Energy development on the public domain: Federal/state cooperation and conflict regarding environmental land use control

Federal and state discord may be lessened as a result of balances struck between Federal interest in energy resource development and affected state interest in assuring environmental quality. The Department of the Interior assumes that Federal leasing of western coal and oil shale lands will increase resource availability without being hampered by too stringent environmental protection laws. Western states, however, have pressured the Federal government for a greater voice. In many cases state laws are more strict than Federal regulations and there is pressure for states' rights to prevail. Federal energy development programs include gas, oil, oil shale, and coal in general and development on the public domain as authorized by the Mineral Leasing Act. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is responsible for 450 million acres or nearly one third of the nation's land, has functioned in land disposal rather than in management in the past. Current BLM plans will be to classify lands to determine optimum land use, then proceed to a management plan that will include evaluation and public interaction. States are becoming aware of the need to make public comment and take stands on these Federal proposals. States have retained jurisdictional authority over federally-held landsmore » to the extent of police power, and some legislative and proprietary rights. Examples of land use legislation of western states illustrate the respective authority granted to Federal and state governments and raise the possibilities of state obstruction of Federal land management. (DCK)« less