WASHINGTON — Language that would have barred surface drilling on Roan Plateau for one year is not in a major Congressional spending bill the House will vote on today, marking the latest failed attempt to block extraction on the 3,500-foot mesa.
A separate provision blocking for one year the issuing of new leases for oil shale extraction on federal lands is in the omnibus spending bill, which packages spending for all the agencies whose budgets had not yet been funded this year.
Sen. Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, negotiated to put the oil shale provision in the bill. It’s the same measure Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, included in a House spending bill that was rolled in to the omnibus bill.
Sen. Ken Salazar also wanted to include the Roan language in the same legislation. When the bill came out late Sunday, Salazar’s Roan drilling moratorium had not been included, said spokesman Cody Wertz.
Sen. Wayne Allard, a Republican, opposed both provisions, saying that more energy is needed. On Roan, he said, a long process was followed by the Bureau of Land Management before reaching its decision to allow drilling on public lands. Some drilling already occurs on private lands.
Salazar now will wait for Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter to issue his plan for Roan, which is expected any day. However, Ritter’s options are limited as the state cannot veto the federal government’s plan.
After knowing Ritter’s plan, Salazar will decide how to proceed, Wertz said. Salazar has said he would considered trying next year to attach the one-year drilling moratorium to other legislation.
