OCR Text |
Show PAGE 24 THE ZEPHYRNOVEMBER 1992 BLM spanked by its own Administrative Court No additional Oil and Gas until EIS is Written. When an oil and gas boom looked possible one year ago, dtizens complained that the BLM was failing to adequately plan for oil and gas development nor of Canyonlands National field development would have significant Park. Specifically, we argued that the ongoing advance which arms should be drilled, and BLM decide in must that environmental impacts, and which should not. BLM ignored those warnings, and approved an oil and gas pipeline to serve the island in foe sky area, a pipeline which would be built to support a production field. ' the canyon country watch dog The Groene Report GROENE IS BACK Book Cliffs Road . However, BLM did not first write the required EIS SUWA appealed the decision, and on October 1, 1992, the Interim Board of Land to approve the Appeals found that Grand Resource Area Manager Brad Palmer's decision BLM must study impacts pipeline violated federal law. The administrative court found that the of the pipeline, and that as that as well to of the oil wells the pipeline was designed serve, the oil and gas from significant impacts were likely to remit to archeological resources 28-development (Columbia had already set off explosives while drilling the 1 well one year ago, without BLM's knowledge, and sent debris onto an archeological site eligible for listing on the National Historical Register). Mr. Palmer, rather than complying with the administrative court's order, went back, reworded, and then reissued his decision to approve the pipeline on October 23rd. A skunk by any other name would smell the same. SUWA has again appealed this decision. . Changing Faces A hearing on the Book Cliffs Road was held in Moab on November 17, and the crowd was decidedly opposed to spending 0 million dollars of our tax money in order to build a shorter road to Duchesne. Hie EIS which studies the proposed road concludes the new route would provide little benefit while destroying important big game habitat Nonetheless, BLM (hose die alternative of paving existing pathways up through the Book Cliffs, a compromise which satisfied neither the Grand County Road District which wants a new highway, or many citizens erf Grand County, who by and large would rather see the money spent on schools, hospitals, or some such. According to BLM documents, the BLM Moab District has allowed road proponents to improperly lobby ENSR, the contractor hired to write the EIS. First, in a document dated March 16, 1992, from the BLM Vernal District Manger to Roger Zortman, the Moab District Manager, it is stated that "the transportation districts and ENSR continue to contact each other directly and it appears from your memorandum that they may be doing so with your Zortman's approvaL . . Under the NEPA process, the proponents of the project, in this case the counties and transportation districts, must not have any access to the preliminary draft EIS." Unfortunately, it appears the Moab District allowed the unethical interference to continue. In a memorandum dated June 12, 1992, again from the Vernal District to Mr. Zortman (and which is reprinted in full in this month's Zephyr), it is stated the road proponents were continuing to contact ENSR directly. Further, the Vernal District Manager expressed concern that it was possible that the behavior of the EIS BLM coordinator was "highly unethical and probably illegaL" Grand County citizens are not alone in the opposition to the proposed highway. The road requires a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers (because the proposed road would destroy wetlands). In a letter dated October 13, 1992, the Corps stated that based on federal law it "would be difficult to issue a Corps of Engineers permit for the proposed route". 30-10- Ed Scherick, longtime manager for the BLM's San Juan Resource Area, has been to shipped Montana. At this writing no replacement has been named Gene Nodine, who was the BLM's Moab District Manager until forced to resign, has resurfaced on the Grand County Roads Spedal Services District board Mr. Nodine has now made public his effort to push for the Book Cliffs Road, a project Mr. Nodine presided over as District Manager. Mr. Nodine appears to have lost none of his hearty spirit for controversy, and stated in the November 16, 1992, Salt Lake Tribune that: . ? "anytime an environmentalist says I'm opposed to it. I'll always take the opposite point of view, whether its development, motherhood or sex." (For the record this environmentalist is against development in our untrammeled canyons. I definitely favor Mom, and am leaning towards sex). BLM Scorecard: Fencing Us in During 1991. The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for the stewardship of over 22 million or acres, 42, of the State of Utah. Annually the agency kindly tabulates its "accomplishments". For example, 48 miles of livestock fence was