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Ritter warns Moffat officials: Don't drill

County leaders say governor ignoring their plans, wishes

Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 2, 2007 at midnight

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Gov. Bill Ritter Wednesday reinforced his opposition to oil and gas drilling in a scenic Northwest Colorado public area.

In a letter faxed to Moffat County commissioners, Ritter said he believes the amount of natural gas under the Vermillion Basin is too small for the area to be disturbed by energy development.

After visiting the basin last month, Ritter asked the federal Bureau of Land Management not to lease the 77,000-acre area for drilling.

The BLM estimates the Vermillion Basin contains only 2 percent of the high potential gas reserves in the overall Little Snake Basin area, the letter states, which is why environmentalists oppose drilling there.

"Because of its limited recoverable gas resources and because of its pristine status as one of Colorado's truly special places, we believe the Vermillion Basin should remain off limits for oil and gas drilling during the life of the management plan," Ritter added.

"It is like 'my way or hit the highway' and that's not right," Moffat County Commissioner Saed Tayyara said Wednesday.

Ritter's July 3 visit and subsequent request angered county commissioners, who say Vermillion Basin contains an estimated $5.85 billion worth of gas, based on production in surrounding areas. Ritter disputes the estimate.

"I disagree with your claim that the Vermillion Basin itself contains natural gas valued at $5.85 billion dollars," the letter states. "The BLM estimates the much larger Little Snake area, including the Vermillion, could contain up to $5.85 billion in gas reserves."

BLM spokeswoman Jaime Gardner said the agency does not have a specific estimate for Vermillion Basin but agreed with the estimate in Ritter's letter regarding Little Snake area's reserves.

Moffat County's three commissioners said Ritter is ignoring their 12 years of planning to put together a drilling plan. The commissioners, all Republican, fired off a letter July 17 to Ritter, a Democrat, raising the same issues.

T. Wright Dickinson, a rancher in Vermillion Basin, said members of Northwest Colorado Stewardship met several times over the past three years to discuss drilling. He said most endorse the plan put together by county, state and federal officials.

That plan would allow drilling on 1 percent of the land, or 770 acres, at a time. Companies must clean up and revegetate before drilling further.

"I believe, unequivocally, that a majority of NWCOS members supported the 1 percent drilling plan. That's how I interpreted the feelings of the group," Dickinson said. "I'd hope the governor would take a step back and engage with Moffat County officials and local residents to have a better appreciation of the issue."

Drilling would generate an estimated $731 million for the federal treasury, $366 million for Colorado and $5.7 million annually for 40 years for Moffat County, the commissioners wrote.

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