GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—State Sen. Josh Penry said he supports increasing Colorado’s share of money raised from federal mineral leases.
Under current law, funds derived from mineral leasing on federal lands are split 50-50 between the federal government and the states where the leasing occurs.
Penry said Saturday that he would present ideas to Gov. Bill Ritter to try to boost how much money gets returned to Colorado and other areas affected by energy development.
“I think it’s appropriate that Colorado be compensated and benefit fully from the responsible production in the area,” said Penry, R-Fruita.
Penry and U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., on Saturday attended a forum to discuss drilling on the Roan Plateau and Vermillion Basin.
Allard said he supports the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for restricted drilling on top of the scenic Roan Plateau, which is rich in both minerals and wildlife habitat. But Allard said he was disappointed about the “top down” nature of a proposal to restrict drilling there.
An energy bill passed by the House includes an amendment sponsored by Colorado Democratic Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar that would bar drilling on top of the plateau.
“This action by the House wipes out years of effort by locals who support energy exploration and completely ignores the history of the area,” Allard said. “The BLM has been engaged (in the plan) for past seven years. I’ve been supportive of that all along. I think it’d be harmful to the process if all of a sudden I took a different position from where they’re going.”
It was unclear whether the Senate would agree to the provision.
The federal government recently granted Ritter 120 more days to review the BLM’s management plan for the plateau. The plan projects 13 well pads and 210 wells on top of the plateau, with 193 well pads and up to 1,570 wells overall, over 20 years.
The BLM has said 51 percent of land on top of and below the plateau would be preserved under the plan, which also would allow recovery of more than 90 percent of the available natural gas.
Pete Kolbenschlag of Mountain West Strategies and Cathy Kay of Western Colorado Congress said they agreed with Penry’s idea of wanting to return more dollars to energy-affected areas.
Kay said a number of the area’s rural communities lack adequate infrastructure, have deteriorating roads, and lack affordable housing in the face of booming energy development.
But Kolbenschlag questioned the rush to lease the Roan. “There’s already oil and gas (drilling) all over the place, but it doesn’t need to be every place,” he said.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel,
