WASHINGTON — Western Slope mayors and community leaders are fighting mad at Rep. Doug Lamborn.
The Colorado Springs Republican is pushing to open up land to oil shale development in their communities without taking into account local impacts, they say. In addition, Lamborn’s Pioneers Act — which mandates 125,000 acres of public land for oil shale development and exploration — gives local communities and the state lower royalty rates than traditional oil and gas leases.
“It’s not a good deal for us,” said Rifle Mayor Jay Miller, a Republican. “We’re not against oil shale or gas development here, we just want it done in a way that doesn’t drive us into the ground.”
Mayors and county commissioners say they’re concerned about many parts of Lamborn’s proposal, including the fact the promise of oil shale is merely speculative and it has no viable commercial market yet. Lamborn’s measure passed out of a House committee this week.
Lamborn says the Obama administration has virtually shut down the promise of oil shale development and that his bill gives communities hope that someday oil shale would be a great domestic energy resource.
The U.S. holds more than 1.5 trillion barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“I think it’s a great step forward,” Lamborn said. “I regret the Obama administration has been basically shutting the door up until now.”
But Western Slope leaders are worried that, if oil shale ever does start to make money, tiny towns like Rifle will not be able to to keep up on road and water-treatment plants’ wear and tear. They’re also worried about water rights: If oil shale becomes viable, the need for water in the desert could pit energy companies against residents and agriculture.
“None of us have ever said we’re opposed to energy development,” said Jim Spehar, a former Grand Junction mayor who is working with other Western Slope leaders on energy issues. “It’s how it’s done and keeping the communities whole.”
Lamborn said he didn’t know the Western Slope mayors and community leaders were trying to contact him. He said he didn’t receive their December letter or a message from any staffer after they tried to get a meeting with him when they visited Washington last fall.
“Someone is not telling the truth and it isn’t me,” he said, from his D.C. office Thursday. “I’ll meet with them at anytime. That’s not the issue. Now that I know about it, I’ll meet with them tonight.”
GOP House leadership packaged Lamborn’s Pioneers Act with a handful of other measures as revenue streams for highway and infrastructure funding, even though oil shale has yet to make any money.
Lamborn said Thursday that oil shale, “is not a real contributor to the highway transportation needs we have. It could be a contributor to the energy supply.”
The Obama administration has 30,600 acres already set aside for oil and gas exploration, according to Western Resource Advocates. Some oil shale is being successfully mined in Utah, but it’s a different process there because it’s not so deep into the ground.
The legislation also would revive the 2008 Bureau of Land Management push to open 2 million new acres in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming for oil shale exploration. Much of that land is already devoted to exploration of oil and gas, but Matthew Garrington of the left-leaning government watchdog group Checks and Balances Project says there are wilderness-quality areas in the mix, too.
“Rep. Lamborn can’t say with certainty what the impacts of oil shale are, everything is within the research and experimentation stage right now,” he said. “Right now, it’s just a gamble.”
Allison Sherry: 202-662-8907 or asherry@denverpost.com
