Effort to delay drilling fails

By Rocky Mountain NewsJune 28, 2007

An effort by U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall of Colorado to delay drilling on the Roan Plateau failed Wednesday after what the duo called "strong-arm" tactics of the Bush administration.Salazar and Udall tried to attach an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have prevented the Interior Department from using any funds to lease lands on the Roan not already open to drilling.

In a statement, the pair said a "curiously timed and highly speculative" cost estimate was added to the amendment late Tuesday that doomed its passage. Both promised to pursue other strategies to delay drilling on the Roan.

"We are disappointed that the Bush administration has stepped in at the last minute and apparently strong-armed the Congressional Budget Office . . ." the lawmakers' statement said. Industry and its supporters say drilling restrictions imposed by the Bureau of Land Management will ensure that much of the region is protected.

Inmates help reclaim tailings dump

"The local chapter could see sediment was a concern in Four Mile Creek, a wild brown trout fishery, so we were able to come up with a small grant of $2,500 to help with restoration downstream or revegetation, plus we can provide volunteers to do some of the work," said Elizabeth Russell of Trout Unlimited.

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1182600925/22

By TRACY HARMON THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

VICTOR - A nuisance legacy of yesteryear's gold mining heyday is being neutralized this summer in an effort to save a watershed that has dumped silt into Four Mile Creek and eventually the Arkansas River.

A huge pile of tailings, mostly fine sand, was piled up in Millsap Gulch two miles south of Victor between 1893 and the 1930s, coming predominately from the Independence Mine which was one of Victor's deepest gold mines. The massive mound of tailings was supposed to be rendered harmless by two earthen dams that would hold them in place, but the dams failed 15 years ago.

Now every time there is a heavy downpour of rain, significant amounts of the silt are washing onto the Bob and Helen Shoemaker ranch about 10 miles south of the gulch. From there it spills into Four Mile Creek, which later dumps into the Arkansas River and ends up in Pueblo Reservoir.

"This is terrible stuff. The silt kills vegetation and the bug life and although I own the water right, I can't use any of that water for irrigating the alfalfa fields," Shoemaker said. "This year was really bad for quite a while, so I am just tickled they will be saving all this water in here."

When it is not raining, the tailings move through the air on wind currents. The wind and water have carved huge gullies into the tailings pile, some of which are 70 feet deep.

The barren tailings are surrounded by a lush landscape of grasses, wild irises, sweet peas, aspen and pine trees. The tailings site resembles a miniature Badlands where precious few plants take root.

"It is unbelievable what the erosion has done. This is a massive project," said Dan Grenard, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) geologist who has been the adhesive force in getting partners together to tackle the problem.

The partners in the restoration of the tailings site number more than 20. Al Amundson of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety's Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program is overseeing a four-month project that should correct the problem by summer's end.

Amundson said a total of 270,000 cubic yards of tailings will be moved to fill in the gullies and the pile will be shaped with a gentle slope that will have a 5-percent grade. After considering more than 50 designs, Amundson said he settled on one that he was able to tweak to provide the "most durable" and low-cost solution.

The rerouted tailings will be covered with 50,000 yards of clay overburden material then topped with bio-solids and revegetated so grasses and, eventually the native aspen trees, will return to the gulch and soak up the rain water.

"The design will allow the tailings pile to shed water laterally as quick as it can into a diversion ditch on each side," Amundson said.

In case of massive amounts of rainfall, a sediment pond will capture excess runoff.

Getting the problem solved has been five years in the making. The tailings are not acidic so the harm to the instream habitat is small.

"It's not like it is killing any critters," said Dave Gilbert, a BLM fisheries biologist. "More money is available and directed to solving acidic problems."

"It has been difficult funding-wise. This project is kind of like an orphan," Grenard said.

Because of the lack of funding available, the project managers decided to ask for help from the Colorado Department of Corrections Vocational Heavy Construction Technology Program based at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility.

"The project is a $1.3 million project but we only have $750,000 to work with - $600,000 from the state and $150,000 from the BLM - so you can see where the inmates come in," Grenard said.

Under the direction of Tom Bowen, inmates are learning how to operate a wide variety of heavy equipment, as well as learning character development traits like good behavior and work ethics. In turn, the inmates earn 60-cents a day, but more importantly, are learning a skill that "when they are released from prison they can make very good money," Bowen said.

