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BLM Sued for Approving Utah Gas Wells
Three environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for approving 25 natural gas wells on the West Tavaputs Plateau in central Utah.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition (NMCC) and The Wilderness Society, contends that the wells, approved for Bill Barrett Corp., should have received a more thorough review before they were approved.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May also voiced concern about BLM’s plan to allow drilling in the region until an environmental study was conducted detailing air quality impacts (see Daily GPI, May 30).
Barrett wants to drill gas wells on 138,000 acres in the West Tavaputs Plateau area in the northeast portion of Carbon County, UT. The long-term development includes drilling up to 807 new gas wells on 538 locations over a period of eight years. As each well has the potential to produce gas for up to 20 years, the life of the project could be around 28 years, BLM noted.
The lawsuit contends that the increased drilling would have an adverse affect on Nine Mile Canyon, an archaeological discovery that is home to more than 10,000 known Ancient Puebloan rock-art images and ruins. BLM’s Price, UT, office approved Barrett’s drilling plan under a “categorical exclusion,” which allows certain projects to proceed without a rigorous examination of potential environmental impacts, according to the lawsuit. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, one broad environmental impact statement (EIS) on one drilling application may serve as an EIS for all subsequent requests, the lawsuit contends.
However, the lawsuit contends that BLM failed to properly analyze the harm that more traffic would do to the ancient rock art and other artifacts; failed to include the public in its decision; and failed to consult Native American tribes before approving the drilling plan.
“Nine Mile Canyon is an unusual place full of rock art, prehistoric ruins and historic reminders of Utah’s military, farming and ranching history,” said NMCC Chair Pam Miller. “By using a loophole to issue drilling permits, BLM is avoiding considering the importance of these resources and the impacts of industrial development on our past.”
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