Jun 13, 2006 3:55 pm US/Mountain
Sen. Salazar Seeks Delay On Roan Plateau Drilling
DENVER (AP) ―
Senator Ken Salazar wants the Interior Department to delay release of a final management plan for the Roan Plateau.
The Democrat wants extra time for the public to weigh in on what he says are new proposals for energy development on the western Colorado landmark.
Salazar said in a letter Tuesday to new Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne that his staff has been briefed on a proposed leasing program, but the public hasn't had a chance to review or comment on its specifics.
Salazar asked Kempthorne for a 60-day delay.
The Bureau of Land Management expects to release a final environmental impact statement on the Roan Plateau later this summer. BLM spokeswoman Jamie Gardner said the agency's final recommendation will be a modified version of one it endorsed in the preliminary plan released in 2004.
The BLM endorsed a proposal in the draft management plan that would allow 51 wells drilled from 39 pads on top and more than 1200 wells drilled from 363 pads below.
The BLM oversees more than 73,000 acres of federal land on the Roan Plateau, which straddles Rio Blanco and Garfield counties. Environmentalists, hunters, anglers and town and city councils from surrounding communities oppose drilling on the public land on top of the plateau.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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