constructed across Utah BLM land in 1991. This brings the total mileage of fence strung across Utah BLM land to 8,115 miles. BLM Scorecard: Cows v. Wildlife in 1991. estimates there are a total of 1,665,000 animal unit months (AUMs) of forage available on Utah BLM lands. (An AUM the amount of forage eaten by a cow and calf in one month). BLM distributes these AUMs as follows: BLM 1,331,000 251,528 Domestic Livestock Wildlife am not sure how BLM adds 1,331,000 and 251,528 to get 1,665,000, but perhaps sneaky prairie dogs are getting the missing forage. Regardless, BLM gives roughly 85 of the grass to the cows and domestic sheep, leaving 15 for wildlife). (I Under BLM management the numbers of desert bighorn sheep on BLM lands have steadily declined from 1500 animals in 1988 to 713 sheep in 1991. BLM Scorecard: How the land was "treated" in 1991. 1,550 acres of Utah BLM land were "treated" in 1991. "Treatments" indude plowing, chaining, seeding, spraying or intentional burning. The Utah BLM has now "treated" a total of 663,023 acres of our land. Oil and Gas around Moab- - It may be Back. It appears that Columbia Oil and Gas may have hit production levels of oil with their most recent and fourth well in the island in the sky area between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. If the rumors are true, then the oil and gas industry may renew its interest in drilling wells, building roads, bulldozing well pads, constructing pipelines and scratching out waste pits on the mesa west of Moab. Lease holders Chevron and Coors pulled out of the area several months ago, dting business reasons (A federal court had already slapped a restraining order against the BLM Grand Resource Area and Coors mice in the last year when Coors tried to drill along the Gemini Bridges trail in Little Canyon. Coors announced it was moving elsewhere the day SUWA went to file a second court case against the Adolf Coors Brewing subsidiary and BLM.) The results of the Columbia well may be confirmed by the time this is printed If the well is unsuccessful, it will probably be the last drilled in the area. But it appears that it may instead trigger more drilling. Election Results. The election of President Bill Clinton will eventually mean a great deal to our public lands. First, the ReaganBush administrations appointed federal judges who subsequently restricted the public's right to challenge federal agency decisions, and are often hostile to environmental interests. Clinton should reverse this trend. Second, the executive branch will slowly be reformed. Under the ReaganBush administration the Department of the Interior became captive to commodity interests, especially the timber, mining and livestock industries. The professionalism of both the Forest Service and BLM suffered as sagebrush rebel yahoos were appointed to top positions. In Utah, a Clinton administration may eventually mean that on-t- h staff will find support, rather than censure, for upholding the law and protecting the beauty of our State. Conversely, when explicitly illegal actions are taken, no longer will the responsible parties find the upper brass willing to look the other way. An example. Last month. Brad Palmer, Grand Resource Area Manager, deliberately refused to heed federal law which controls filming on public, land. Mr. Palmer allowed the makers of the soon to be a classic film, "Slaughter of the Innocents," to dump trash off the side of Castieton tower Into proposed wilderness area, although legally he was required to stop the action once SUWA filed an appeal (this was the first film event SUWA had ever challenged in the Moab area- - SUWA has never stopped a filming event). His decision was ultimately backed by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. In the future, actions such as those of Mr. Palmer's may merit walking papers rather than a pat an the back. It is about time. Nukes in die Canyons San Juan County Commissioners continue their efforts to put a nuclear waste dump in southeastern Utah (Commissioner Mark Maryboy opposes the dump, Commissioners Lewis and Redd favor it). The Department of Energy (DOE) prefers to call die proposed dump a "monitored retrievable storage facility." The "monitored retrievable storage facility" will hold highly radioactive spent fuel roads from nudear power plants. Residents of both Mexican Hat and Bluff have come out against the dump, as has the Navajo Tribe. DOE is faced with a difficult task: trying to find a group of folks desperate enough to take a nudear dump. The agency has set up a sugar laced process to entice rural counties or Indian tribes to accept waste that is too dangerous to leave at the power plants. Phase I erf San Juan County's effort to accept the dump has been extended to die spring of 1993. No town meetings with the DOE mediators have been scheduled for Grand County. If San Juan County gets the dump, the truck loads of highly radioactive waste may be routed down Moats street. . |