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Show r I Son Hart urges Fieagan to go slow on oil shale leasing ! wcUlto'heVen.alExpress Helen CMonberg ; , -hinatoo-Sen. Gary Hart, D-i D-i Wresident Reagan Aug. ' 'Uolaia about a snub by Interior S SG. Watt and to urge : fSJan to go slow on oil shale fould be premature and to undertake a major ex- Mit the oU shale leaSlng a " Hart wrote the President. ffl Was the only Senator in the mutate Mountain area of the West 'Silted from a list that Paid Ldl of the Interior Department fflSional liasion office sent out to violative assistants of Senators trmW e Mountain West to Sfbread with Watt and discuss Jcmon Interior problems Aug. 27. colors' aides were invited from all j the other offices representing inzona New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, spada,' Wyoming and even Montana, ri two Democratic Senators. And, of the office of Sen. William L. rastrong, R-Colo., was represented his natural resources expert, David JKsen- It wasn't clear why Hart was snub-itd snub-itd The official reason was that he had ut signed a letter initiated by Sen. Malcolm Wallop, R-Wyo., on predator cairol which went to the White House iiie time age and Hart was the only Westerner not to sign. There were some ideations it might have been an oversight. Whatever, it was a missed opportunity. Watt was at the breakfast with the i senate aides that showed up (all did ' u, and questioning covered a wide range of issues. The three issues covered on the "informal agenda," as Jensen called it, were predator control, rJd horse damage to the range, and iiterior Department appropriations. "But we got into all manner of problems," said James Magner, legislative aide to Sen. Dennis DtConcini, D-Ariz., told the press after j k meeting. "We talked a lot about ' later water projects, federal reserved water rights, and Indian iter rights," he said. Jensen said the legislative aides also vok up a number of issues of particular . wrn to their states,' including i firing problems. Being a bright group tf;oung Westerners, they came with a 'tadry list" to talk to Watt about, teen indicated. In any event, Hart complained to the ftle House about being shut out of the reeling. "This is unfortunate because ' subjects discussed are at least as mportant to the people of Colorado as Jy are to the people of the other tem states, and because I and the members of the Senate's Western million have always approached regional issues in a bipartisan lon," Hart stated. He used the wasion to urge Mr. Reagan to take Wain actions in areas of particular rn to the Mountain West. They ' as follows: N Sale: "it would be premature w foolhardy to undertake a major JWsion of the oil shale leasing JPjm. Instead, the Administration support and Congress should f J legislation to remove some " ""'"or obstacles to orderly oil veloprnent and to provide new tea that oil shale development " V sSCe ,n 8 itemed fashion," - S!mpact Assistance: The Sh0uld suPPrt and fj should enact the energy - impact assistance bill which Senate passed last year," and which Hart has reintroduced again this year. Hart said, "This legislation would improve the delivery of federal services under existing programs, and would provide $3.5 billion in loan guarantees, loans and grants to state and local governments govern-ments and Indian tribes." Surface Mining: "The Office of Surface Mining should not be reorganized as proposed by Secretary Watt," as it as planned, "would undercut un-dercut the effectiveness of the surface mining control program," Hart said. Watt is closing the Denver office on Sept. 1 and moving it to Casper, Wyo. In-Lieu Tax Payments: "The Administration Ad-ministration should support full funding fun-ding for the Payments-in-lieu-of-taxes program" of slightly more than' $100 million a year. "The funds are crucial to county governments," he said. Water Projects: "The Administration Ad-ministration should support the construction con-struction of new federal water storage projects in the West.. .It would make it possible for energy development in the West to proceed." Land and Water Conservation Fund: "The Land and Water Conservation Fund should continue to be used for new federal and state acquisition of parkland and open space," Hart said. The Administration plans on expanded ex-panded oil shale leasing program. It supported a $45 million payment for the in-lieu tax program, and, at this point, does not support energy impact assistance or funding for new water projects anywhere in the nation. Moreover, the latest word is that money is going to be even tighter in the future than it has been in the past. "The problem (of big government and federal deficits) is even greater than we had thought," Jensen stated. As to new park purchases, Watt wants to put them off now and concentrate con-centrate on park maintenance. OPERATION CARE LABOR DAY WEEKEND In a continuing effort to make holiday driving safe, the Utah Highway Patrol will again implement im-plement "OPERATION CARE" for the Labor Day weekend. The program is a cooperative effort with surrounding State Law Enforcement Agencies to reduce the number of holiday traffic fatalties. The Utah Highway Patrol will place special emphasis on enforcement of the major accident causing violations such as following too closely, improper lane change and failure to signal, but place the problem drinking driver as a priority. With the use of aircraft and moving and stationary radar, troopers will be strictly enforcing the 55 MPH speed limit. The tragic deaths of five people during the last 4th of July weekend indicates in-dicates that a concerted effort from the traveling public is needed to reduce this needless loss of life. "Voluntary Compliance" to all traffic laws by Courteous, Caring Drivers can prevent the same tragedy during this holiday weekend. Turn on your headlights for better visibility and to show other drivers you "Care". |
