OCR Text |
Show OPINIONS "W- BUREAUCRATS HOLDING UP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? From the number of press releases, politicians conferences and bureaucratic side-stepping during the last few weeks, it would seem that the Bureau of Land Management Manage-ment especially the higher echelon is willing to go to any lengths to achieve their goal of reorganization. Developers of Utah alunite, Kaiparo-wits, Kaiparo-wits, Idaho potash and Utah coal properties have complained to state and federal legislators legis-lators and Governor Rampton that BLM is not processing permits and completing environmental en-vironmental Impact statements. They claim that the Dept. of Interior is dragging its feet on site selection. The developers claim they are ready to start construction on the various projects immediately, providing thousands of Utah and Idaho jobs, but they are unable to move without the necessary permits and approval from these agencies. Delays are costly. With inflation soaring, soar-ing, it's estimated that a year's delay could cost as much as 25. This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back making construction so costly as to discourage development de-velopment entirely. The bureaucratic process is slow at best, but since the proposed reorganization of the BLM was met with uniform protest throughout Utah, the process has nearly stopped. We would hope that the bureaucrats will not hamper an already sick economy in a power play to get their way despite the wishes of nearly all the people. "Red" |