Each day, the crew of 20 inmates puts in 10 hours - three of them on travel to and from the site and seven on the ground moving tailings at Millsap Gulch. Every three days, each inmate is assigned a new piece of equipment so each has experience on a variety of machinery.

From Buena Vista, the inmates will be placed into heavy equipment jobs while assigned to a halfway house. They are under contract to save 10 percent of their income for a year and a half after release so they "have a safety net in life and will have something to live on if there are problems," Bowen said.

For years the program boasted a minimal 10-12 percent recidivism rate, but Bowen has seen a small increase of inmates returning to prison after release in recent years because the inmates struggle with drug addiction problems, he said.

"The recidivism rate is still way better than the 30-40 percent state average," Bowen said. "We are teaching them - and hopefully they are going to continue - a new way of life."

Another partner helping with the project is Trout Unlimited, a group of avid anglers.

"The local chapter could see sediment was a concern in Four Mile Creek, a wild brown trout fishery, so we were able to come up with a small grant of $2,500 to help with restoration downstream or revegetation, plus we can provide volunteers to do some of the work," said Elizabeth Russell of Trout Unlimited.

"For me, to knock this out is a joy," Grenard said.

State rules have cut use of groundwater

“There is increasing concern about whether the wells should be regulated. In a report earlier this year, Trout Unlimited’s Western Water Project said unregulated wells represent a growing threat to wildlife habitat.”

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1182600924/18

By CHRIS WOODKA THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Well pumping in the Arkansas Valley has been reduced by a significant amount as a result of changes in regulations that began more than 40 years ago and were accelerated by an interstate lawsuit in 1985.

At the same time, smaller wells exempt from regulation are growing in numbers. Although the volume pumped in those wells is small, there’s a lot of them and their impact could add up.

Prior to 1985, wells pumped an average of more than 150,000 acre-feet of water per year, sometimes up to 200,000 acre-feet. Since then, it’s dropped to 110,000 acre-feet, Water Division Engineer Steve Witte told the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District board Thursday.

“We’re down . . . because administration has diminished the amount available for pumping,” Witte said.

The push to regulate wells first came in 1965, eight years after the state engineer was given responsibility for groundwater flows along with surface water rights administration. Permits were issued for the first time.

After a state Supreme Court ruling in 1968 diminished the state’s authority to regulate wells, the Colorado Legislature passed new laws, leading to regulations put in place during the 1970s. Those regulations permitted pumping three days in seven, but did not limit volume.

Kansas filed a U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit in 1985, prompting closer attention to well regulation. That led to measurement rules in 1994 that required wells to be measured either physically or through a coefficient.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that Colorado well-pumping violated the Arkansas River Compact, the state adopted well rules that required augmentation of groundwater depletion to surface flows.

“There has been a big learning process to get people to think about the pumping that occurs today,” Witte said. “The total depletions include the effects on streams from pumping that may have occurred two months ago.”

The 1996 rules apply to the larger wells in the basin, which include both irrigation wells and some municipal wells. Three well associations provide augmentation for 1,880 wells in the valley.

Augmentation plans come in three types, Witte said.

The first are decreed augmentation plans, which are taken through water court. An example would be the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District’s blanket augmentation plan, which specifies how much water will be depleted and which sources of water will be used for augmentation.

“There are numerous decreed plans,” Witte said.

Throughout the valley, there are 2,910 domestic wells covered by augmentation decrees, Witte said.

The second category are substitute water supply plans. In 2006, such a plan was challenged by cities and senior irrigators in the South Platte basin, creating a crisis when the state engineer ordered 400 wells shut down because they had not obtained decrees after relying on substitute water supply plans for years.

In the Arkansas Valley, the substitute water supply plans for wells have been for emerging or variable uses like hog farms, gravel pits or the ongoing water purification operation at Pueblo Chemical Depot that came into existence after the 1985 case was filed. Most of those eventually will be required to have a decreed augmentation plan.

“He have the advantage of being able to have flexibility in dealing with these wells, so we won’t have the same sort of problem seen in the South Platte,” Witte said.

The final category are “Rule 14 plans,” so-called because the 14th rule in the 1996 regulations spelled out conditions of augmentation. They exist only in the Arkansas River basin as a specific response to the Kansas lawsuit.

The well associations are required to file annual reports on pumping, as well as meeting other criteria.

“Rule 14 plans will probably be around forever,” Witte said. “They are in a sense dealing with older wells. We’re trying to force the newer wells to file for a decree.”

