Norton Seeks Faster Review of Energy Use on U.S. Land

Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton told oil and gas producers Tuesday she would try to speed the paperwork for energy exploration on federal lands without sacrificing environmental concerns.

“From the government side, we must work to minimize delays, uncertainty and red tape that helps neither industry nor the environment,” Norton said.

She said her staff is studying regulations, land use rules and possible energy sources on federal lands.

Fred Julander, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Strategy Conference, introduced Norton as someone who is looking out for the energy industry.

Norton defended the Bush administration’s plan to drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, saying the damage would be minimized by using ice roads. She said the area affected would be small.

“The actual footprint of production that will take place there, because of the high-tech approaches, is going to be about 2,000 acres. That is an area about 17 times smaller than Denver International Airport,” she said.

As she spoke, half a dozen demonstrators carried signs outside the convention hall opposing oil and gas drilling in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains.

Norton said the nation’s energy crunch has eased, but she added that demand still exceeds supply and new sources must be found.

Steve Smith of the Sierra Club agreed that the nation needs to look for energy. “But we don’t need to do that from every foot of our public lands. There are portions of the public land where, even though energy may be available, other values are of higher importance,” he said.

Norton formally announced the appointment of Colorado mining lobbyist Kit Kimball as director of external and intergovernmental relations. Kimball said she will be based in Denver.