DENVER — Four environmental groups say they will sue to prevent the sale of federal oil and gas leases on the Roan Plateau, a western Colorado area rich in minerals as well as wildlife and pristine backcountry.
The groups said Monday that they will soon file a lawsuit in federal court seeking an injunction to stop the Bureau of Land Management from offering the leases Aug. 14 in an auction in Denver.
The BLM plans to offer leases on about 55,186 acres of public land on the Roan Plateau, which is about 180 miles west of Denver. Of those, roughly 34,000 acres are on top of the plateau, an area considered particularly sensitive by some because of the wildlife habitat, including streams that are home to genetically pure native cutthroat trout dating to the last ice age.
Matt Garrington of Environment Colorado, one of the groups pledging to sue, said there is overwhelming support from area communities, elected officials and conservation groups for protecting the Roan Plateau.
“The Bush administration has skirted the law to push drilling, ignoring the wishes of local governments, the state of Colorado and citizens from all walks of life in favor of its industry friends,” Garrington said.
The groups, including the Colorado Environmental Coalition, also plan to file a formal protest of the leases.
Gov. Bill Ritter is also considering whether to file a protest, his spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said in an e-mail Monday.
In March, the BLM rejected Ritter’s alternative plan for the Roan Plateau that recommended more restrictions on drilling and phasing in leases rather than offering them all at once.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., will keep pushing legislation similar to Ritter’s plan, said his spokeswoman, Stephanie Valencia. Democratic Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall also support the measure.
Congress directed that the Roan Plateau should be leased, said BLM spokesman Steven Hall. He said a 1997 law transferring the land formerly known as the Naval Oil Shale Reserve from the Department of Energy to the Interior Department directed that the area’s energy resources be developed.
Federal officials have said the plan opening some of the land to leasing is one of the most restrictive ever approved by the BLM.
“Further attempts to delay the leasing of these lands will deny Americans’ access to energy we need every day,” said Marc Smith of the Denver-based Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States in a statement.
The BLM’s management plan for the Roan Plateau 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, where the BLM calls for oil and gas drilling to be done in stages and clusters to limit disturbance to 1 percent of the federal land.