Reduced pumping from wells may simply have changed the way water was used in cases where senior water rights holders also have wells.

“A lot of the water being pumped by wells was depriving senior surface rights within Colorado,” Witte said. “But it becomes a scrambled egg. If a senior irrigator gets less water down the ditch, he pumps more.”

That depends on location, however. On ditches where water supply was more reliable, like Rocky Ford Ditch, wells never played a big part. In other cases, it was difficult to find a place to drill a well, Witte said.

Witte said his staff has located 4,566 high-capacity non-exempt wells that are subject to the rules, with 2,567 apparently inactive.

Smaller wells are exempt from the well rules, but still require permits. There are about 31,600 in the Arkansas basin, not including wells that were built before 1965 and may still be in use.

Domestic wells with under 50 gallons-per-minute capacity in use prior to 1971 are exempt. Additionally, domestic wells under 15 gpm in use since 1971 on lots larger than 35 acres are exempt. Certain commercial wells with minimal use are also exempt, Witte said.

There is increasing concern about whether the wells should be regulated. In a report earlier this year, Trout Unlimited’s Western Water Project said unregulated wells represent a growing threat to wildlife habitat. In Pueblo County, exempt wells have created concern about development near Beulah.

“If you have 100 15 gpm wells, you have a 1,500 gpm well,” Witte told Southeastern Thursday, only half-joking.

He explained that most of the smaller wells are not in continuous use like the larger wells.

“I do suspect the day will come when we regulate them, but I don’t know what form it would take,” Witte said. “It’s unlikely we’d take the same approach. One approach might be to grandfather everything that exists now and then make no further exemptions.”

PUMPED UP

Three major well associations file augmentation plans with the Colorado Division of Water Resources each year, accounting for most of the groundwater pumping in the Arkansas River basin. Here are 2007 requests.

Well association	Wells	Amount
Lower Arkansas Water Management Assoc.	520	58,000 af
Colorado Water Protective & Development Assoc.	1,033	46,000 af
Arkansas Groundwater Users Assoc.	327	7,000 af

Amount figures are projected, in acre-feet. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.

Ritter Appoints Groundwater Task Force

Since last summer Front Range farmers who rely on ground water have been in the news. These farmers use ground water rather than surface water resources to irrigate their crops. Unfortunately, these sources are not always reliable, putting their crops and property values in jeopardy. Earlier this year Governor Ritter attended a public meeting in Wiggins, Colorado to hear from those who have been the hardest hit. Following that meeting, as many of you have likely heard, the governor appointed a 23 member task force to address the South Platte Groundwater issues.

The group will try to address the critical water shortage along the South Platte which was precipitated by many factors including the 2002 drought. The effects of the drought -- along with several technical and legal factors -- increased the scrutiny of water court cases and increased the tension among water holders, making it increasingly more difficult for some junior water right holders to pump ground water.The first meeting of the special South Platte River Basin Task Force, will be held on June 29th at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley. The public and the media are encouraged to attend. The Task Force will hear public testimony and comment between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. The June 29th meeting in Greeley will start at 9:30 a.m. with a briefing by attorneys Jim Lochhead and Anne Castle, and Assistant State Engineer Dick Wolfe. All three are non-voting members of the Task Force.

The public is invited to provide comment and information to the Task Force between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.  Because of time constraints, interested individuals and groups with shared concerns are encouraged to designate a representative to comment on their behalf.   This will hopefully allow each person who wishes to present to the Task Force more time to speak. A second Task Force meeting, which will be devoted entirely to public comment, will be held on July 16th, from 9 am to 5 pm, location TBA. The task force will make a final report to Gov. Ritter, legislative leaders and the chair of the legislature'a Interim Committee on Water Resources by Sept. 30 2007. To read more about the taskforce go to this article or this press release.

June Mine Restoration Notes

Elizabeth RussellColorado Mine Restoration Coordinator

Snake River/Penn Mine:  Things finally seem to be moving along.  The EPA and State (CDPHE) are spending $250K on site treatment design and more characterization this summer.  Now that the model AOC has been released by the EPA, we can move forward on a draft of that document for the Penn Mine.  We are helping to form a foundation that will be responsible for the long term O & M at the site so that TU can get a notice of completion once the treatment system is constructed.  I’ll spend a bunch of time this summer helping with recon and sampling.

