BLM opens public scoping for 2018 oil and gas leases

The Bureau of Land Management has opened a 15-day public scoping period on 110 nominated oil and gas lease parcels located in Park, Musselshell, Sweet Grass, Stillwater, Carbon, Chouteau, Liberty, Blaine, Hill, Glacier, Phillips and Valley counties in Montana and McKenzie County in North Dakota. The public scoping period will end on Aug. 29, 2017.
 
This public scoping process is intended to solicit input on issues, impacts and potential alternatives that the BLM will address in upcoming NEPA documents. This scoping process is only the first of several opportunities for the public to comment on the parcels proposed for inclusion in the March 13, 2018 oil and gas lease sale. The lease sale is tentatively scheduled to be held online at EnergyNet.com, with bidding starting on March 12, 2018 and ending on March 13, 2018. The parcels to be included in the sale are determined after the full public review process.
 
The scoping letters, parcel lists and maps are available on the BLM e-Planning website at the following sites:
Billings Field Office: http://bit.ly/2wJpFm6
Butte Field Office: http://bit.ly/2wXMsKo
North Central Montana District: http://bit.ly/2vUJmKe
North Dakota Field Office: http://bit.ly/2w43idW
 
To comment on Montana Parcels, email BLM _MT_Great Falls_Lease_EA@blm.gov, or mail comments to: Bureau of Land Management, North Central Montana District, Division of Oil and Gas, Attention: Oil and Gas EA, 1220 38th Street N, Great Falls, MT 59405.
 
To comment on North Dakota parcels, email BLM_MT_North_DakotaFO_Lease_EA@blm.gov, or mail comments to: North Dakota Field Office, Attention:  Oil and Gas EA Lead, 99 23rd Avenue West, Suite A, Dickinson, North Dakota 58601.
 
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment; be advised that your entire comment --including your personal identifying information-- may be made publicly available at any time.
 
While you can ask BLM in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, BLM cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations, businesses and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives of organizations or businesses will be available for public review.
 
For more information on Montana parcels, contact Tessa Wallace at 406-791-7768 or Amy Waring at 406-896-5095. For more information on North Dakota parcels, contact Paul Kelley at 701-227-7767.