Energy Industry Experienced Staff

With strong winds, underground seas of oil and gas, and sun-baked deserts, the West will likely power the U.S. for decades to come. Sagebrush has Master Service Agreements with two of America's largest energy companies and regularly helps smaller producers comply with their energy-lease stipulations. Our staff has worked inside the industry, performed Biological Assessments for wind farms, and mapped sage grouse leks along interstate transmission lines. Whether you're operating on federal or private land, we will navigate environmental regulations so you can focus on producing energy.  

For wind farms everywhere, it's eagles. For oil and gas in the Wyoming, it's the greater sage-grouse. Solar arrays in the Mojave must take care to avoid the desert tortoise. The undeniable fact about generating power in the rural West: you can't ignore endangered and special-status species. Even if your project area supports no known protected-species populations, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) still applies. Some want less protections for these plants and animals, just as many want more. It's the cost of doing business in a democracy. 

If you think these species pose a brick wall to your production goals, you haven't worked with the right people. Remaining compliant with the Endangered Species Act, BLM, or U.S. Forest Service requires a consulting firm willing to tell you the truth. Sagebrush has the biologists capable of providing environmental regulators and land managers the data they want, and our clients the planning they need. Sagebrush knows that energy producers value the environment and regulators value the quality of life that energy producers provide. Let us help you develop a relationship based on those shared values.

BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS

Before you site a well or grade an access road on federal or state land you need to comply with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by submitting a Biological Assessment or BA. BA's document the potential for federally protected species to be impacted by your projects. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviews these documents, either giving their concurrence or requesting further information. 

Even if no federally protected plants or animals are known to the area you work in, but you're still on state or federal land, you need to submit a Biological Evaluation (BE) or a Biological Survey Report. These documents evaluate the potential for federally sensitive and state-protected species to occur in your work area and the measures you can take to avoid them. 

SAGE GROUSE

In recent years, the sage grouse has changed the way Energy producers operate in the American West. In September of 2015, following years of debate, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that listing the greater sage grouse as an endangered species was not warranted. This determination wasn't happenstance. Tremendous efforts by Western governors, environmental NGO's, energy producers, state fish and game agencies, ranchers, among other stakeholders, enacted state and local programs to protect sage grouse.

After years of precipitous decline, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) recently announced that greater sage grouse population decline has slowed and may be rebounding. To continue this trend, states have implemented their own programs to minimize or offset impacts to sage grouse habitat. One such component of these programs is habitat mitigation banks. Energy producers operating in states like Wyoming and Colorado can offset their impacts to sage grouse habitat by purchasing mitigation credits from sage grouse mitigation and conservation banks. These banks aim to conserve, in perpetuity, large swaths of the sagebrush steppe habitat necessary for the sage grouse to thrive. 

Sagebrush Advisors partners with sage grouse mitigation banks in Wyoming and Colorado.      

Section 9 of the Endangered SPecies Act--Even on private Land

Even if you're operating on private land, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction over possible impacts to plants and animals listed under the Endangered Species Act. Section 9 is a poorly understood law that occasionally gets energy producers in trouble. 

Raptor surveys 

Operating in the West means operating alongside birds of prey. That solitary stand of cottonwoods or distant rock ledge may have a raptor nest. If you're operating on public lands, you have to allow space between your project and the nest while it's active. Buffer distances vary between BLM offices and state fish and game agencies, but tend to range between 1/8 and 1 mile. If an eagle has taken up near your operation, buffers of more than a mile can apply. Before you break ground, Sagebrush can map raptor nests in and around your project area. We'll take these findings and coordinate with agency and land- management biologists.   

BALD AND GOLDEN EAGLE PROTECTION ACT

Not only is it bad business to disturb eagles, nobody wants to harm these beautiful birds of prey. BGEPA, as it's known, carries the same statutory authority as the Endangered Species Act affording bald and golden eagles federal protection on private and public land. The penalties for killing or disturbing eagles can be severe and don't just apply to wind farms. The Oilfield is affected, too. While eagles are nesting, you're obliged to observe buffers of up to a mile or more to avoid disturbing the mother and chicks. This means no traffic, no drilling, no disturbance, generally between early spring and late summer, or until the eaglets have fledged. On private land, it's wise to observe similar buffers.

Sagebrush's experienced Avian Biologists have conducted numerous raptor surveys throughout the West. Before breaking ground, we can survey for and map any nest in proximity to your project.   

Even if you're operating in the desert outside Artesia or the Badlands of Wyoming,  Clean Water Act compliance is a major part of being in the Energy business. We've done wetland work for wind and solar, upstream and midstream across the West and keep good working relationships with Army Corps' offices across the West. Every Army Corps office is different. Understanding the specific requirements of each branch is key to quickly securing the Section 401 Certifications and Section 404 permits you need. 

Although Clean Water Act permitting isn't rocket science, it's important to keep up with current regulations. We can help you understand exactly what's required of your operation and keep you compliant with the Army Corps and Clean Water Act.

Categorical Exclusions and Environmental Assessments (CE's and EA's)

Sagebrush integrates permits, such as Clean Water Act wetlands and stormwater, and agency coordination, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management, into the NEPA process. Biologists, GIS, and environmental scientists work together to identify issues, conduct fieldwork, analyze alternatives, conduct public outreach, and create the documents necessary for your NEPA compliance.