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Show 6 Ygrfial ExprCSS Wednesdoy, August 20, 1986 iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiininiiinniiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiniiiiii!!!iiiiiiiiiin!i!i!iiiiiiii!iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii!ii!!iiiiiiNiii!iiii Tridell Lorna McKee Phone 247-2350 Western Resourc DC WRAP-UP iiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiii Oil shale, mining law hearings by Helene C. Monberg, Vernal Express Washington D.C. Correspondent Washington The hullabaloo raised over the Interior Department's decision deci-sion on Aug. 4 to allow 525 mining claims on 82,000 acres of oil shale land to go to patent for $2.50 an acre in the Piceance Creek Basin in Western Colorado Col-orado has prompted Chairman Nick Joe Rahall, II, D-W.Va., of the House Mining Subcommittee to introduce legislation to cancel such patents. Title to this publicly owned oil shale land would go to Tosco Corp., Exxon Co., Union Oil Co. of California, and Phillips Petroleum Co., among others, under the Interior Department decisions deci-sions to settle a long-standing legal dispute over the claims. Officials of the Departments of Interior and Justice and representatives of the various claimants signed the settlement settle-ment agreement on Aug. 4. It has not yet been approved in court. Rahall is going ahead with his bill in any event. "I plan to introduce the bill this week and to hold hearings on it in my Subcommittee in September," Rahall told Western Resources Wrap- up (WRW) on Aug. 12 following a heated hearing in the House Interior Committee over Interior's Aug. 4 decision. Earlier, Rahall had stated at the Interior In-terior Committee oversight hearing, "I have with me a draft bill which I intend in-tend to introduce. ..in the near future that will effectively invalidate those claims which have not fully and completely com-pletely been maintained under the (mining) law. I would ask the Interior Department to withhold issuing any patents until Congress considers this legislation." His draft bill provides that no oil shale placer claim shall be treated as maintained in compliance with the 1872 Mining Law for purposes of perfecting the claim to patent unless annual assessment work on the claim has been performed "fully and completely" com-pletely" and unless there is an economically or commercially feasible feasi-ble method of extraction and production produc-tion of shale oil from oil shale. No such method currently exists. It provides that if there has been substantial compliance with the annual an-nual assessment work requirement, the claim may be converted to an oil shale lease under the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act. If the claim is not converted con-verted to a lease, or if assessment work has not been performed fully and completely, the claim is cancelled and compensation equal to the amount that the claim holder can demonstrate was expended for assessment work must be paid to him by the Secretary of Interior. Public oil shale lands are leasable under the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act. But oil shale mining claims that were located under the 1872 Mining Law as the claims involved in the settlement settle-ment were can still go to patent under a savings clause in the 1920 act. HEARING IS TWO-DIMENSIONAL The Aug. 12 House Interior Committee Commit-tee hearing was two-dimensional. Colorado Col-orado Democrats hammered away at Interior for "a give-away" of oil shale lands to oil companies and speculators. And several members of the Committee, Com-mittee, including Rahall, Chairman Morris K. Udall, D-Ariz of the House Interior Committee, Chairman John F. Soiberling, D Ohio, of the House Public Lands Sulx-ommittee. and Sen, Gary Hart, D-Colo., a witness wondered aloud whether the time had come to update the 1872 Mining Law. Charging that Interior should have continued to contest the claimants' right to patent these oil shale claims, Hart told Members of the House Interior In-terior Committees, "I hope you will Join me in seeking legislative opportunities oppor-tunities this year to block implementation implemen-tation of this settlement. Beyond that, I will do anything I can to see that future Congresses clarify the Mining Act and block any extension of this boondoggle." Hart testified, .Vibcrlmg had already made an effort ef-fort to stall the settlement by introducing introduc-ing an amendment to the l'.W" Interior Deportment Appropriations bill tHH 52.14) which would have given Congress Con-gress 13 legislative days to review it before it could go Into effect. But Rep, Michael L. Strang. H Colo., knocked it out ss legislation on an appropriations bill when Scibrrling brought up his amendment on the House floor on July Ju-ly 31. fceiberling said at ttie Aug, 12 hearing hear-ing the basic premise of the 1RT2 Mining Min-ing Imw was to "develop" lands on whit h mining claims had vn lorated. Hut it was being subverted by Interior in allowing lands in the settlement to be patented even though there was no likelihood that oil shale lands would jt.'n p Miaie nil in decades, he said. Assistant Interior Secretary J. .Steven Criles trstified for Interior at the oversight bearing When asked alxitjt the mining law. he stated. "I J,;.. I. t; i. v "i -' " " r.'