Bush panel aims to speed energy drilling in west.(News)

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Bush administration on July 31 said it had formed a committee to find faster ways for oil and natural gas companies to obtain drilling permits on federal lands in the Rocky Mountains, Reuters reports.

The newly created Rocky Mountain Energy Council (RMEC), composed of state officials from Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado and officials from federal agencies that participate in energy exploration, held its first meeting on August. 26 in suburban Denver. Federal participants included the Department of Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Army Corp of Engineers, and the Department of Energy.

Participants agreed on the need for a council to develop streamlined and forward-looking decision processes with respect to energy projects while preserving existing environmental protections, according to the White House Task Force on Energy Project Streamlining.

The August organizational meeting solicited input from all interested stakeholders, including the public, industry, local organizations, and Tribal Governments. The intent was to build upon the initial organizational discussions, allowing a first official public meeting of the RMEC by the end of 2003.

Three functions for the RMEC were identified, a task force summary stated:

* To develop federal/state partnerships for long-term management of renewable and nonrenewable energy ...