DENVER — Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. John Salazar said Tuesday they will introduce a bill to prevent direct drilling on about 36,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land on the Roan Plateau, backing up a key recommendation from Gov. Bill Ritter on gas development on the western Colorado landmark.
The proposal, which also has the support of U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, would also spend approximately $40 million on conservation and road projects in areas affected by development of the plateau.
It would also send 50 percent of federal mineral leasing revenues to states. The recently approved federal budget reduced the share for all states from 50 to 48 percent.
Last month, Gov. Bill Ritter asked the Bureau of Land Management to keep drilling equipment off 36,148 acres, about 16,000 more acres than the agency has recommended keeping off limits to direct drilling. Drilling would still be allowed but rigs and other activities would have to be offsite.
Some environmental and outdoors groups had sought a complete ban on drilling on top of the plateau.
Sen. Salazar said the BLM doesn’t have to follow Ritter’s recommendation and legislation is needed to make sure that critical wildlife habitat is protected. He also said the bill would require leases to be sold in specific areas of the Roan before drilling is allowed in another section which he said would better protect wildlife and maximize the price companies are willing to pay to drill there.
“We want a Colorado solution to the Roan Plateau and the oil and gas issues we’re facing on the Western Slope,” Sen. Salazar said.
The Salazars and Udall, all Colorado Democrats, proposed unsuccessful bills to ban or postpone drilling on top of the Roan Plateau. Rep. Salazar said he is now willing to allow leases to be sold as planned this summer.
“We just want to make sure this is done in a more precise way,” he said.
The bill, which the Salazars plan to introduce after Congress convenes next week, would also spend at least $40 million that’s expected to be left over from the cleanup of an old oil shale research site on the plateau. Sen. Salazar said the Anvil Points money would pay for land and water conservation and roads in nearby areas, most likely in Rio Blanco and Garfield counties.
The cleanup isn’t expected to be completed and certified for another three years so no money would be available until then.
The Roan Plateau is home to the state’s largest deer and elk herds, mountain lions, peregrine falcons, bears, rare plants and native cutthroat trout and draws hunters and anglers from across the country, which helps support the region’s economy. The plateau also sits atop trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and some of the country’s largest oil shale deposits, which drilling advocates say is needed to reduce reliance of foreign fuel. They also say delays in drilling could cost the state billions of dollars from leases and mineral royalties.
