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Show Moss Defends Shale Work Against Environmental Attack The Federal Government Govern-ment owes the State of Utah 157, 000 acres of oil shale leases, "but we find ourselves now cast in the category of suspicion sus-picion by a carpetbagger from Colorado," Utah Senator Frank K. (Ted) Mos.i said The Senator took Utah's Ut-ah's case to oversight heal ings before the Subcommittee Sub-committee on Minerals, Materials and Fuels. He took issue with a statement state-ment by a Colorado environmentalist, en-vironmentalist, Ms. Carolyn Car-olyn Johnson, who spoke before a House subcommittee subcom-mittee last week. Moss said she charged the Interior Department with duplicity, alleging that while the Secretary (of Interior) talked of an experimental prototype program, the Department kept from the press and public, information about a land exchange in Utah involving oil shale lands. Moss charged quite the opposite. "The Department Depart-ment of Interior has delayed de-layed unconscionably in completing these long-pending long-pending applications," said Moss. The Senator gave the following explanation of Utah's claim to the lands in question: "As every member of this Committee from a public domain state knows, the Congress, in 1891, gave to these public land states for school purposes Sec. 1G and 36 in every township. The State of Utah, in legislation legis-lation passed in 1902, was granted in addition Sec. 2 and 32. "In those instances where the grant of these sections could not be completed, the State under un-der existing law selects 'other lands of equal acreage' ac-reage' (see 4 3 USC Section Sec-tion 852). Title 43 USC Section 852 provides that where lands are mineral in character and are lost to the State, the State may select other mineral lands. "The State of Utah made application for 157- 000 acres of mineral lands for mineral lands lost. Most of those applications appli-cations have been pending since 1965 and 1966. "Title 43 USC Sec. 852 (2) provides that the determination de-termination of mineral value shall be made as of the date of application. 1 am advised that the State has done all that is required re-quired of it to have these selections approved. The Department of Interior has delayed unconscionably unconscion-ably in completing these long - pending applications." applica-tions." Of the statement be- fore the House last week Moss said, "Ms. Johnson's John-son's statement before Congressman Mink's subcommittee is long on rhetoric and innuendo of evil, short on fact and totally lacking in an understanding un-derstanding of the indemnity in-demnity statutes affecting affect-ing public domain states." The Senator said he supports the oil shale leasing program and added, ad-ded, "I have long been an advocate of oil shale development because I believe Americans are capable of the technology required to obtain crude oil from the kerogen in the shale and at the same time adequately protect the environment." Moss said he has asked ask-ed the Department of Interior In-terior to begin a study of the social impact of oil shale development on Utah, Ut-ah, Wyoming, and Colorado Colo-rado because, "It is perfectly per-fectly obvious that development dev-elopment of an oil shale industry in a sparsely settled region will cause important demographic changes." Two parts of the leasing leas-ing program ought to be reconsidered, according to Moss. He said he questions ques-tions whether the Federal Government would receive re-ceive a fair royalty under the current provisions considering the fluctuating fluctua-ting world market. He also questioned the wisdom of the current plan for 20-year spans between opportunities for adjusting the terms and conditions of the leases. |