The Bureau of Land Management has withdrawn the first geothermal lease offering in Colorado after a volley of questions and criticism from Chaffee County residents.
“We received several substantive comments in writing after our Jan. 14 public-information meeting in Buena Vista that caused us to decide to further review the current stipulations on the parcel,” said Greg Shoop, BLM Front Range District manager.
About 170 people attended that meeting, which ran from 7 p.m. until after midnight.
The lease is for 800 acres in the Chalk Creek Valley, a popular recreation area, particularly for its hot springs.
It was those hot springs and the subsurface geothermal activity — where temperatures may reach 390 degrees Fahrenheit — that attracted development interest.
The geothermal reservoir could power an electric plant, federal officials said.
“We are pleased that the BLM has recognized the faults in the process,” said Stephen Glover, an area resident and critic of the lease.
“We hope this is the start of a process, but in the end, we hope they realize that in balancing uses, this land should be closed to mineral leasing,” he said.
It is the third time the lease sale has been deferred.
“We want to assure the public that the environmental-analysis process was thoroughly followed before the parcel is offered for sale,” Shoop said.
No date has been set for offering the geothermal parcel at a future auction, according to the bureau.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
