Congressional drilling probe headed to Wyoming

LANDER, Wyo. — A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming says the agency welcomes a review by congressional investigators of the agency's fast-tracking of approvals for some oil and gas drilling permits.

Government Accountability Office investigators have opened an investigation into the BLM's use of the practice of "categorical exclusions."

The practice was authorized by the 2005 Energy Act and allows the approval of some drilling projects without a full environmental study of the consequences.

The BLM says 1,632 categorical exclusions were issued in Wyoming between August 2005 and September 2007. The BLM has also used the practice in Utah and New Mexico.

The director of the GAO inquiry says the investigation was prompted by a request from the House Natural Resources Committee and its Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.