Report may lead to drilling regulations in Osage County

PAWHUKSA, Okla. (AP) – Osage County oil and gas producers, residents and tribal officials have voiced concern over a proposed environmental assessment on the area’s drilling operations.

A listening session to discuss the assessment was held Monday. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, which oversees the oil and gas industry in the county on behalf of the Osage Nation, has said the area needs a new environmental impact statement and conducted a study.

The report on the study published earlier this month, if approved, would replace a blanket declaration issued by the bureau in 1979 that said Osage County’s oil and gas production has no significant environmental impact. The report may lead to new regulations in the county.

The bureau says a final version of the assessment is scheduled to be released in February.