-r; 1 nv t n legitimate question." Later he told Udall, "I would be pleased to discuss it with you." After the hearing Western Resources Wrap-up asked Griles whether he favored updating the 1872 Mining Law. He replied, "I don't think it is desirable to change the 1872 Mining Law, but it is something we'll review" at the Interior Department. What are the chances of the ancient law being changed? WRW asked William L. Shafer, the senior staffer on the House Interior Committee who was responsible for the Aug. 12 oversight over-sight hearing. "Let's put it this way," Shafer replied. "The last time the Chairman (Udall) tried to change the mining law (about 10 years ago), he got clobbered. I dont' think he would want to try it again until he was in his last term in Congress." Udall is currently cur-rently running for re-election. Hart and Rep. Timothy E. Wirth, D-Colo., D-Colo., who is running for the Senate seat that Hart is vacating, roasted Interior In-terior in their testimony for allowing oil shale land in Rio Blanco and Garfield Gar-field counties to go to patent. Wirth, in particular, questioned the secrecy that went into the settlement. Democratic Congressional candidate can-didate Ben Nighthorse Campbell attended at-tended the hearing after he had held a press conference in front of the Interior In-terior Committee hearing room early Tuesday morning. Campbell is running runn-ing for the Third District House seat that Strang now holds. Campbell urged urg-ed the Committee to hold a hearing in Grand Junction, Colo., so that interested in-terested local witnesses could attend, as Interior did not allow officials stationed sta-tioned in Denver to testify on Aug. 12. MORE TO COME The committee does not plan at this time to hold any field hearings, as requested re-quested by Campbell. But Udall warned warn-ed Interior Department officials that he was unimpressed with their response to his request for witnesses and data; they face possible subpoenas. As chairman of the House Interior Committee, Udall on Aug. 5 asked Interior In-terior Secretary Donald P. Hodel, Interior In-terior Under Secretary Ann Dore McLaughlin and Griles to testify on Aug. 12. Udall also requested several officials from the Denver office of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Regional Solicitor's office, who opposed the settlement, to appear at the Aug. 12 hearing for questioning. Udall asked Interior to submit certain documents questioning the proposed claims settlement. Griles was Interior's In-terior's sole witness. The Department provided only a portion of the documentation requested with restrictions restric-tions as to its use, but it has promised to supply other information sought by the Committee. As Udall began the Aug. 12 hearing, he stated since he has been chairman, "This is the first time the Department has denied the appearance of a witness requested by this Committee. I doubt if the Committee will let this issue rest. While the Committee has not found it necessary" in the past "to compel a witness to appear by issuing a sub-peona, sub-peona, I want you to know that option exists and will be considered," Udall warned. He is also considering asking the Committee to issue a subpoena for more documents pertaining to the claims, according to the Committee staff. The Committee wants to know why the Department acted as it did in allowing so much land in western Colorado Col-orado to go to patent, Udall underscored. "In my opinion, this is a giveaway. It is unacceptable. History will mark it for what it is-a real estate fire sale without a fire. While I do not equate this action with Teapot Dome" scandal of the 1920s, Udall said, "I wonder if it may not at least be a 'Teapot Bubble'. ..If ever sunlight and exposure were needed to illuminate il-luminate any recent decision involving the disposal of public resources.this is it," Udall stated. INTERIOR'S CASE Several Interior Department observers, some of whom have worked work-ed for the Department and know the background well on the oil shale claims in question, have told WRW they think Interior's decision to settle the case was sound, but that It goofed In how it handled the settlement. Shafer asked the Department for a briefing on what the settlement entailed entail-ed last month. Interior sent up two BLM officials from the Washington office, of-fice, who, In Strang's words, "stonewalled." Shafer was furious. When Interior learned about the Seilierling amendment, it quickly settled the case on Aug 4. after negotiations had gone on in secret for fllwiut 14 months. When Shafer sought certain documents from the Department, t'nder Secretary McLaughlin denied them lo the Committee as privileged information under the "attorney-client" "attorney-client" relationship, on the advice of f- viiirS.i' , ; t Ralph W.Tarr, even Merkleys visit in Logan Mr. and Mrs. Clyde E. Merkley went to Logan this week to attend the John Merkley family reunion. The reunion will be held at the home of Margaret Merkley. Owen Goodrich, Rigby, Idaho., has been visiting at the home of Rae Goodrich. Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Betts are moving mov-ing to Las Vegas, Nev. Mr. Betts has been employed by Ron and Merlin McKee. Emily and C.J. Betts are visiting in Alaska with their father, John Chapman. Mrs. Clark McKee is a patient at the Duchesne County Hospital in Roosevelt with spinal meningitis. Laura McKee, small daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas McKee fell from a swing Wednesday and broke her arm. Clint McKee was taken to the Ashley Valley Medical Center this week for stitches when a cow kicked him in the face. Jeff Shumway, Laie, Hawaii, has been a visitor at the Darwin McKee home. Donald and Wade Haslem, Salt Lake City, are home to enjoy the bow hunt in the mountains. Isola Haslem left Thursday for Bountiful where she will take care of her mother, Elizabeth Morrill, while Mr. and Mrs. Norman Angus are on vacation. Mr. and Mrs. Preston Taylor attended attend-ed the wedding of their grandson, Wayne Bowden and Diane Leavitt in Rangely Colo., Saturday night. though public lands were involved. That set the stage for the confrontation on Aug. 12 with the Democratic-controlled Democratic-controlled House Interior Committee. Many of the oil shale claims have been involved in court battles for a quarter century or longer. Judge