Tribal Consultation

Overview

We have a responsibility as trustee to American Indians. As such, we include tribes in our decision-making processes.  

The Tribal Consultation office at ONRR:

• Coordinates with tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for subject matter expert expertise. We do this for new lease terms, Indian Mineral Development Act (IMDA) lease terms, and bond requirements.
  
• Coordinates with tribes and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on lease inspections and production reporting.
  
• Coordinates with tribes, BIA and BLM to consult on changes to regulations affecting tribal mineral royalties.
  
• Coordinates with the Bureau of Trust Fund Administration (BFTA) on tribal mineral revenues and reporting.
  
• Educates and assists tribal leaders and departments about royalty revenue. We explain things like oil and gas valuation and the royalties and accounting processes.
  
• Responds to tribes when they need compliance reviews and/or audits of tribal leases.
  
• Responds to requests and invitations to attend tribal government’s regional meetings. We discuss ONRR processes, explain our royalty and production reporting process, and answer questions about royalty and production data.

Consultations

We hold regional tribal meetings to review potential updates to regulations.

The goals of regional tribal meetings are to:

• Further inform the tribes of the current regulations.
• Discuss the impact to the tribes of any possible regulation.
• Listen to the members of the tribes attending. We want to hear their concerns, answer questions, and consider their suggestions in process changes.

Tribal Consultation Policy 

Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) Tribal Consultation Policy

Signed January 9, 2018

This policy documents ONRR’s responsibility under Order Nos. 13175 and 3317.

It is our responsibility to:

• strengthen government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes, 
• respect tribal sovereignty, and 
  
• include tribes in decision-making processes involving them.
  

Tribal Liaison Officer

The Tribal Liaison Officer serves as facilitator and advisor to program offices and associated parties. Contact the ONRR Tribal Liaison Officer (TLO) at onrrtriballiaisonofficer@onrr.gov.