KEENE, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A North Dakota landowner is among those protesting oil and gas rule changes proposed by the federal government.
The changes affect people such as Donald Nelson of Keene in northwest North Dakota. Nelson is a farmer and rancher who owns surface land but the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management owns the mineral rights. That ownership situation is known as a split estate.
The changes would reduce bonds from $500,000 down to $25,000 for all wells a company drills in a state. The money is expected to cover the costs of plugging a well when it is done producing and returning the land to its original state.
“The bonds would not even cover the plugging,” Nelson said.
The rule changes would eliminate the requirement that the BLM notify split-estate landowners when the agency offers oil and gas leases under their property.
The changes would also reduce the amount of time for comment on potential oil and gas development on a split estate from 90 days down to 10.
“No notice, no voice, no future,” said Don Schreiber, a New Mexico landowner who joined Nelson and others Monday on a video press conference about the changes. The press conference was organized by the Western Organization of Resource Councils, which includes North Dakota-based Dakota Resource Council.
Schreiber said bonding is about planning for the future, and he agreed with Nelson that proposed requirements are too low.
Nelson said oil and gas companies need to be held accountable.
“They are able to charge what they need to make money, whereas we end up as taxpayers paying it from both ends — we pay for the fuel, and then we pay for the reclamation because they walk away,” he said.
Schreiber criticized Interior Secretary and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and the department for the changes.
“They just want the landowners out of the way,” Schreiber said.
The Department of the Interior announced the changes on June 22. Burgum and President Donald Trump’s administration have advocated for oil and gas development on public lands and where the federal government holds mineral rights as part of its goal for American energy dominance.
A news release touted updates to a waste prevention rule that the Interior Department said would cut compliance costs for oil and gas companies by nearly $17 million annually.
“Energy dominance requires regulatory clarity,” Burgum said in the release. “These targeted updates cut through the red tape that has historically deterred investment, ensuring our public lands remain a reliable engine for economic growth and innovation.”
The announcement kicked off a 60-day comment period, which ended Monday.
The Western Organization of Resource Councils submitted formal comments from more than 300 people who support keeping the Biden-era rule.A letter signed by 16 split-estate landowners in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico also called on Burgum and Pearce to keep changes made in 2024 intact.
BLM staff will review the public comments and then release a final rule, likely later this year or next year.
The BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land primarily in 12 western states. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of mineral rights, according to the agency.
There are 58 million acres of split-estate land across the United States, most of which are in the West and occupied by ranches and farms, according to the Western Organization of Resource Councils.
Nelson noted in a press release that oil drilling can bring heavy truck traffic, dust, noise, impacts to water, and disruptions that affect ranching. “Those aren’t inconveniences; they are costs to our livelihood and changes to the places we call home,” Nelson said.
Reach North Dakota Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach at jbeach@northdakotamonitor.com
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