Senate Joint Resolution No. 7

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Joint Resolution of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the state of Montana requesting Congress to require the United States Forest Service to redraft and correct the deficiencies in the Lewis and Clark National Forest Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Environmental Impact Statement, July 1996 or to select Alternative 3 in the final record of decision.

WHEREAS, the economic vitality and fiscal soundness of state and local governments are advanced by oil and gas exploration and production; and

WHEREAS, opportunities for oil and gas exploration and production on high potential areas of federal lands managed by the United States Forest Service will have significant economic and employment benefits to state and local governments; and

WHEREAS, the Lewis and Clark National Forest Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Environmental Impact Statement, July 1996 does not fully represent the economic benefits, including state production taxes, that could derive from oil and gas production on the national forest; and

WHEREAS, the royalty and production tax income to the state from one field the size of the Waterton Field in Canada, which is along the same geologic feature, could total over $10,350,000,000; and

WHEREAS, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement overestimated the environmental and aesthetic impacts of oil and gas exploration and production because current technologies that minimize or eliminate those impacts were not included in the analysis; and

WHEREAS, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement does not analyze the effects of the forest land "No Surface Occupancy" restrictions on the neighboring private and state mineral owners; and

WHEREAS, in spite of its heavy restrictions, only Alternative 3 in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement offers access to the forest that could remotely be expected to lead to leasing for oil and gas exploration.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

That the Congress of the United States require the United States Forest Service to redraft and correct the deficiencies in the Lewis and Clark National Forest Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Environmental Impact Statement, July 1996 or to select Alternative 3 in the final record of decision.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent by the Secretary of State to the Montana Congressional Delegation; the Honorable Don Young, chairman of the United States House Resources Committee; the Honorable Frank Murkowski, chairman of the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; the Secretary of the federal Department of the Interior; the Secretary of the federal Department of Agriculture; the Director of the United States Forest Service; and the Director of the federal Bureau of Land Management.

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