GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—Amid a contentious debate over energy development at two western Colorado sites, Sen. Wayne Allard planned a trip to Grand Junction on Saturday to discuss his position.
Allard and state Sen. Josh Penry, both Republicans, will discuss plans for drilling on the Roan Plateau and in the Vermillion Basin, Allard spokeswoman Tara Hendershott said Friday.
Allard has supported U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to open more federal land for natural gas wells on the Roan, near Rifle, and in the Vermillion Basin in Moffat County.
The House passed an energy bill last month with an amendment sponsored by Colorado Democratic Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar that would bar drilling on top of the Roan. The House and Senate have to reconcile their different versions of the bill.
Twenty-three hunting and angling groups, including Colorado Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited and the Colorado Bowhunters Assocation, sent a letter Friday to Allard’s Grand Junction office asking him to support a “time-out” on leasing on the Roan to develop a plan incorporating new technology to minimize the impacts.
The Roan, which sits atop large natural gas and oil shale deposits, is a popular hunting and recreation area that’s home to some of the country’s largest elk and mule deer herds.
The federal government recently granted Gov. Bill Ritter’s request for a 120-day extension to review the BLM’s final management plan for the Roan Plateau. The plan projects 193 well pads and up to 1,570 wells over 20 years, including 13 pads and 210 wells on top.
The BLM says the plan would preserve 51 percent of land on top of and below the plateau while allowing recovery of more than 90 percent of the natural gas.
Ritter has said drilling shouldn’t occur in the Vermillion Basin, part of a larger area where BLM has projected up to 3,000 new gas wells over 1.3 million acres could be drilled over the next 20 years.
Environmentalists and some area residents say the scenic badlands should be protected.
The Moffat County commissioners criticized Ritter’s comments on the Vermillion Basin, saying the county could lose $5.7 million in tax revenue if drilling there is banned.
