Who Will Prepare the Programmatic EIS

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, (BLM) is preparing the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Programmatic EIS, with assistance from Argonne National Laboratory.

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection Directorate will prepare the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Programmatic EIS, with assistance from Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne).

About the BLM

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, administers 264 million acres of America's public lands, located primarily in 12 western states. The BLM sustains the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

About the Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection Directorate

The BLM Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection Directorate is responsible for establishing and coordinating policies and guidance for the BLM's mineral, realty and resource protection programs. The Directorate develops policies and guidance for the fluid minerals programs, including oil and gas, geothermal, and helium; solid minerals programs, including mining and salable minerals; the lands and realty programs, the Public Land Survey System, and resource protection programs, including law enforcement, hazardous materials management, pollution prevention, and site remediation, mitigation, and restoration approaches (including engineering applications); provides substantive guidance for program development, policy analysis, and activities under his/her direction; prepares and maintains current and long-range program plans and strategies; and monitors program management implementation in order to achieve the BLM's goals and strategic objectives.

About Argonne

Argonne National Laboratory is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest research centers. It is also the nation's first national laboratory, chartered in 1946.

The Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory conducts applied research, assessment, and technology development in such areas as risk and waste management, natural resources, integrated assessments, restoration, pollution prevention, environmental policy analysis and planning, and environmental management.

The PEIS Team

The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the Programmatic EIS in order to consider 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, wildlife and fisheries, air quality, outdoor recreation, archeology, paleontology, hydrology, soils, sociology, and economics.