BLM’s Long Contested Roan Plateau Plan Retains Options for Oil, NatGas Development

摘要

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado on Tuesday released the final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) and proposed plan for the long-controversial Roan Plateau in Western Colorado that is highly coveted by producers and naturalists alike. The final SEIS and the proposed plan cover an area of about 73,800 acres of federal lands, including the 56,000 acres of Naval Oil Shale Reserves. The resource management plan (RMP) amendment and final SEIS cover the Roan Plateau Planning Area located in parts of Garfield and Rio Blanco counties. Under the proposed plan, the area atop the plateau that includes 17 oil and gas leases canceled in 2014 would be closed to any leasing. Two remaining leases on the plateau and 12 below the rim retained in a settlement two years ago remain open to leasing and development.