OCR Text |
Show Open-pit oil shale mining controversy argued byColoradoans (Special to the Vernal Express By Helene C. Monberg Washington Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., told a group of Western Colora-doans Colora-doans here on Oct. 2 he is willing to allow the off tract lease desperately needed by the sponsors of the Colorado oil shale lease C-a, "but I don't want a lot of open pit mines in Colorado" of any type. The C-a oil shale tract in the Pi-ceance Pi-ceance Basin of Colorado is expected to be mined by the open pit method. John Vanderhoof, head of Club 20 in Grand Junction, immediately challenged challeng-ed Hart. In an implied criticism of Hart, who has held up action in the Senate Energy Committee on an oil shale leasing bill pending a possible agreement with Sen. William L. Armstrong, Arm-strong, R-Colo., Vanderhoof said in most of Northwestern Colorado, "operation of underground mines does not make economic sense" in developing develop-ing either oil shale or coal deposits. "We have to stop all of this diddling around, this mickey-mousing. We have to proceed with development by the most economic method," and that method is open pit mining, Vanderhoof told Hart. Later Vanderhoof told the press the time had come to pass a permanent oil shale leasing bill. He indicated the same thing with the Western Colora-doans Colora-doans meeting with Hart when he said, "we have to set the philosophy for year 1992, for year 2000. We must assure investors in-vestors that the oil shale industry is for real." Hart was somewhat startled by Vanderhoof's outburst as he had been . giving the Western Coloradoans a philosophical pitch on why there should be oil shale development in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, basically to make America less dependent on oil from the Persian Gulf area. Hart denied that he had been a prima donna in blocking the passage of an oil shale bill last year. He blamed the blocking of a House passed bill which would have allowed off tract leasing on someone from the area. (A Senate minority staffer ultimately blocked further fur-ther action on the bill after Hart had held up the bill in the Senate, on grounds that the terms offered to C-a j for the second lease on which to dump waste and build oil shale facilities were too stiff. ) Hart said he had held up consideration considera-tion of the new House passed oil shale bill in the Senate Energy Committee because he hoped to work out a compromise com-promise with Armstrong "as we did on the (Colorado) wilderness bill last year." Hart said he would agree to larger tracts in other states if needed, but he said the present limit of 5120 acres per lease in the Piceance Basin in Northwestern Colorado "should be more than enough" for a successful oil shale operation. Hart said he favored allowing C-a to have an off tract lease so that it would not have to dump its waste and build facilities on top of rich oil shale deposits. He said he favored phased in oil shale leasing. But he cautioned the Western Coloradoans not to expect any one source of energy to make America energy independent. "It will take a combination of oil and gas, oil shale, coal, nuclear and solar. No single energy supply can solve our problems," even if we continue to conserve con-serve energy, as we have increasingly in recent years, said Hart. He put a dig into the Administration for its pro-nuclear pro-nuclear stance, at a time when it is cutting cut-ting back on other energy outlays, including in-cluding support of solar energy and energy conservation programs. "I think it's making a mistake" in reversing revers-ing a long standing policy by three prior administrations to decontrol oil and gas gradually, encourage synthetic fuel and other alternative forms of energy, including in-cluding conservation, Hart said of the Reagan Administration. Hart called oil shale development "the biggest issue facing the state." He said he doubted that so many companies com-panies would come to him to discuss various methods of in situ oil shale development if that technology didn't show promise. No way would he favor the plan put out by Exxon a couple of years ago providing for massive oil shale development, particularly open pit mining, he indicated. Vanderhoof said there are not more than "15 or 20" companies capable of leasing of oil shale, not more than "1 or 2" would bid on another prototype lease, and in any event nothing is going to happen soon "because the technology hasn't been developed" beyond the pilot stage yet. But when it does come, to be successful, suc-cessful, it will have to be by open pit mining, Vanderhoof maintained. That is the only kind of mining method which gets high production per miner and is less risky to the miner, Vanderhoof said. The Colo-Wyo Coal Mine near Meeker is far more productive than underground mines in the Missouri Basin, he said. The main reason why industry in-dustry wants to mine in Wyoming's Powder River Basin is the large amount of coal close to the surface he noted, so it can be strip mined. Armstrong told the Western Coloradoans Colora-doans at a lunch on Oct. 1 arranged by Reps. Ray Kogovsek, D-Colo., and Hank Brown, R-Colo., that he had talked talk-ed to Sens. James A. McClure, R-Idaho, and John Warner, R-Va., about oil shale legislation "last night on the Senate floor" that he probably would not sponsor spon-sor a comprehensive oil shale bill, but he favored off tract leasing for C-a's a 5120 acre limitation on the size of a Colorado Col-orado oil shale lease and one lease only per lessee. This stance is not in line with the no new lease views of Hart's nor is it in line with the long term leasing program authorized by the House passed oil shale bill or the Warner bill now awaiting mark up in the Senate Energy Committee. Armstrong concedes a long term leasing program is inevitable. Steven Saunders, Hart's natural resources specialist, asked Tom Glass of the Northwestern Nor-thwestern Colorado Council of Governments, Govern-ments, to report Armstrong's views to him. So, obviously there is no agreement agree-ment at this point between the Colorado Senators on oil shale legislation. |