The Obama administration has proposed revising rules and regulations for oil-shale development on public land in the Rockies, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday.
Salazar made his announcement while government officials filed a proposed settlement of two lawsuits by 13 conservation groups over the Bush-era plan to open nearly 2 million acres of public land in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah to the commercial development of oil shale and tar sands.
Several conservation groups sued in 2009, claiming the Bush administration didn’t adequately review potential environmental impacts before proceeding with a development plan and rules and regulations.
The proposed settlement filed in federal court in Denver would give the Bureau of Land Management more discretion when awarding oil- shale leases and would remove the 5 percent royalty rates approved by the Bush administration for mining oil shale on public land. The lawsuits by environmentalists challenged the rate as too low.
Little is known about the potential environmental impact that oil-shale development will have on water and wildlife resources, a fact highlighted by the lawsuits. The settlement proposes requiring environmental reviews of commercial development, including impacts on air and water quality and water supplies.
“We’re very pleased with the secretary’s emphasis on the importance of water,” said Bill Midcap of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.
Salazar referenced a Government Accountability Office report on water resources and oil-shale development that said extracting the oil is expected to require a significant volume of water, a precious resource in the West.
