Red Lodge Clearinghouse

A 1997 law transferring the Roan Plateau from the Energy Department to the Bureau of Land Management requires revenues from leasing there be dedicated to reimbursing the federal government for costs associated with the cleanup of the Anvil Points oil shale research site in Rifle, Colo.

Allard spokesman Steve Wymer said Salazar is withholding his support for the Anvil Points measure, demanding that Allard support a one-year moratorium on gas leasing on the Roan Plateau.

"He's using this as a bargaining chip to get Senator Allard to change his position on the moratorium. Of course, Senator Allard is not going to do that," Wymer said. "It's entirely inappropriate for Senator Salazar to use this as a bargaining chip in the legislative process."

Salazar spokesman Cody Wertz confirmed that the Anvil Points measure has become part of negotiations between the two senators on future development of the Roan Plateau and oil shale development. Wertz said Salazar remains interested in getting the Anvil Points measure through Congress, but there is no rush to do so since it wouldn't take effect for three years, after the site cleanup is complete.

"If we don't come to an agreement with Senator Allard, then we'll come back at it next year," Wertz said.

Concerns with Roan

Salazar has expressed concerns about the effects of developing the plateau's natural gas resources on elk and mule deer habitats, as well as the area's recreational resources and unique features. A major energy bill passed last week by the House was stripped of a provision that would have barred surface drilling on top of the plateau, and Salazar has vowed to seek to add a one-year moratorium on Roan drilling to the Senate bill (Greenwire, Dec. 6).

The Bureau of Land Management announced in June that it wold allow up to 1,570 new natural gas wells atop the Roan Plateau but would limit development there to no more than 1 percent of the surface at any one time.

Despite their differences on future leasing on the Roan Plateau, both Allard and Salazar want to ensure that Colorado gets its fair share of lease revenues from oil and gas development on federal lands within the state. In October, they wrote to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne seeking an update on the status of the Anvil Points cleanup, since the state cannot receive funds from Roan gas leases until the cleanup is complete.

BLM spokesman David Boyd said that more than $75 million has been raised from the leases -- more than enough to cover the cleanup and reimburse the Energy Department for the infrastructure it set up for the initial oil and gas wells in the Roan area.

The Anvil Points oil shale research site contains spent shale and other material, including heavy metals, from oil shale mining and processing. The pile is considered a threat to ground and surface water in its current state, so the federal government wants to move it to a repository where it can be sealed off to prevent contamination.

The cleanup is expected to begin next spring and be completed by the end of next year, according to Boyd.

Once the cleanup is complete and the Energy Department is reimbursed, the excess revenues would be split evenly between the federal and state governments, with some of the state funds returning to local communities affected by energy development.

The revenues from four existing gas leases -- issued before the Roan Plateau was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management -- are growing by about $1 million a month, Boyd said.

Wyman said Allard fears the surplus revenues could be raided by Congress for other uses, unless they are protected. His provision protecting the revenues has been added to the Interior Department appropriations bill.

Gable is an independent energy and environmental writer in Woodland Park, Colo.

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