The Duchesne County Commission has issued a letter to the Bureau of Land Management regarding a proposed rule entitled ‘Waste Prevention Production Subject to Royalties and Resource Conservation’. During last week’s Duchesne County Commission meeting, Community Development Director Mike Hyde presented the letter addressed to the BLM. Part of the letter reads that due to the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden and with a few limited exceptions, with “leases issued after August 16th, 2022, royalties are owed on all gas produced from Federal land, including gas that is consumed or lost by venting, flaring, or negligent releases through any equipment during upstream operations.” As a result, the BLM has a proposed rule which Duchesne County has reviewed and the letter provides written comments as the largest crude oil-producing county in the state of Utah. The letter emphasizes that Duchesne County supports responsible regulation but has many concerns regarding the current natural gas Proposed Rule’s aims and its effects, implementation, and unintended consequences for the County, the nation, and the world. The Commission unanimously passed a motion to approve and sign the letter to be delivered to the Acting Division Chief of the Bureau of Land Management Fluid Minerals Division.