Colorado Gulch, Leadville:  Good news here!  The BLM gave us $25,000  for our bioreactor and we also received an EPA grant of $57,000 (Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Innovative Technologies grant).  So far we have raised $115,000 cash and spent $13,000 so far on the bench scale test.  With the EPA’s AOC released, I will be helping Colorado Mountain College and the EPA come to an agreement at the site (the college will do the long-term O & M and be responsible for construction – we are just raising the money).  It looks like we can begin next spring if the legal work is done.  I’m still waiting to here on another $30,000 in grants.  We will likely have to raise some more money, but we don’t know yet because the design work isn’t done.  This will be the West’s first Good Sam mine cleanup project that treats water so it’s really exciting and important.

Millsap Tailings:  TU is just a VERY small part of this project.  We contributed $2500 of the $650,000.  The reclamation began last week and is expected to last 1-2 months.  I’m helping the local TU chapter on getting some good press.

Red River Mines, New Mexico:  It looks like TU will help with the clean up of 1-5 small mine sites on private land in the Red River watershed.  This is great news for TU’s mining work since we will be entering into a new state.  Also, we will partner with Amigos Bravos and the Santa Fe TU chapter.  I’m currently waiting for the final engineering designs and cost estimates from the Forest Service.  I just have to figure out how to raise the money we’ll need.  I’ve already talked with an attorney at EPA Region 6 and they are excited to have a Good Sam cleanup in that region.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED BY WEDNESDAY: HELP PROTECT THE ROAN PLATEAU

Last Friday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a Record of Decision authorizing oil and gas leasing atop the Roan Plateau in western Colorado. CTU is reviewing the details of the final Record of Decision, but it is based upon the BLM's plan in its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - a plan that failed to include adequate protections for fish and wildlife. The BLM's decision effectively dismissed the concerns of hunters, anglers, and conservationists who were troubled by their proposed plan and final EIS. It came despite a request from Colorado Governor Bill Ritter for a 120-day delay, to allow his administration time to review the plan and coordinate with BLM on issues and concerns. The BLM appears committed to moving forward - and quickly - to issue leases atop the Roan.

This Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up the Interior Appropriations bill, and to consider an amendment proposed by Representatives John Salazar and Mark Udall, that would place a funding restriction on BLM that would prevent them from issuing leases atop the Roan Plateau in the next year. The amendment would provide a much-needed "time out" to allow Congress, the Ritter Administration, conservationists, and other stakeholders to work with BLM on a more appropriate long-term plan for the Roan. Please contact your Representative, let them know that you are an angler (also a hunter if you hunt), and urge them to vote "Yes" on the Salazar/Udall proposal for a one-year funding limitation for leasing on the Roan Plateau. If you live in Representative Salazar or Udall's district, please contact them and thank them for their leadership on this issue. It is okay to leave a message after hours. A list of Colorado's delegation and their contact information appears below. You can also email Governor Ritter to thank him for his support of conservation on the Roan.

BACKGROUND:

Within the Roan Plateau there are some of the singularly most remarkable and unique natural creations in Colorado. There is an abundance of deer and elk that spend summers on top of the Roan Plateau and for whom the cliff areas along the southern and eastern sides of the plateau provide essential winter range. The top is a mix of rolling grassland, aspen and spruce forests and unique hanging gardens. In three of the streams exists very rare conservation populations of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout - populations of high genetic integrity that are highly valuable in conservation and recovery of the species. On the western side, these same streams tumble from the Roan as two of the highest waterfalls in Colorado.

In the midst of the ongoing energy development boom, the Roan Plateau has been an island of refuge - until now. The Roan Plateau lies atop some of the most dramatic cliff scenery in Colorado. The Roan Plateau comprises a very small area by comparison to the rest of the public and private lands being opened for energy development. It should also be noted that 80 to 90% of the gas beneath the Roan Plateau can be reached by directional drilling from around the base with no need to drill from the top. There is simply no need to sacrifice sensitive habitats in order to secure energy resources.

Unfortunately, the BLM issued a proposed management plan for the Roan that calls for drilling along the top. The plan's habitat protections are woefully inadequate. For example, while "no surface occupancy" sounds like a high level of protection for sensitive watersheds, in areas to be protected by "no surface occupancy" restrictions the BLM plan would actually allow surface occupancy for oil and gas development for two years or more! Publicly-touted limitations on the extent of surface disturbance at any given time actually refer to active construction - far more of the Plateau will actually be occupied at any given time. And most troubling: the BLM's own analysis indicates that loss of the cutthroat trout populations is a likely result of their proposal.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and Senators today and urge them to support the Salazar/Udall amendment to protect the Roan Plateau now, before BLM sells leases and sets the Roan on an irreversible course for habitat degradation and fishery loss. The BLM recently issued its Record of Decision for the Roan, so the need for Congressional action is urgent - otherwise, leasing could begin as soon as this fall!

