutory objectives and
provide more benefits to small entities. Such a repeal was not selected
because it would not be authorized under BLM's authority. Second, BLM
considered delaying the repeal of requirements over time for affected
small entities. This option was not selected because this would
unnecessarily delay the benefits available for small entities, does not
achieve BLM's objectives, and would not be authorized under BLM's
authority. BLM solicits comments from affected small entities on the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis in the notice and comment
process. BLM is working with SBA's Office of Advocacy to ensure that
small business impacts are properly assessed and considered according
to the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) generally
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and not withstanding
any other provision of law a person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Collections of
information include any request or requirement that persons obtain,
maintain, retain, or report information to an agency, or disclose
information to a third party or to the public (44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5
CFR 1320.3(c)).
This proposed rule contains information-collection requirements
that are subject to review by OMB under the PRA. The information-
collection requirements pertaining to submitting recommendations to
designate lands as an SA within the Reserve are generally approved by
OMB under OMB Control Number 1004-0221 with a current expiration date
of October 31, 2027.
The proposed rule would rescind and revise the information
collection
[[Page 23510]]
requirements pertaining to submitting SA recommendations within the
Reserve. The existing information collection requirements would be
moved from the rescinded 43 CFR 2361.30 through 2361.1(d). The change
to the information collection requirements, along with the estimated
associated burdens, are discussed below.
Recommendations for Special Areas (43 CFR 2361.1(d))
The current regulations at Sec. 2361.30(b)(3) contain one (1) non-
form information collection requirement that is subject to the PRA. The
current Sec. 2361.30(b)(3) provides that the following information be
provided when a member of the public recommends lands for a SA
designation:
The size and location of the recommended lands;
The significant subsistence, recreational, fish and
wildlife, historical, or scenic resource values that are present within
or supported by the recommended lands;
Measures that may be necessary to assure maximum
protection of those values; and
Any other pertinent information.
The proposed revised information collection requirements located in
Sec. 2361.1(d) would be as follows:
A description of the values which make the area special;
The significant subsistence, recreational, fish and
wildlife, historical, or scenic resource values that are present within
or supported by the recommended lands (See Sec. 2361.0-5(f)) (See
Sec. 2361.0-5(f));
The size and location of the area on appropriate USGS
quadrangle maps; and
Any other pertinent information.
The BLM does not believe that the revised information collection
requirements for SA recommendations would result in a change in public
burdens under this OMB Control
Number 1004-0221. The only significant change from the existing to
proposed information collection requirement for SA recommendations is
the simplification of the administrative process and the specific
request for USGS quadrangle maps. Additionally, we will adjust the
estimated number of annual responses from 100 to 10 as we believe that
it is unlikely that the BLM would receive more than 10 recommendations
year. This adjustment will reduce the annual estimated burden hours
associated with SA recommendations from 1,500 to 150.
The total burdens under this OMB Control Number are summarized
below.
Title of Collection: Management and Protection of the National
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska--Recommendations for Special Reserve Areas
(43 CFR 2361.1(d)).
OMB Control Number: 1004-0221.
Form Numbers: None.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Participants within the oil and gas
exploration program.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: 15 hours.
Number of Respondents: 10.
Annual Responses: 10.
Annual Burden Hours: 150.
Annual Burden Cost: None.
If you want to comment on the proposed recission of the
information-collection requirements that would result from this
proposed rule, please send your comments and suggestions on this
proposed action as previously described in the DATES and ADDRESSES
sections.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
The BLM intends to apply the Departmental Categorical Exclusion
(CX) at 43 CFR 46.210(i) to comply with NEPA. The CX covers policies,
directives, regulations, and guidelines that are ``of an
administrative, financial, legal, technical, or procedural nature or
whose environmental effects are too broad, speculative, or conjectural
to lend themselves to meaningful analysis and will later be subject to
the NEPA process, either collectively or case-by-case.'' Further, the
proposed rule does not implicate any of the extraordinary circumstances
listed in 43 CFR 46.215. The BLM plans to document the applicability of
the CX concurrently with development of the final rule.
Regulatory Planning and Review
Review Under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866
Section 6(a) of E.O. 12866 requires agencies to submit
``significant regulatory actions'' to OIRA for review. OIRA has
determined that this proposed regulatory action constitutes a
``significant regulatory action'' under section 3(f) of E.O. 12866.
Accordingly, this action was submitted to OIRA for review under E.O.
12866.
BLM is required to conduct an economic analysis in accordance with
section 6(a)(3)(B) of E.O. 12866. More can be found in docket titled,
``Economic Analysis for Draft Recission: Management and Protection of
the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.'' A discussion of
alternatives considered can be found in the section entitled Regulatory
Flexibility Act above.
Review Under E.O.s 14154, 14153, and 14192
DOI has examined this proposed rulemaking and has tentatively
determined that it is consistent with the policies and directives
outlined in E.O. 14154 ``Unleashing American Energy,'' E.O. 14192,
``Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,'' and E.O. 14153
``Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential.'' This proposed
rule, if finalized as proposed, is expected to be an E.O. 14192
deregulatory action.
Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use (E.O. 13211)
Under E.O. 13211, agencies are required to prepare and submit a
Statement of Energy Effects to the Administrator of the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
for those matters identified as significant energy actions. This
statement is to include a detailed statement of ``any adverse effects
on energy supply, distribution, or use (including a shortfall in
supply, price increases, and increase use of foreign supplies) should
the proposal be implemented'' and ``reasonable alternatives to the
action with adverse energy effects and the expected effects of such
alternatives on energy supply, distribution, and use.''
Section 4(b) of E.O. 13211 defines a ``significant energy action''
as ``any action by an agency (normally published in the Federal
Register) that promulgates or is expected to lead to the promulgation
of a final rule or regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance
notices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rulemaking:
(1)(i) that is a significant regulatory action under E.O. 12866 or any
successor order, and (ii) is likely to have a significant adverse
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy; or (2) that is
designated by OIRA as a significant energy action.''
This proposed rule, if finalized as proposed, is expected to not
have a significant adverse effect on the Nation's energy supply.
[[Page 23511]]
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.; 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
Adam G. Suess,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 2360
Alaska, Oil and gas activity, Protection of surface resources,
Tribes, Special areas.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Bureau of Land
Management proposes to revise 43 CFR part 2360 as follows:
PART 2360--NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA
Subpart 2361--Management and Protection of the National Petroleum
Reserve in Alaska
Sec.
2361.0-1 Purpose.
2361.0-2 Objectives.
2361.0-3 Authority.
2361.0-4 Responsibility.
2361.0-5 Definitions.
2361.0-6 [Reserved]
2361.0-7 Effect of law.
2361.1 Protection of the environment.
2361.2 Use authorizations.
2361.3 Unauthorized use and occupancy.
Subpart 2362 [Reserved]
Authority: 43 U.S.C. 6501 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1702 et seq.
Sec. 2361.0-1 Purpose.
The purpose of the regulations in this subpart is to provide
procedures for the protection and control of environmental, fish and
wildlife, and historical or scenic values in the National Petroleum
Reserve in Alaska pursuant to the provisions of the Naval Petroleum
Reserves Production Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 303; 42 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).
Sec. 2361.0-2 Objectives.
The objective of this subpart is to provide for the protection of
the environmental, fish and wildlife, and historical or scenic values
of the Reserve so that activities which are or might be detrimental to
such values will be carefully controlled to the extent consistent with
the requirements of the Act for petroleum exploration of the reserve.
Sec. 2361.0-3 Authority.
The Naval Petroleum Reserve Production Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 303,
42 U.S.C. 6501, et seq.) is the statutory authority for this subpart.
Sec. 2361.0-4 Responsibility.
(a) The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for the
surface management of the reserve and protection of the surface values
from environmental degradation, and to prepare rules and regulations
necessary to carry out surface management and protection duties.
(b) The U.S. Geological Survey is responsible for management of the
continuing exploration program during the interim between the transfer
of jurisdiction from the U.S. Navy to the U.S. Department of the
Interior and the effective date of any legislation for a permanent
development and production program to enforce regulations and
stipulations which relate to the exploration of petroleum resources of
the Reserve, and to operate the South Barrow gas field or such other
fields as may be necessary to supply gas at reasonable and equitable
rates to the Native village of Barrow and other communities and
installations at or near Point Barrow, Alaska, and to installations of
the Department of Defense and other agencies of the U.S. located at or
near Point Barrow, Alaska.
Sec. 2361.0-5 Definitions.
As used in this subpart, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) Act means the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976
(90 Stat. 303, 42 U.S.C. 6501, et seq.).
(b) Authorized officer means any employee of the Bureau of Land
Management who has been delegated the authority to perform the duties
of this subpart.
(c) Exploration means activities conducted on the Reserve for the
purpose of evaluating petroleum resources which include crude oil,
gases of all kinds (natural gas, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, and
any others), natural gasoline, and related hydrocarbons (tar sands,
asphalt, propane butane, etc.), oil shale and the products of such
resources.
(d) Reserve means those lands within the National Petroleum Reserve
in Alaska (prior to June 1, 1977, designated Naval Petroleum Reserve
No. 4) which was established by Executive order of the President, dated
February 27, 1923, except for tract Numbered 1 as described in Public
Land Order 2344 (the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory--surface estate
only) dated April 24, 1961.
(e) Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(f) Special areas means areas within the reserve identified by the
Secretary of the Interior as having significant subsistence,
recreational, fish and wildlife, or historical or scenic value and,
therefore, warranting maximum protection of such values to the extent
consistent with the requirements of the Act for the exploration of the
Reserve.
(g) Use authorization means a written approval of a request for use
of land or resources.
Sec. 2361.0-6 [Reserved]
Sec. 2361.0-7 Effect of law.
