RIFLE, Colo.—Federal oil and gas leases could be sold on top of western Colorado’s Roan Plateau even as members of the state’s congressional delegation try to restrict the amount of land that can be developed, and when.
The Colorado Bureau of Land Management office will announce by June 13 which federal properties in the state will be offered for lease in the Aug. 14 auction.
“Whether or not Roan Plateau parcels will be on there is still open question,” BLM spokesman Steven Hall said Monday.
An effort by Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar to modify the BLM’s plan for the Roan Plateau won’t stop the agency from offering the leases if it decides to, Hall said.
The BLM approved a final management plan in March that projects drilling 1,570 wells from 193 sites, or well pads, on the public land on the plateau over 20 years.
That includes 210 wells from 13 pads on top.
A bill by the three Colorado Democrats is similar to a plan by Gov. Bill Ritter that the BLM rejected. They propose that roughly 39,000 acres on the plateau be declared too environmentally sensitive to drill.
That’s up from the 36,184 acres recommended by the governor and the 21,034 acres in the federal plan.
The bill includes the state’s suggestion to phase in leases on top of the plateau rather than leasing the land all at once.
Cody Wertz, Sen. Salazar’s spokesman, said the senator is looking for a measure to attach the bill to.
The Roan Plateau has become a focus as Colorado’s natural drilling has increased. The BLM estimates the plateau about 180 miles west of Denver contains 9 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas and could generate between $428 million and $565 million in royalties and lease payments for the state.
Conservationists have questioned the BLM’s estimates, saying the amount of gas is likely lower. They also say the Roan provides crucial winter habitat for some of the country’s largest elk and mule deer herds and is home to mountain lions, peregrine falcons, bears, rare plants and genetically pure native cutthroat trout dating to the last ice age.
Several area communities have opposed drilling on public land on the plateau’s top. There is drilling on private land.
“Every time the public or Congress or the governor has intervened on this and asked for protection, the Bush administration has plowed forward,” said Clare Bastable, conservation director for the Colorado Mountain Club. “So the fact that the (BLM is) pursuing leases of the Roan is not a surprise. It is certainly disappointing, but again, I don’t believe this battle is over.”
Marc Smith, executive director of the Denver-based Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said he was pleased that the BLM might begin to allow limited energy development on small portion of the Roan Plateau.
“Congress gave clear instructions to the BLM in 1997 when it passed bipartisan legislation to transfer management responsibility of the lands for the purpose of developing natural gas resources,” Smith said.
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Information from: Post Independent,