To learn more about the Roan Plateau and CTU's concerns with BLM's plan, visit our Roan Plateau web page. A copy of Governor Ritter's letter to the Secretary of the Interior also appears below.

CONTACTS:

House of Representatives

1st District: The Honorable Diana DeGette (303) 844-4988 (Denver) or (202) 225-4431 (Washington); or comment online

2nd District: The Honorable Mark Udall (303) 650-7820 (Westminster), (970) 827-4154 (Minturn), or (202) 225-2161 (Washington); or comment online

3rd District: The Honorable John Salazar 970-245-7107 (Grand Junction), 970-259-1012 (Durango), 719-587-5105 (Alamosa), 719-543-8200 (Pueblo) or 202-225-4761 (Washington); or comment online

4th District: The Honorable Marilyn Musgrave (970) 663-3536 (Loveland), (720) 494-4336 (Longmont), (970) 352-4037 (Greeley), (970) 522-1788 (Sterling), (719) 456-0925 (Las Animas), (970) 867-4414 (Ft Morgan), or (202) 225-4676 (Washington); or comment online

5th District: The Honorable Doug Lamborn (719) 520-0055 (Colorado Springs), (202) 225-4422 (Washington), or comment online

6th District: The Honorable Tom Tancredo 720.283.9772 (Centennial), 303-688-3430 (Castle Rock), 720-283-7575 (Littleton), or 202.225.7882 (Washington), or comment online

7th District: The Honorable Ed Perlmutter (303) 274-7944 (Lakewood), or (202) 225-2645 (Washington), or comment online

Governor Bill Ritter:

email to: Governor.ritter@state.co.us

Governor Ritter's letter to the Interior Department:

June 11, 2007

U.S. Department of the Interior

Secretary Dirk Kempthorne

1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Kempthorne:

I am writing today to express my extreme disappointment with your decision to deny the State of Colorado’s request for a 120-day period to review the Roan Plateau Resources Management Plan prior to your issuing the Record of Decision. I am equally disappointed by your decision to lease the Roan for oil and gas development at this time.

As a new state Administration, we requested the limited additional review time to have the opportunity to recommend approval or modification of the plan, particularly with the enormous public concern over future leasing decisions. As you know, the Roan is a place of exceptional environmental and recreational qualities, and is of great importance to local communities. The 75,000 comments received by the Bureau of Land Management during the public review process reflected a 98% desire to refrain from leasing the top of the Roan. Your decision to ignore these public comments and limit my Administration’s participation in the process undermines efforts to build what should be a cooperative federal/state relationship.

Equally concerning is your immediate push to lease the Roan at this time. The Plateau is surrounded by other BLM land where the agency has already committed to extensive drilling. For example, your White River Management Plan adjacent to the Roan calls for 22,000 new wells over the next 15 years. The nearby Glenwood/Kremmling Management Plan calls for an additional 15,000 new wells. The Little Snake and Hiawatha Management Plans call for 6,000 additional wells. These projections are additive to tens of thousands of wells projected on nearby private lands. With approximately 120 rigs currently available in Colorado, it will be many years before the Roan would be needed to meet additional demand. There is absolutely no reason why certain special places, like the Roan, cannot be deferred for leasing while these other projects go forward.

BLM Director James Hughes’ reliance on the Naval Shale Oil Reserve statute as the reason for expedited leasing of the Roan is clearly a misstatement of the law. Nothing in the statute prevents deferring leasing decisions during the near term. In fact, BLM’s original set of alternatives for the Roan included “no-drill” options.

Similarly, Director Hughes’ reference to an earlier Colorado Department of Natural Resources plan for the Roan omits the fact that an election was held in Colorado, and that I lead a new Administration. The citizens of this State are concerned about the management of our public lands, the scale and pace of energy development, and the ability of our local communities to plan for and manage the extraordinary impacts that inevitably come with increased leasing and extraction. I am intent on finding the balance between protecting our environment, traditional economies, and special places with allowing and planning for responsible future oil and gas development.