Sherman Sher-man G. Finesilver of the U.S. District Court in Denver on May 1, 1985, ruled in Tosco Corp. v. Hodel for the claimants and against the U.S. government govern-ment on all issues. He ruled the claimants, who held nearly 100 claims totalling about 15,550 acres of oil shale land in Western Colorado, had substantially complied with the mining min-ing law and had a right to patents on their land. He said former Interior Secretary Stewart L. Udall acted without due process in 1964 when he tried to change the rules under which such claims could be patented. (The former Secretary is the older brother of Rep. Udall, chairman of the House Interior Committee.) Finesilver also recommended that the parties try to negotiate a settlement of their longstanding long-standing dispute rather than continue it in court. The government and the claimants in this case and similar cases started negotiations, as urged by Judge Finesilver, more than a year ago. Under their Aug. 4 agreement, the government will convey title to 82,000 acres of oil shale land in Western Colorado Col-orado in fee simple, but the claimants will then reconvey to the federal government all rights to oil, gas and coal deposits underlying the land, The claimants also agree to honor current rights-of-way and grazing leases while they are in effect, and to make their land accessible for hunting, other recreation use and for other purposes when access is needed. The claimants agree not to use the surface area for non-oil shale activities for 20 years, as oil shale development is listed as the paramount purpose for the patents. The government water rights in the area will revert lo the state. Griles stressed to the Committee that the agreement was good for the government, as the government had w eak grounds on which to appeal. "It is very easy for those who do not like the law," which allows claimants who fulfill mining law requirements to get land free on the payment of a filling fee of $2.50 per acre, "or the court's inter-pretion inter-pretion of that law to say 'Appeal until un-til hell freezes over,"' Griles told the Committee. "But for those us who are resMnsible for making the decision, we must deal with the real world. What we gained through the sediment process served the public much better than a 'high risk roll dice' appeal," Griles testified. Even Udall and Seiberling. both respected attorneys, conceded on Aug I the Department's decision, "may be legally defensible." though they labelled it "morally wrung." Roth Griles ami Strang pointed out that even If all of these claims are patented. M percent of all the land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming classified as oil shale lands will remain re-main in government hands. Strang said the county commissioners of Rio Blanco and Garfield counties welcomed welcom-ed having additional lands on their tax rolis and were backed by other coun- ipf) f ( . -r 4 K , f s j 5W If 1 .1 ATTORNEY JOHN ANDERSON keeps a tight split by John Laursen. Dr. Jim Allen is not about grip on the 1st place Poop Scoop ribbon being to lose his share of the honor, either. Rodeo Committee to meet for annual wrap-up party confab The horses and bulls are back in their pasture and the dust has settled from the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo, but the rodeo committee has already begun plans for next year. A wrap-up party for the committee members and their guests will take place tonight at Dr. James Allen's home where the experiences in putting put-ting on the 1986 Rodeo will be discussed discuss-ed over a barbecue dinner and during a social hour. At final accounting this year's rodeo was proven to be a big success and events surrounding the rodeo were also outstanding. Many of the participants in the festivities commented com-mented on the high quality of the parade and rodeo performances. ties in Northwestern Colorado. Strang said from 1920-1960 some 2,326 oil shale claims covering about 350,000 acres of land went to patent under the mining law without any Congressional Con-gressional "hue and cry at that time of 'giveaway'. There was no Congressional Congres-sional investigation or demagrogery" at that time," he said. So what's the beef? Strang wondered. nun That's why, advertisers, it PAYS to appear in The Vernal Express READ twice weekly in over 5000 a t One of the events that attracted a great deal of attention was the Poop-Scoop Poop-Scoop competition between local doctors doc-tors and lawyers during the parade. A public vote to pick a winning team was taken which ended in a dead heat between the two teams. Now the competitors have decided that the contest must go on and a grudge match will be staged during next year's rodeo week. Just exactly how that will be carried car-ried out is still open for speculation but rumors of a "pitch-off" at the rodeo grounds have been circulating. Certain equipment and props for this event are being "gathered" from strategic pastures around the county. Vernal City SECRET WITNESS Program 789-8888 "He who p D y on ks fro buy newspaper will reod his purchase" !.i t a wihiui 1 (I J I CI The tongue-in-cheek Poop-Scoop was the first of its kind ever staged, according to historic documents. It could easily become a legendary annual an-nual challenge between the local healers and legal beagles. Some concrete con-crete plans for the event are expected ex-pected to be laid at the wrap-up party this evening when team captains Dr. Jim Allen and attorney John Anderson Ander-son square off over a plate of barbecued beef. According to members of the rodeo committee, they are committed to improving the rodeo every year making mak-ing it one of the largest summer events in the Uintah Basin geared to attracting the tourist dollar and helping help-ing boost the economy. IIH"' J"U"!'I1 .' itenlf ill it nirtjl mrt) homes. ICED |