Salazar wins delay in Roan Plateau plan

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 4, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

Federal land managers agreed Friday to put off oil and gas leasing on the Roan Plateau for at least four months, acceding to demands from top Colorado Democrats for more time to study drilling plans.

The turnabout by the Bureau of Land Management translates to a victory for U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar who stared down the agency when he put a hold on confirmation of its incoming director unless it gave Colorado more time to review and comment on the Roan plan.

Gov. Bill Ritter had sought more time for his new administration to familiarize itself with the proposal in June but was rebuffed when the BLM moved ahead to open the area to drilling.

The Roan Plateau in northwest Colorado has become the focal point of an increasingly volatile debate between industry interests that covet its enormous stores of natural gas, and environmentalists and outdoor groups that want to see some parts of the state - including the wildlife-rich Roan - protected from the ongoing boom in fossil fuel extraction.

Salazar's move to delay leasing on the Roan pitted him against Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. The two discussed the matter many times in recent weeks, Salazar said. "At the end, what I ended up getting from the BLM, they will give the state of Colorado their undivided attention," Salazar said.

Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said the administration would "conduct a thoughtful review of the proposed management plan, and the issues surrounding it. We expect that the federal government will seriously consider any views that we have at the end of the 120 days."

Under the existing BLM plan, drilling up to 1,570 wells would be permitted on portions of 73,602 acres of federal lands on the Roan. Companies could only disturb 350 acres at any one time, and would have to drill directionally, clustering wells together to minimize well pads.

Greg Schnacke of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association said the 120-day extension "ought to show (the) plan, as it was devised over seven years, is the most restrictive resource management plan ever released by the BLM." He said it was already "a difficult plan for industry to embrace."

But Elise Jones of the Colorado Environmental Coalition said the group "applauds (Salazar's) leadership . . . and we think it's great news that this administration is finally starting to listen to the near- consensus of local governments, sportsmen and citizens about the need to protect this special place."

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News