Your decision has led me to take a more active role in working with Congressmen John Salazar and Mark Udall, as well as other members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation, to support funding limitations on the Department of Interior’s Appropriations Bill, or other legislation that will restrict BLM from going forward with leasing of the Roan during the coming year.

Finally, I share Director Hughes’ concern about the impact of his decision on the cooperating agency relationship between Colorado and the Department of Interior. This relationship must be based on a mutual respect for our respective values and missions. In the past, this relationship has worked to overcome initial disagreements and to find mutually acceptable land management plans. Unfortunately, the Department of Interior’s actions on the Roan undermine this past spirit of cooperation.

Sincerely,

Bill Ritter, Jr.

Governor

The Denver Post - Roan drilling sets up a fight

Reps. Salazar, Udall will seek one-year delay

By Nick Martin Denver Post Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 06/11/2007 12:32:08 AM MDT

var requestedWidth = 0; Some of Colorado's top elected officials are preparing to battle a federal agency over its plan to allow drilling on vast amounts of the Roan Plateau.

if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } U.S. Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar will try this week in Congress to put a one-year hold on the plan, their staff members said Sunday.

Meantime, Gov. Bill Ritter said he will back the congressmen's efforts. He criticized the Bureau of Land Management, which announced Friday that it would lease 70 percent of the plateau for drilling without giving state officials time they sought to review the plan.

"No harm would have come from (the extra time)," Ritter said by phone Sunday from South Dakota, where he is attending the annual Western Governors' Association meeting. He added, "We're hoping that Reps. Salazar and Udall would be able to delay that funding."

The delay would come from an amendment the congressmen will try to add to a bill giving the BLM more than $1 billion. The bill is expected to reach the House floor this week.

The political wrangling began last week, when the bureau told Ritter it would not give his administration an extra four months to review its plan, seven years in the making, that allows companies to lease land in the Roan wilderness area and drill for gas.

Some of Colorado's officials felt the way the announcement came down was brash.

"I thought it was pretty arrogant, frankly, to release the plan when they did," said Alan Sala zar, Udall's chief of staff.

But on Sunday, a spokesman for the BLM's Glenwood Springs office, which oversees the Roan Plateau area, said the agency was just doing what Congress had ordered it to do.

"Right now, we're under direction from Congress to lease it," said spokesman David Boyd. "But should we get new direction, then we'll follow it."

Boyd said there is a 60-day period during which anybody can comment on the plan. At the end of the period, the bureau will review all comments and act accordingly, he said.

Residents who live near the plateau have long been concerned about added drilling in the area.

"This is just a very pristine piece of land that people are concerned about because it does generate money for the local economy," said Salazar spokeswoman Tara Trujillo.

But Boyd emphasized that the plan was the result of years of meetings and talks with residents and local officials in and around Rifle, Glenwood Springs and Parachute, and the counties of Garfield and Rio Blanco.

Neither Ritter, nor the staffers for Udall and Salazar, would say explicitly what should be done with the Roan Plateau. But none ruled out drilling.

As Ritter said: "That's the whole reason that we wanted the extra time."

Good Samaritans could be answer to old mines

By ROBERT E. ROBERTS

Something big happened in Washington, D.C., this week - something with the potential to move the earth - actually to move contaminated dirt and rock, and a lot of it, in communities throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

You may not have noticed, but on Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency released a “Model Good Samaritan Agreement” for its regional offices to use to encourage volunteer efforts to clean up contaminated mine sites. This action is a long-awaited policy tool that will help accelerate the pace of environmental progress in watersheds across the West.

There are an estimated 500,000 abandoned mines nationwide, mostly hardrock sites, and most in Western states. These sites - piles of crushed rock and barren areas tinted with telltale shades of orange, yellow and red - litter the mountainsides in historic mining districts. They often contain harmful metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium or zinc. When it rains, and when snow melts, the acid runoff they produce can render local rivers and streams lifeless.

EPA and its partners have worked on this problem for decades, and we have been able to clean up many of the biggest and worst mine sites by making the companies responsible for pollution pay for cleanup actions. But for most of these sites - called “orphan sites” - the company that operated the mine is long gone. There is no responsible party to fund the cleanup.

An unintended consequence of the Superfund law is that volunteers who want to clean up such sites face the possibility of taking on responsibility for all the past and future pollution. These Good Samaritans have nothing to do with the pollution that has already occurred or will occur. And they certainly have no interest in contributing to further pollution. But the size of the potential liability they may take on by working on the site makes most of them unwilling to take on such projects.

