Show Colorado oil oI s shale e lease holders holders' hi t j imi 3 14 KIt I ask for two year suspension Gulf Oil Corporation and Standard Oil Company Indiana Indiana In In- diana in a July 2 letter to the Area Oil Shale Supervisor of the Department of the Interior have requested a 24 month 24 month suspension of or operations on Federal Oil Shale Prototype Tract C-a C in Rio Blanco County Colorado The suspension would postpone the fourth and fifth payments of 42 million each for forthe forthe forthe the time of the suspension while allowing the companies t to hold the lease Gulf and Standard leased Tract C-a C in March of 1974 for over million and have made three lease bonus payments totaling more than million Of this amount percent or over 47 million is returned to the State of Colorado where it is put in the Oil Shale Trust Fund for use in aiding those areas arEias of the state impacted by oil shale development TilE THE TWO firms through their operating organization the Denver-based Denver Rio Blanco Oil Shale Share Project have been carrying out environmental mining and processing studies for nearly two years The required Detailed Development Plan which was based on these studies was was submitted to the Area Oil Shale Supervisor of the Interior Department on March 30 of this year Public hearings on the plan were were held in Colorado June Junes 8 and 10 The Federal Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 states that the Secretary of the Interior may grant a suspension of operations in the interest of conservation tion o of natural resources IN TilE THE suspension application application application ap ap- ap- ap Gulf and Standard point out that they will be unable to determine whether or not to proceed with development development development develop develop- ment until the status of the Clean Air Act its standards and the no significant deterioration regulations ns promulgated ted by the Environmental Environmental Environmental En En- Protection Agency are resolved The validity and constitutionality of these no significant deterioration regulations are being litigated and Congress is amendments l to the Clean Air Act Gulf and Standard state that until the air quality questions are resolved it will not be possible to determine whether Tract C-a C development development- can comply with the applicable air ait quality standards Air quality m measurements made in the Tract C-a C area area in 1975 show that natural background levels of ozone particulates and non- non methane hydrocarbons have exceeded existing Federal ambient air qualities standards and are not related d to any kind of development TilE THE TWO companies also pointed out that the Department interpretation interpretation interpretation in in- of the Interiors Interior's current of its lack of legal authority to lease additional Federal land for related facilities and disposal of processed shale and overburden overburden overburden over over- burden will not allow tract development to make the best use of the resources The lease requires the lessee to to avoid wasting the the mineral d and other resources The Int Interior Departments Department's Final FIl Environmental Statement for Oil Shale Lease Program dated August 1973 recognized that of the Federal oil shale leases only Tr Tract ct C-a C is is believed to be amenable to surface development The Statement also indicated a need for off off- tract non-mining non land Uses including processed shale disposal The Final En Environmental Environmental Statement noted that a Special Land Use Permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior would provide the necessary legal authority for forthe forthe forthe the additional land After issuance of the lease the Department of the Interior ultimately determined that it does not have the necessary authority to grant oil shale lessees additional land outside the leased area for disposal sites In order to lo solve this thus problem the Department has proposed legislation which would grant the Secretary the necessary authority Bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress and while hearings have been held on both bills no additional action has been taken Gulf and Standard state in their suspension application that if they are compelled to dispose of all processed shale and to place processing facilities within the tract boundaries ultimate recovery of the oil shale resource would be only one fourth to one-fifth one of what would be the case if off off- tract land use were permitted This would be a waste of the oil shale deposit ACTIONS necessary before development can begin revolve around the needs of Rangely Colorado th the community community community com com- identified as the most advantageous location for the lessees' lessees employees to live Three consulting firms the Foundation for Urban and Neighborhood Development FUND of Denver Gulf Oil Real Estate Estate Development Company of Reston Vir Virginia inia and Morrison- Morrison Knudsen Co Inc of Boise Idaho were hired by Gulf and Standard to assist the of Rangely and Rio Blanco County in planning for orderly growth was assigned specifically to work for Rangely in the development of a master plan for growth That plan is now under review by Rangely citizens ns In order to reduce the commuting corn come muting distance from Rangely to Tract C-a C and to minimize negative environmental Impact impact Im im- pact a new road has been pr proposed posed Funding for the road has been requested from Colorados Colorado's 37 share of the lease bonus payments To date dale the Colorado General Assembly has authorized no appropriations appropriations ap ap- ap for this road from the states state's Oil Shale Trust F Fund nd IN ADDITION to the road Ran Rangely ely needs more space so the community can expand Because the town is surrounded by Fe Federal land legislation by Congress would be necessary before the Department of the Interior Inte could make the land available for such expansion The town of Rangely has formally formally formally for for- mally requested request d the land from the Department of the Interior but to date no legislation has been introduced in Congress The letter accompanying the suspension application noted that a necessary State tate permit to use groundwater from the tract has been held up in a a Colorado water c court urt because of the illness and retirement of the presiding judge A new trial date cannot be reset by the court until the new judge has familiarized himself with the matter Until this matter has been resolved the groundwater m may y not b be withdrawn and appropriated for use use in connection connection connection con con- with Tract C-a C development Other necessary actions including utilities and pipeline way rights of way are referred t to Inthe in inthe inthe the letter The cover letter also notes that at the time the lease was granted it was reasonable to expect that the Federal government would declare and promulgate a national energy policy which would enable the companies to make decisions concerning the commercial feasibility of the project Such a policy would provide a degree of to oil 01 shale development which does not now exist Gulf and Standard requested in their application that they be allowed to continue to gather environmental data during the suspension period in order to complete the year two environmental environmental environmental en en- baseline for the Tract C-a C area which is required by the lease TilE THE NATIONAL DEBT has risen from less than billion to almost billion over the past 10 years Interest on this debt has more than than tripled from 12 billion to al almost almost al al- most 38 billion and is estimated estimated estimated esti esti- mated for next year at 45 billion billion almost almost a billion dollars dollars dol dot lars tars each week Interest outlays outlays' on the national debt now rank rank- as the third largest item inthe federal budget after income security and defense FIXED INVESTMENT IN INTHE INTilE TilE THE US U.S. the U.S.-the the key to expanding expand expand- ing ilg Ol output jobs and and living standards standards from from 1960 to 1973 amounted to per cent cent of real national output placing this country last among the 11 major industrial nations Meanwhile Mean Mean- while white US U.S. capital investment needs needs' over the next decade are estimated at between 4 trillion and 45 trillion trillion three three tin times es that of the p past st decade decad a a |