Wyoming, New Mexico, and California also manage mineral development on private and state-owned lands. California’s revenues from state-owned minerals onshore were $3 million. States’ Costs for Federal Minerals Management Activities

The federal government allocated $14.6 million of its appropriations for minerals management to Wyoming, New Mexico, and California for fiscal year 1996. This amount, which will be deducted from the states’ 1997 revenue payments, was computed on the basis of allocations of the appropriations for all onshore leasable minerals management activities conducted by the Forest Service, BLM, and MMS—the three key agencies responsible for administering the federal onshore minerals leasing laws. In addition to MLA, major federal laws governing BLM’s management of onshore minerals include (1) the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976, which gave BLM general management responsibilities for public land, endorsed multiple-use management, and prescribed a planning process similar to the Forest Service’s; (2) NEPA; (3) the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act; (4) the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976; and (5) the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (FOGRMA), which was enacted to ensure that the Secretary of the Interior properly accounts for all oil and gas from public lands. States’ Costs for Their Own Minerals Management Activities

In fiscal year 1996, Wyoming’s onshore minerals management program cost $2.0 million, New Mexico’s cost $7.2 million, and California’s cost $9.9 million. Costs for Federal and State Programs Cannot Be Meaningfully Compared

Because of differences between federal and state programs, the states’ costs for these programs cannot be meaningfully compared. The three states we reviewed do not have similar land-use planning processes, and neither Wyoming nor New Mexico has similar requirements for environmental analysis to those for the federal land-managing agencies. In responding to a draft of this report, officials from California’s State Lands Commission commented that the California Environmental Quality Act and other state laws require the protection of the environment, which includes developing environmental information and mitigation requirements; protecting significant environmental values on state lands; and balancing public needs in approving the uses of state lands. Other differences are state-specific. For Wyoming, New Mexico, and California, BLM’s allocation for the net receipts-sharing computation was about $19 million, $13 million, and $5 million, respectively. For example, Wyoming received about 43 percent of the federal onshore leasable mineral revenues in fiscal year 1996. One-half of the $28 million is about $14 million. 4. Instead, they focus on compatibility of mineral operations with other surface uses. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

In May 1996, we were asked to (1) identify how much Wyoming, New Mexico, and California paid to the federal government for managing minerals on federal lands within their boundaries, (2) identify the costs to the three states for their own minerals management programs, and (3) compare these federal and state program costs. GAO’s Comments

1.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the costs borne by Wyoming, New Mexico, and California for managing federal minerals were comparable to these states' own programs, focusing on: (1) how much the three states paid to the federal government for managing minerals on federal lands within their boundaries; (2) the costs to the three states for their own minerals management programs; (3) a comparison of these federal and state program costs; and (4) the activities that are associated with the federal and state programs.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) in fiscal year (FY) 1996, Wyoming, New Mexico, and California received almost $358 million in revenues from federal onshore leasable minerals and they will pay almost $14.6 million in FY 1997 for a portion of the federal government's FY 1996 onshore mineral leasing program; (2) Wyoming's share of the $14.6 million is $7.02 million, New Mexico's is $5.94 million, and California's is $1.65 million; (3) these amounts were computed on the basis of allocations of the federal appropriations for all activities conducted by the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals Management Service related to managing federal onshore leasable minerals; (4) onshore mineral development on Wyoming's, New Mexico's, and California's state-owned land generated combined royalties, rents, and bonuses of $148 million in FY 1996; (5) the states' combined costs for managing onshore mineral development, which includes development on state and private lands, totalled about $19 million; (6) specifically, the costs for Wyoming's minerals management program were $2.4 million in FY 1996, while New Mexico's were $7.2 million and California's costs were $9.9 million; (7) because of differences between federal and state programs, the states' costs for these programs cannot be meaningfully compared; (8) federal decisions about mineral leasing must involve land-use planning and environmental analysis; (9) the three states GAO reviewed do not have similar land-use planning processes; (10) furthermore, neither Wyoming nor New Mexico requires an environmental analysis similar to that performed by the federal government; (11) according to California State Lands Commission officials, California laws require an environmental analysis and the protection of state lands; (12) other differences are state-specific and can be attributed to a program's size and regulatory scope and number of mineral operations managed; and (13) for example, California's oil and gas conservation agency devotes about 95 percent of its resources to managing mineral development on privately owned land and other lands not owned by the state or federal government.