Mar 8, 2023 IPAA Letter Supporting the TAPP Act to House Natural Resources Chairman Westerman
Dear Chairman Westerman,
The Independent Petroleum Association of America is pleased to support H.R.1335, the Transparency, Accountability, Permitting, and Production of American Resources Act, referred to as the TAPP Act. …
IPAA believes that many of the reforms laid out in the TAPP Act will help to revitalize oil and gas production on federal lands and waters to the benefit of the nation. The “multiple-use mandate” provided in the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) requires the BLM to balance the resources and uses of public lands to the benefit of the people. While this mandate includes far more than oil and gas production, it does not include less and IPAA believes that safe and responsible development for our resources needs to remain part of the equation.
There are several commonsense reforms in the TAPP Act that will lend to increased certainty for our members and will ultimately lead to a more streamlined process for federal oil and natural gas development. While IPAA is supportive of the bill in its entirety, there are a few key provisions that will be particularly impactful to independent producers on federal lands. IPAA supports the directive to require the Secretary of the Interior to resume quarterly lease sales. IPAA also believes it is important to include in a sale all parcels that were nominated and eligible for lease under the resource management plan of each state. IPAA also strongly supports the additional language on suspension of operations permits. Furthermore, IPAA strongly supports the language included for two region-wide annual lease sales in the prescribed offshore areas. …