(a) Subject to valid existing rights, all lands within the exterior
boundaries of the Reserve are reserved and withdrawn from all forms of
entry and disposition under the public land laws, including the mining
and mineral leasing laws, and all other Acts.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this
section, the Secretary is authorized to:
(1) Make dispositions of mineral materials pursuant to the Act of
July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681), as amended (30 U.S.C. 601), for
appropriate use by Alaska Natives.
(2) Make such dispositions of mineral materials and grant such
rights-of-way, licenses, and permits as may be necessary to carry out
his responsibilities under the Act.
(3) Convey the surface of lands properly selected on or before
December 18, 1975, by Native village corporations pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1601, et
seq.).
(c) All other provisions of law heretofore enacted and actions
heretofore taken reserving such lands as a Reserve shall remain in full
force and effect to the extent not inconsistent with the Act.
(d) To the extent not inconsistent with the Act, all other public
land laws are applicable.
Sec. 2361.1 Protection of the environment.
(a) The authorized officer shall take such action, including
monitoring, as he deems necessary to mitigate or avoid unnecessary
surface damage and to minimize ecological disturbance throughout the
reserve to the extent consistent with the requirements of the Act for
the exploration of the reserve.
(b) The Cooperative Procedures of January 18, 1977, for National
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
and the U.S. Geological Survey (GS) provides the procedures for the
mutual cooperation and interface of authority and responsibility
between GS and BLM concerning petroleum exploration activities (i.e.,
geophysical and drilling operations), the protection of the
[[Page 23512]]
environment during such activities in the Reserve, and other related
activities.
(c) Maximum protection measures shall be taken on all actions
within the Utukok River Uplands, Colville River, and Teshekpuk Lake
special areas, and any other special areas identified by the Secretary
as having significant subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, or
historical or scenic value. The boundaries of these areas and any other
special areas identified by the Secretary shall be identified on maps
and be available for public inspection in the Fairbanks District
Office. In addition, the legal description of the three special areas
designated herein and any new areas identified hereafter will be
published in the Federal Register and appropriate local newspapers.
Maximum protection may include, but is not limited to, requirements
for:
(1) Rescheduling activities and use of alternative routes;
(2) Types of vehicles and loadings;
(3) Limiting types of aircraft in combination with minimum flight
altitudes and distances from identified places; and
(4) Special fuel handling procedures.
(d) Recommendations for additional special areas may be submitted
at any time to the authorized officer. Each recommendation shall
contain a description of the values which make the area special, the
size and location of the area on appropriate USGS quadrangle maps, and
any other pertinent information. The authorized officer shall seek
comments on the recommendation(s) from interested public agencies,
groups, and persons. These comments shall be submitted along with his
recommendation to the Secretary. Pursuant to section 104(b) of the Act,
the Secretary may designate that area(s) which he determines to have
special values requiring maximum protection. Any such designated area
shall be identified in accordance with the provision of paragraph (c)
of this section.
(e)(1) To the extent consistent with the requirements of the Act
and after consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local
agencies and Native organizations, the authorized officer may limit,
restrict, or prohibit use of and access to lands within the Reserve,
including special areas. On proper notice as determined by the
authorized officer, such actions may be taken to protect fish and
wildlife breeding, nesting, spawning, lambing of calving activity,
major migrations of fish and wildlife, and other environmental, scenic,
or historic values.
(2) The consultation requirement in paragraph (e)(1) of this
section is not required when the authorized officer determines that
emergency measures are required.
(f) No site, structure, object, or other values of historical
archaeological, cultural, or paleontological character, including but
not limited to historic and prehistoric remains, fossils, and
artifacts, shall be injured, altered, destroyed, or collected without a
current Federal Antiquities permit.
Sec. 2361.2 Use authorizations.
(a) Except for petroleum exploration which has been authorized by
the Act, use authorizations must be obtained from the authorized
officer prior to any use within the Reserve. Only those uses which are
consistent with the purposes and objectives of the Act will be
authorized.
(b) Except as may be limited, restricted, or prohibited by the
authorized officer pursuant to Sec. 2361.1 or otherwise, use
authorizations are not required for:
(1) Subsistence uses (e.g., hunting, fishing, and berry picking);
and
(2) Recreational uses (e.g., hunting, fishing, backpacking, and
wildlife observation).
(c) Applications for use authorizations shall be filed in
accordance with applicable regulations in this chapter. In the absence
of such regulation, the authorized officer may make such dispositions
absence of such regulations, the author-of mineral materials and grant
such rights-of-way, licenses, and permits as may be necessary to carry
out his responsibilities under the Act.
(d) In addition to other statutory or regulatory requirements,
approval of applications for use authorizations shall be subject to
such terms and conditions which the authorized officer determines to be
necessary to protect the environmental, fish and wildlife, and
historical or scenic values of the Reserve.
Sec. 2361.3 Unauthorized use and occupancy.
Any person who violates or fails to comply with regulations of this
subpart is subject to prosecution, including trespass and liability for
damages, pursuant to the appropriate laws.
[FR Doc. 2025-10058 Filed 6-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-27-P