EPA's release of the Model Good Samaritan Agreement is a big step toward eliminating that obstacle. This tool will allow Good Samaritans who want to work on orphan mines to enter into agreements with EPA that minimize the Superfund law liability concerns. Beneficial cleanup projects, many with blueprints that have been sitting on shelves for years, now have the green light to proceed.

As one watershed group leader from Colorado exclaimed upon hearing the news, “It feels like someone has taken my handcuffs off.”

President Bush and the EPA are clearing legal roadblocks to help protect America's watersheds. While additional obstacles for Good Samaritans remain, legislation that will provide further relief for mine cleanup projects is now pending in Congress. Our continued progress on this issue is good news for everyone who cares about clean water.

Robert E. Roberts is regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, which includes Montana.

70% of Roan to drillers

The ruling allows immediate drilling on the Western Slope plateau for a likely mother lode of natural gas. Foes consider lawsuits.

By Nancy Lofholm Denver Post Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 06/09/2007 12:25:16 AM MDT

From the halls of Congress to living rooms in Garfield County, criticism is being heaped on the Bureau of Land Management for its decision to allow immediate drilling on nearly 70 percent of the Roan Plateau.

The controversial plan, announced Friday after a more than seven-year battle, places restrictions on drilling and puts some areas of the plateau along Interstate 70 west of Rifle off-limits. But critics charge the decision was made without proper comment and ignores requests from Gov. Bill Ritter's office and some of Colorado's congressional delegation to hold off on drilling.

"BLM's decision contradicts years of public involvement and should not stand," said Duke Cox of the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance, one of the groups considering a lawsuit to block implementation of the decision.

The decision pertains to more than 50,000 acres of the 73,602 acres included in the Roan planning area. The other 21,000 acres are being set aside for two more months of public comment.

The plan allows only 350 acres of the plateau to be drilled at one time. Drilling will take place in stages and will be done directionally to minimize surface disturbance.

Evan Dreyer, a spokesman for Ritter, expressed strong disappointment that the BLM issued the decision without giving the governor time for review as he had requested last week.

"This is one of the most important public-policy questions facing the state of Colorado right now. There was no imminent crisis. There was no reason for the BLM to rush a decision on this," Dreyer said.

"We are now reviewing all of our options."

Sen. Ken Salazar, who had joined Ritter in asking for a four-month review of the Roan Plateau Management Resource Plan, said he will look at options to stop the imminent drilling.

"The BLM has failed to establish a pressing need for such a rushed process and immediate development," Salazar said.

The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, the only group publicly applauding the decision Friday, issued a statement saying the plan provides "limited and balanced energy development" of what the group considers probably the richest unleased reserve of natural gas in the Lower 48 states, holding enough natural gas to heat 4 million homes for up to 20 years.

The Roan has been a flash point in oil and gas development in the Piceance Basin because the plateau soars to 9,000 feet in places and is home to rare fish and plant species. It is one of the few nearly untouched places in an area dotted with 20,000 gas wells. The Roan has long been used for hunting and recreation. Some drilling has taken place on private land on the plateau.

The plan approved Friday was crafted nearly a year ago after more than five years of public-comment gathering. Of the 75,000 comments submitted, 98 percent opposed drilling on the top of the plateau.

None of the plans the public reviewed were chosen.

Instead, a group of cooperating agencies, including the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, issued a plan in 2006.

The public did not have a chance to comment on that plan.

In releasing the record of the decision Friday, the BLM called the plan "the result of a highly collaborative public-planning process."

BLM opening Roan Plateau to drilling

By Nancy LofholmDenver Post Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 06/08/2007 02:43:52 PM MDT

var requestedWidth = 0;

if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } The Bureau of Land Management will open up the Western Slope's Roan Plateau to gas drilling under a decision released today.

Drilling at the plateau, west of Rifle and north of Parachute, will be restricted and done in stages.

Under the decision, only 350 acres of the plateau can be disturbed at one time. No drilling will be allowed on steep slopes, and most of it will be done directionally, which causes less surface disturbance.

The BLM also said no drilling will be allowed now in 21,034 acres of critical habitat. Those acres are being set aside for more consideration.

The Record of Decision was released after several years of tussling between the Bureau of Land Management, the oil and gas industry, and environmental and conservation groups, as well as local municipalities and state and federal representatives.

There has been heavy opposition to drilling on top of the plateau, which holds some critical habitat and unique fish and plant species.