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GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Before, it didn’t cost a thing. Now, it’s $4,000 a pop.
The Bureau of Land Management has been collecting a $4,000 fee for each new application for a permit to drill (APD) on federal mineral leases throughout the nation after the requirement was inserted into a $555-billion spending package that Congress approved Dec. 26.
About two months after the requirement became law, the Glenwood Springs BLM field office has already collected about $148,000 from 37 APD permits, said David Boyd, northwest Colorado public affairs specialist for the BLM.
Across the state of Colorado, the BLM has received 123 permit applications for a total of about $490,000, Boyd said.
The money generated by the fees “is not new revenue, but rather a reimbursement to the U.S. Treasury for the estimated cost of processing new APDs” for the agency’s 2008 fiscal year, according to the BLM.
Boyd said the collection of the fees, at least in Glenwood, has been a non-issue.
“In terms of the workload, we really haven’t noticed a difference before Dec. 26 and after Dec. 26,” Boyd said. “There hasn’t been any problems when we get the APDs. They are coming with the check.”
BLM Colorado statistics show that 706 APDs were issued in Colorado from October 2006 to September 2007. Of those, 677 were issued for northwest Colorado. The
fees: A2
BLM anticipates that northwestern field offices will process 800 APDs for the agency’s 2008 fiscal year. The new fees would generate about $3.2 million.
Andrew Bremner, director of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said the $4,000 fee is unnecessary since the fee doesn’t directly benefit the program that is generating this revenue.
“We would rather see no fee,” Bremner said. “But if they are going to impose a fee, we would like to attach it to service improvements or to go to mitigate some of the impacts in the areas where these funds are generated. That way the amount of revenue generated is commensurate with the activity levels.”
Contact Phillip Yates: 384-9117pyates@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
The Bureau of Land Management has been collecting a $4,000 fee for each new application for a permit to drill (APD) on federal mineral leases throughout the nation after the requirement was inserted into a $555-billion spending package that Congress approved Dec. 26.
About two months after the requirement became law, the Glenwood Springs BLM field office has already collected about $148,000 from 37 APD permits, said David Boyd, northwest Colorado public affairs specialist for the BLM.
Across the state of Colorado, the BLM has received 123 permit applications for a total of about $490,000, Boyd said.
The money generated by the fees “is not new revenue, but rather a reimbursement to the U.S. Treasury for the estimated cost of processing new APDs” for the agency’s 2008 fiscal year, according to the BLM.
Boyd said the collection of the fees, at least in Glenwood, has been a non-issue.
“In terms of the workload, we really haven’t noticed a difference before Dec. 26 and after Dec. 26,” Boyd said. “There hasn’t been any problems when we get the APDs. They are coming with the check.”
BLM Colorado statistics show that 706 APDs were issued in Colorado from October 2006 to September 2007. Of those, 677 were issued for northwest Colorado. The
fees: A2
BLM anticipates that northwestern field offices will process 800 APDs for the agency’s 2008 fiscal year. The new fees would generate about $3.2 million.
Andrew Bremner, director of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said the $4,000 fee is unnecessary since the fee doesn’t directly benefit the program that is generating this revenue.
“We would rather see no fee,” Bremner said. “But if they are going to impose a fee, we would like to attach it to service improvements or to go to mitigate some of the impacts in the areas where these funds are generated. That way the amount of revenue generated is commensurate with the activity levels.”
Contact Phillip Yates: 384-9117pyates@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
