OCR Text |
Show Government Lifts Moratorium on Tar Sand Leasing A 15-year moratorium on federal tar sand leasing has been lifted and the Bureau of Land Mangement in Utah has been directed to prepare to lease tar sand tracts. Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph in making the announcement an-nouncement lifting the moratorium urged prompt passage of the bill sponsored by Representative Gunn McKay (D-Utah) to remove statutory impediments im-pediments to tar sand leasing. Joseph directed that preliminary leasing actions, which must be done whether or not the legislation is enacted, be initiated immediately. Officials are instructed to begin meeting with Utah state and local governments, govern-ments, industry, environmental en-vironmental groups and other parties to determine deter-mine their interest in tar sand development. Also, baseline data will be collected for expected preparation of an environmental en-vironmental impact statement. There are an estimated 30 billion barrels of tar sand oil in the United States with about 75 percent of the resources on federal lands with 90 percent of these being in Utah. Areas containing tar sand v. ill be excluded from the simultaneous oil and gas leasing program and from over-the-counter oil and gas leasing until two months after enactment of H. R. 7242 is enacted or Congress adjourns. If legislation is not enacted this Congress, Under Secretary Joseph said the Department of the Interior In-terior will proceed with all tasks necessary to issue tar sand leases. He directed Guy Martin, assistant secretary for land and water, to develop a schedule for offering such leases. Because of the preparatory work necessary, BLM Utah State Director Gary Wicks said it probably will be more than a year before any leases can be issued. Five general areas, all in east-central and southern Utah, are considered the most likely to be involved in a tar sand program. The five areas, from which two will be chosen as locations where leasing will begin, are identified as Asphalt Ridge, Sun-nyside, Sun-nyside, the Tar Sand Triangle, Cricle Cliffs, and P.R. Springs-Hill . Creek. "Any tar sand leasing we ultimately conduct i must, in its initial stages, be on a limited basis until we gain a better understanding un-derstanding of the environmental en-vironmental con- sequences of tar sand development," Under Secretary Joseph added. The U.S. Geological Survey will make a formal finding of designated tar sand areas within Utah and the BLM will analyse those areas prior to a decision by the Department of the Interior In-terior to choose two of them as locations for the new leasing. Joseph said tar sand could provide an ad ditional energy source in helping to meet the national goal of 500,000 barrels a day of synthetic fuels by 1987 and two million barrels a day by 1992. Existing regulations will be reviewed to determine whether ad ditional rulemaking is needed for issuance of either combined hydrocarbon leases or separate tar sand leases, or to "grandfather" existing oil and gas leases in the tar sand areas to allow tar sand development on them. |