Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation; Delay and Suspension of Certain Requirements

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is promulgating a final rule (2017 final delay rule) to temporarily suspend or delay certain requirements contained in the rule published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2016, entitled, "Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation" (2016 final rule) until January 17, 2019. The BLM has concerns regarding the statutory authority, cost, complexity, feasibility, and other implications of the 2016 final rule, and therefore intends to avoid imposing likely considerable and immediate compliance costs on operators for requirements that may be rescinded or significantly revised in the near future. The 2017 final delay rule does not substantively change the 2016 final rule, but simply postpones implementation of the compliance requirements for certain provisions of the 2016 final rule for 1 year.