Many of these activities are concentrated  around the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas. One-Quarter of All Refuges Have Past or Present Oil and Gas Activities

About 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). In total, we identified 4,406 oil and gas wells within 105 refuges. The remaining 2,600 wells did  not produce oil, gas, or water during the last 12 months; many of these  were plugged and abandoned or were dry holes. The 1,806 active oil and gas wells  on refuge lands were roughly 1 percent of the approximately 148,750 active  onshore oil and gas wells in the United States in 2001. Over the years, new environmental laws and  improved industry practices and technology have reduced some of the  most detrimental effects of oil and gas activities; however, some harm  to refuges continues to occur and some effects from earlier events have  not been reversed and continue to diminish refuge resources. In addition,  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. Oil and Gas Activities Have, to Varying Degrees, Diminished Refuge System Resources

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. FWS Management and Oversight of Oil and Gas Activities Varies Widely

FWS’s management and oversight of oil and gas activities varies widely  from refuge to refuge. However, FWS has not approved this draft guidance. Ensure that staff are adequately trained to oversee oil and gas activities. As part of the process of improving the framework for managing and  overseeing oil and gas activities on national wildlife refuges, we further  recommend that the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Fish  and Wildlife Service work with the Department of the Interior’s Office of  the Solicitor to (1) determine FWS’s existing authority to issue permits and  set reasonable conditions regarding outstanding mineral rights, reporting  the results of its determination to Congress, and (2) seek from Congress, in  coordination with appropriate Administration officials, including those  within the Executive Office of the President, any necessary additional  authority over such rights, and over reserved mineral rights, so that FWS  can apply a consistent and reasonable set of regulatory and management  controls over all oil and gas activities occurring on national wildlife refuges  to protect the public’s surface interests. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fish and Wildlife Service

	GAO’s Comments

1.
Why GAO Did This Study

The 95-million acre National Wildlife Refuge System contains federal lands 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. GAO was asked to determine the extent of oil and gas activity on refuges, identify the environmental effects, and assess the Fish and Wildlife Service's management and oversight of oil and gas activities.

What GAO Found

About one-quarter (155 of 575) of all refuges have past or present oil and gas activity, 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 and 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 from buried pipelines, to substantial, such as 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.