BLM sets up categorical exclusion for winter oil and gas exploration permits in Alaska reserve

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has established a categorical exclusion for wintertime oil and gas exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, which the agency said would reduce burdens for companies seeking permits.

The exclusion lets projects such as exploratory seismic surveys, exploration wells, and plugging and abandonment move forward efficiently, the agency said. BLM said it developed the exclusion after analyzing dozens of previous environmental assessments for wintertime exploration in the reserve. According to BLM, those assessments showed the activities result in no significant impacts on human health or the environment when conducted under established operating procedures and mitigation measures.

Categorical exclusions are categories of actions that have been determined to not typically result in significant environmental impacts, removing the need for a full environmental review, BLM said. Before relying on one for a proposed project, an agency must verify that there are no extraordinary circumstances that may result in significant environmental effects, such as potential impacts to endangered species or cultural resources, according to the agency.