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Open Recommendations (13 total)

Oil and Gas: Federal Actions Needed to Address Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Development

GAO-22-104759
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should consider whether to require gas capture plans that are similar to what states require, including gas capture percentage targets, from operators on federal lands. (Recommendation 2)
Open
Interior concurred with the recommendation. BLM stated that it is in the process of developing a proposed rulemaking that would require operators to submit waste minimization plans with every oil well application for permit to drill. The plans would provide BLM with information on anticipated associated gas production and the operator's capacity to capture that gas for sale or use. BLM stated that it did not plan to include gas capture percentage targets in the proposed rule, in part due to prior legal challenges. On July 11, 2023, Interior confirmed it completed the public comment period and has a target date of February 29, 2024 for drafting and publishing the final rule. When we confirm what actions Interior has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Bureau of Land Management: Better Workforce Planning and Data Would Help Mitigate the Effects of Recent Staff Vacancies

GAO-22-104247
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management
Priority Rec.
The Director of BLM should develop an agency-wide strategic workforce plan that aligns the agency's human capital program with emerging mission goals and includes long-term strategies for acquiring, developing, and retaining staff to achieve programmatic goals. (Recommendation 2)
Open – Partially Addressed
The Department of the Interior concurred with this recommendation. As of November 2022, the Bureau of Land Management has developed a workforce planning framework and project plan, but has not yet completed the development of a strategic workforce plan. The target date for creating the plan is September 2023.

Bureau of Land Management: Better Workforce Planning and Data Would Help Mitigate the Effects of Recent Staff Vacancies

GAO-22-104247
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should track data on vacancies and the use of details for all offices. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of the Interior concurred with this recommendation. As of November 2022, Bureau of Land Management officials said the agency plans to incorporate the development of a vacancy tracking tool into its workforce planning efforts. BLM has developed a workforce planning framework that says it will select a tool to track both vacancies and details.

Oil and Gas Leasing: BLM Should Update Its Guidance and Review Its Fees

GAO-22-103968
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should conduct a review to determine why the agency has had difficulty updating handbooks and its manual for oil and gas leasing as directed by BLM policy, and then adjust BLM's approach to updating them accordingly. (Recommendation 1)
Open
According to BLM officials, in March 2022, BLM reviewed the difficulty it has had in updating its oil and gas leasing handbooks and manuals. The agency found that difficulties were due to litigation, pending court action, or pending rulemaking on leasing regulations. However, agency officials did not indicate that BLM adjusted its approach to updating its handbooks and manual. Instead, BLM officials said the agency would start preparing to update its handbooks as part of its rulemaking process, and that BLM anticipates publishing a proposed rule in January 2023. As of April 2023, BLM has not published its proposed rule.

Oil and Gas Leasing: BLM Should Update Its Guidance and Review Its Fees

GAO-22-103968
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should revise the agency's approach to conducting biennial fee reviews to ensure that future biennial reviews examine all costs BLM intended to recover with its application fees and, where appropriate, adjust fees accordingly. (Recommendation 3)
Open
On February 16, 2023, BLM stated that it plans to propose new regulations which would revise existing fee structures. As of April 2023, the proposed rule is at OMB for interagency review. BLM expects to publish the proposed rule in June 2023.

Oil and Gas: Interior Should Strengthen Management of Key Data Systems Used to Oversee Development on Federal Lands

GAO-21-209
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should define and document processes for developing and managing requirements for AFMSS II and MLRS in a manner consistent with existing or updated IT policies and guidance. (Recommendation 5)
Open
As of February 2022, Interior stated the BLM Associate Chief Information Officer will issue an Information Bulletin clarifying and summarizing current policy, guidance, and industry best practices to reinforce compliance with all current policy directives. To implement this recommendation, the BLM should finalize and issue the Information Bulletin. As of March, 2023, we continue to monitor actions to address this recommendation.
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should develop training plans for key data systems that identify users and how they will be trained. (Recommendation 3)
Open
Interior stated that the BLM will document a standard operating procedure and/or guidance for training users on key data systems. The BLM will also work closely with the National Training Center to create and maintain training resources and other materials for users throughout the life of key data systems. To implement this recommendation, BLM should finalize the training plans for key data systems. As of March, 2023, we continue to monitor actions to address this recommendation.

Federal Oil and Gas Revenue: Actions Needed to Improve BLM's Royalty Relief Policy

GAO-21-169T
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should evaluate its temporary royalty relief program, including the extent to which the policy met BLM's objectives—conserving oil and gas resources from becoming unrecoverable—and likely costs, such as forgone revenues—to inform any royalty relief decisions it may make in the future under the ongoing regulatory authority. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
In an October 2021 letter addressing our recommendations, Interior concurred with this recommendation and stated that BLM planned to review its federal oil and gas permitting and leasing program. In April 2023, BLM had partially conducted an evaluation of its temporary royalty relief program and estimated that it had foregone at least $6 million in revenues as of mid-June 2021; BLM also stated that these numbers were not final and subject to change. However, BLM stated that it decided it would not specifically evaluate its royalty rate reduction program, but instead would evaluate its wider royalty rate reduction program as part of a rulemaking process. BLM planned to issue its rulemaking in spring 2023.
Bureau of Land Management The Director of BLM should update BLM's 1995 royalty handbook to provide specific, consistent, and transparent policies and procedures for royalty relief. (Recommendation 2)
Open
In an October 2021 letter addressing our recommendations, Interior concurred with this recommendation and stated that BLM planned to update its handbook by November 2023 to provide specific, consistent, and transparent policies and procedures for royalty relief. As of April 2023, Interior officials stated that BLM plans to propose updates to its leasing regulations in Spring 2023. After these regulations are finalized, BLM plans to work on updating its 1995 handbook to provide specific, consistent, and transparent policies and procedures for royalty relief.

Oil and Gas Permitting: Actions Needed to Improve BLM's Review Process and Data System

GAO-20-329
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Acting Director of BLM should develop a documented process to consistently implement the APD prioritization process outlined in Instruction Memorandum 2013-104 at all field offices. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of BLM, did not concur with this recommendation. As of February 2023, BLM has not taken steps to address this recommendation, and the agency continues to disagree with our recommendation.
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