CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Oil and gas will be back in business - in a limited capacity - on federal lands in Wyoming, despite the federal government shutdown.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports the Petroleum Association of Wyoming says the Bureau of Land Management’s Buffalo, Casper, Pinedale and Rawlins field offices on Monday will start sorting through applications for permits to drill, with a limited staff, a two-month time frame and a narrow prescription for what can be done.
The offices will focus on critical paperwork, including processing drilling permit applications that were near approval, right of ways that are tied to applications for drilling permits and alterations on approved permits.
What the Bureau of Land Management cannot do is process applications that need wildlife or archaeological evaluations. The Petroleum Association of Wyoming says those staff have not received exemptions to the shutdown.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com
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