Indian leaders ask Congress to streamline energy development rules

Indian leaders want energy development streamlined

BILLINGS, Mont. — American Indian leaders on Thursday asked Congress to streamline the development of energy projects on tribal lands by curbing some federal oversight and providing incentives for companies to strike deals with reservations.

Reservations from Oklahoma to Montana and Alaska sit atop large amounts of oil, natural gas and coal. Others in wind-swept regions of the Northern Plains and on the West Coast have huge potential for renewable energy.

But some members of Congress and tribal leaders say existing government rules make it easier for energy companies to pursue projects on non-tribal land. As a result, they say, tribes often miss out on the chance to develop their natural resources.

“Tribes in some of the poorest counties in America have vast renewable energy resources that can help them overcome poverty,” said Joe Garcia, Chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council of New Mexico.

Garcia and other tribal representatives asked the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to intervene through legislation proposed by Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat.

The tribes want to eliminate federal drilling fees, pare down the Department of Interior’s bureaucracy, and shield tribes from state and local taxes on energy projects.

Dorgan’s bill has not yet been introduced.