- The environmental impact statement (EIS) concerns management of oil and gas resources owned by the United States in trust for the Osage Tribe, in Osage County, Oklahoma.
- The Osage Tribe retained all mineral rights in Osage County when the surface was allotted in 1906.
- The Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for administering the development of oil and gas resources in Osage County for the benefit of Osage Tribe.
- The decision area for this EIS covers all of the subsurface mineral estate within Osage County, approximately 1,476,500 acres.
- The public scoping period was completed as part of the Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas (OKT) Joint EIS/Resource Management Plan scoping period which began on July 26, 2013. The targeted Osage Oil & Gas EIS was officially begun with the publication of a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register and concluded on January 31, 2014.
- Based on a request of the Osage Minerals Council during consultation, the BIA decided to accelerate the National Environmental Policy Act analysis for oil and gas leasing and development in Osage County ahead of the schedule for the OKT Joint EIS/Resource Management Plan.
- This planning process complies with the needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act and Bureau of Indian Affairs Management policies. The BIA will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
- The BIA will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the EIS to ensure consideration of the variety of resource issues and concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines will be involved in the planning process: minerals and geology, archaeology, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, livestock grazing, recreation, sociology and economics.
- This web page contains information on the progress of the EIS.
Phase I DEIS
- Draft Alternatives Matrix
- Listening Session Powerpoint, March 9, 2015
- Alternative Development Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
- Oklahoma Field Office - Resource Management Plan Revision and Environmental Impact Statement, Final Scoping Summary Report
- EIS (Draft)
- Notice of Availability (NOA)
- Transcript of the November 30, 2015 Meeting on Osage Draft EIS
Phase II DEIS
- Supplemental Notice of Intent
- BIA Reinitiating Public Scoping for Oil & Gas EIS
- Oil & Gas Scoping Summary Report
- Osage Public Scoping Meeting Transcript - April 28, 2016
- Osage County Oil and Gas EIS March 2017 Newsletter
- Notice of Public Listening Session on Draft Alternatives Set for April 6, 2017
- Alternatives Summary Table
- Standard Best Management Practices (BMP) Drilling Permits
- Standard Best Management Practices (BMP) Workover/Plugging Permits
