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Show I THE ZEPHYRDECEMBER 1991 IU The Groene Report $ I Seismic. LI . an- d- The lut Zephyr Watchdog chlrpad that it waa weti bacauaa a settlement reached between SUWA and the BUI would protect archeology In Montezuma Canyon In aoutheaatom San Juan County. Wefl, the warm and fuzzy feellnga ware prematura. The San Juan BUI Resource Area (SJRA) manages one of the richest locales for archoology under BUI Jurisdiction. It has boon estimated that there are aa many as 200,000 archeological altes In the SJRA. According to BUI documents It Is now difficult to find a single one of those shea which has not bean disturbed or destroyed by development, recreational use, pot hunting or energy exploration. A 1985 study found that the overall trend In condition of cultural resources In the SJRA waa downward. That trend has since continued. Between August 28 end September 11, the SJRA approved dozens of mties of aelamle Hne In the Montezuma Canyon area which has been designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by tiie BUI ostensibly to protect the vast amounts of archeological resources there. Within the project areas Is Alkali Ridge National Historic Landmark, which la nationally known for Its wealth of Basketmakar and Pueblo village sites with an estimated density of 200 sites per square mile. The SJRA, Ignoring SUWA's requests for a public comment period, approved the projects without public Involvement and based on pitiful environmental analysis1 which contained Nttie If any consideration of the consequences of the BLM's decisions to approve the work. The refusal to allow public Involvement Is consistent with the SJRA's past track record: In the past six months the SJRA has refused to allow public comment on approximately 85-9-5 of the EAs prepared for projects slated for BUI land. SUWA filed notices of appeal which blocked the seismic work. The operator approached SUWA and In amicable fashion agreed to pay an Independent archeologist to monitor the seismic lines and then the areas when the work was complete to ensure that archeological altes had not been damaged (SUWA has been told that this is regularly done by the BLM In Colorado). The Department of the Interior's solicitor signed the agreement which bound the BLM to amend the operating agreements for seven seismic projects In the Montezuma Creek area as to require the operator to take these steps. The BLM should have Imposed these conditions without SUWA filing an appeal. BLM managers frequently explain that the agency lacks the funding necessary to protect the public's lands. Here, the oil and gas Industry would have paid for the work necessary to help protect a diminishing resource. The SJRA then approved an additional 45 some miles of seismic lines in the same area without requiring that the work be monitored aa the agency had agreed In writing. The agency has since also refused to amend the operating agreements on the six other projects in violation of the settlement agreement SUWA dropped the appeals In good faith. All the BUI had to do was amend the operating plans to require that the monitoring work be performed. But given the chance to take this positive step, the SJRA reneged. It should be noted that this problem occurred before the new district manager, Roger Zortman, took over In Moab. Mr. Zortman has already shown a willingness to work with the public to solve problems and to create an environment where other concerned BLM staffers can do their Jobs to protect the public's lands. .V 1 I PAGE 23 b J'. 'j re-surv-ey ii f! 4r' - Just send that subpoena to Stiles. That's Jackson Hole Custom Color Lab a photo lab Have your desert photographs IL enlarged in the (S shadow of the Tetons. Why sipecaeO des GCae DoacaD wlheira you out ofi Down? Colleen Thompson and D.J. Bassett, proprietors Box 2889 150-- D Scott Lane Jackson WY 83001 CERTIFIED MAIL-RETU- RN RECEIPT REQUESTED Certificate No. P 760 007 459 Robert J. Pier Columbia Gas Development P.O. Box 848 Moab, Utah 84532 Dear Mr. Pier: r r; i r ' w ' f... V-- . Our office has completed e field Inspection at Columbia's 28-- 1 location on September, 24, 1991. We have found that you are not In compliance with 5 and 6 of your Conditions of Approval relative to Initial pad and access construction. The access road haa been blocked off entirely with debris from the ped construction, preventing vehicular passage. This rosd closure was not authorized. The access road to the well pad has not been sprinkled with water as needed to control dust, and stabilize the sandy soli. It has been our experience that If heavy equipment continues to use the roads, without water being applied on a regular basis, they deteriorate and This ultimately results In unnecessary nearly become Impassable. degradation of the road and adjacent undisturbed areas. We heve also found that archaeological Site 42GR2369 was effected by recent blasting activities during well pad construction. Several pieces of debris landed within the site boundaries Impacting some of the diagnostic features of the she. In addition, the dusting has made It nearly Impossible to Identify surface lithlc artifacts. By eliminating the access road, there Is no buffer between the she boundary and your well pad. Conditions of Approval 4 states: "Following rehabilitation of the well pad, BLM will check the condition of she 423GR42389 against its condition. Should the condition of the she prove to be altered during tills period, the site will be excavated and the cost of this mitigation will be borne by "Columbia." The blasting was not mentioned In the Thirteen Point Surface Use Program. Had we been aware of the blasting activity during pad (Post-Drillin- Forest Service: Invertebrates for the day Some traditions are hard to break. Like federal agencies caving In to the demands of southern Utah county commissioners. A U.S. Forest Service travel plan Issued recently for the La Sal mountains closed a motorcycle trail. The Grand County commissioners were upset by the closure and protests were filed, but the decision to close trail was upheld on appeal. Then the Grand County commissioners threatened to stop plowing a forest road used by local skiers to access Gold Basin unless the trail was opened to motorcycles. Although closing the road would have hurt Grand County skiers and businesses Instead of the USFS, the agency went belly up In the face of the commissioners' threats. The forest supervisor has agreed to reconsider the trail closure this spring, Just months after the USFS spent tax dollars to produce a nifty three color forest travel map showing that the trail was closed. The decision to close the trail has been finalized and upheld on appeal. The Forest Supervisor undoubtedly knows that reversing the closure decision Just months later would be arbitrary and a well written legal challenge would protect the status quo. But the fact that the county commissioners ultimately won't get their way does not dim the Impression that the commissioners can bully the Forest Service Into bad decisions. g) " - - t . .u it f im . W JlLMaSBBS 733-645- 6 Sincerely yours, Brad D. Palmer Area Manager Bureau of Land Management on . 307 construction we would have required mitigation to occur before well pad construction activities. The condition of the site has changed. We now require that you Initiate the treatment plan for excavation of the site as soon as possible. To date we have experienced a cooperative relationship with Columbia and hope to continue. It Is Important that you contact this office upon receipt of this letter. non-produce- rs. f; Gsaoiniey ecuraoBmy com semefl nfl I Word Is that the Meridian and Chevron wells on Hatch point will be shut In as However over on the Island In the Sky plateau It appears the eecond Columbia well near Dead Horse Point haa struck a reservoir capable of production. Columbia now haa two potentially producing wells, but the corporation has had Its problems. On the 28-- 1 well near the Knoll, Columbia violated Its conditions of approval regarding pad and access construction, according to a letter from the BLM Grand Resource Area. Columbia used explosives during pad construction, without the BLMs knowledge, and the blasting sent debris onto an archeological site eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the letter, the BLM would have required Columbia to mitigate damage to the site before pad construction had It been known the corporation Intended to use explosives. your S |