September 30, 2015

The Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a conservation program annually funded by royalties from offshore oil and gas production, expired on September 30, 2015. The LWCF provides funding for federal, state, and local governments to purchase land and water and provides funding for conservation projects throughout the United States.

The 50-year-old law was originally authorized for $900 million in 1965 and was last reauthorized in 1990. As of October 1, which marked the beginning of the 2016 fiscal year, appropriators will still be able to draw money from the fund until the continuing resolution runs out on December 11.  As of now, oil and gas companies do not have to pay into the fund due to the program’s expiration.

Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) have introduced a bill to permanently reauthorize the LWCF. The bill, S. 338, was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders in February of 2015.

Sources: congress.gov, eenews, lwcfcoalition.org