In addition, under the National  Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended, the Fish  and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for regulating all activities  on refuges. One-Quarter of Refuges Have Past or Present Oil and Gas Activities

At least one-quarter, or 155, of the 575 refuges (538 refuges and 37 wetland  management districts) that constitute the National Wildlife Refuge System  have past or present oil and gas activities—exploration, drilling and  production, transit pipelines, or some combination of these (see table 1).Since 1994, FWS records show that 44 refuges have had some type of oil  and gas exploration activities—geologic study, survey, or seismic  mapping. During the most recent 12-month reporting period, the 1,806  active wells produced 23.7 million barrels of oil and 88,171 million cubic  feet of natural gas, about 1.1 and 0.4 percent of total domestic oil and gas  production, respectively. Overall Effects of Oil and Gas Activities Are Unknown, but Those Activities Have Diminished Some Refuge System Resources

The overall environmental effects of oil and gas activities on refuge  resources are unknown because FWS has conducted few cumulative  assessments and has no comprehensive data. Available studies, anecdotal  information, and our observations show that some refuge resources have  been diminished to varying degrees by spills of oil, gas, and brine and  through the construction, operation, and maintenance of the infrastructure  necessary to extract oil and gas. New environmental laws and industry practice and technology have  reduced, but not eliminated, some of the most detrimental effects of oil  and gas activities. Also, improvements in  technology may allow operators to avoid placing wells in sensitive areas  such as wetlands. Oil and gas operators have taken steps, in some cases voluntarily, to  reverse damages resulting from oil and gas activities, but operators have  not consistently taken such steps, and the adequacy of these steps is not  known. FWS Management and Oversight of Oil and Gas Activities Varies Widely

FWS’s management and oversight of oil and gas activities varies widely  among refuges. However, the 16  refuges we visited varied widely in the extent to which these management  practices occur. For outstanding mineral rights—cases where the mineral  rights were separated from the surface lands before the government  acquired the property—FWS has not formally determined its position  regarding its authority to require access permits. Second, refuge managers lack sufficient guidance, resources, and  training to properly monitor oil and gas operators. In our report, we made several recommendations to improve the  framework for managing and overseeing oil and gas activities on national  wildlife refuges, including (1) collecting and maintaining better data on oil  and gas activities and their environmental effects, and ensuring that staff  resources, funding, and training are sufficient and (2) determining FWS’s  existing authority over outstanding mineral rights.
Why GAO Did This Study

The 95-million acres in the National Wildlife Refuge System are the only federal lands primarily devoted to the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and plant resources. While the federal government owns the surface lands in the system, in many cases private parties own the subsurface mineral rights and have the legal authority to explore for and extract oil and gas. This testimony is based on an August 2003 report (GAO-03-517) in which GAO determined the extent of oil and gas activity on refuges, identified the environmental effects, and assessed the Fish and Wildlife Service's management and oversight of those activities.

What GAO Found

About one-quarter (155 of 575) of all refuges have past or present oil and gas activities, some dating to at least the 1920s. Activities range from exploration to drilling and production to pipelines transiting refuge lands. One hundred five refuges contain a total of 4,406 oil and gas wells--2,600 inactive wells and 1,806 active wells. The 1,806 wells, located at 36 refuges, many around the Gulf Coast, produced oil and gas valued at $880 million during the last 12-month reporting period, roughly 1 percent of domestic production. Thirty-five refuges contain only pipelines. The Fish and Wildlife Service has not assessed the cumulative environmental effects of oil and gas activities on refuges. Available studies, anecdotal information, and GAO's observations show that the environmental effects of oil and gas activities vary from negligible, such as effects from buried pipelines, to substantial, such as effects from large oil spills or from large-scale infrastructure. These effects also vary from the temporary to the longer term. Some of the most detrimental effects of oil and gas activities have been reduced through environmental laws and improved practices and technology. Moreover, oil and gas operators have taken steps, in some cases voluntarily, to reverse damages resulting from oil and gas activities. Federal management and oversight of oil and gas activities varies widely among refuges--some refuges take extensive measures, while others exercise little control or enforcement. GAO found that this variation occurs because of differences in authority to oversee private mineral rights and because refuge managers lack enough guidance, resources, and training to properly manage and oversee oil and gas activities. Greater attention to oil and gas activities by the Fish and Wildlife Service would increase its understanding of associated environmental effects and contribute to more consistent use of practices and technologies that protect refuge resources.