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<br />
<br />fI Views vary on ecological damage from shale mining
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<br />R)" JACK O(~t:'" ,II:.
<br />N",wsS'I>1f
<br />"Despite much cOmrary .....,b;,.~. it ap.
<br />pears .h.t ,he protoryf'e prall,am inl..nt i. to
<br />allow millinl1 to tUn tough'hod 0....,.' wild/if..."
<br />Comment, On Oil Shal.. D~,'..lopme"t
<br />N.tional Audubon Society
<br />The oil shale induslQ" is going to be
<br />tough on the flora and fauna of Colo-
<br />rado's Piceance &1.sin. No OI1P i,;
<br />denying that. But the damage will be
<br />kept to an absolute minimum. The oil
<br />companies have signed slringl'nt, re.
<br />strictive leases. Em'ironmculallv it
<br />couldn't be am' clearer. The\' will have
<br />to toe the line. .
<br />That i! the claim of the rt'deral governmel'lt.
<br />Yet the leases that nan> giwn tMse oil
<br />gIants thl' right to O{IE>n-(Jil min..., und...rmint> or
<br />bury mort' than 10,000 ar",s or wildIH",.rirh
<br />Colorado land are riddlt'd \.I ith loOpho[e_~ that
<br />could emasculate almOst {'\'rry enl'ironmental
<br />pro\'islonin them,
<br />
<br />~H
<br />'.....
<br />
<br />Ttwy are classic ('"amples of I-\hy I-\hen it
<br />COmes to prott"Cting the nation's dwindling wild_
<br />life resource-!, aruent COJiselifatiofli\ts don't
<br />trust the federal government.
<br />In Its leases, contracts and 0 the r agn'e-
<br />ments tor u~e CJl public lanljs. the government
<br />dOf'sn't say simply, "The E'n"ironment will
<br />not bI> damaged. Hut it it is, it will Ill, f't.'lurnrd
<br />to its original state _ :\0 ;-.!Arn:l{ WHAT
<br />TlI!':COST."
<br />The following Is more typical:
<br />"The lesseo shall al'oid, or, wh('re an'lid_
<br />anee Is Impractical, minimize and. whi're
<br />
<br />Last of a series
<br />
<br />praclleal, repair dams",e to tht> environment,
<br />including the land, the wat{'r and the air:'
<br />That, to thl" dismay of conservationists. Is
<br />the precise wording 0[ Sl"Ction H.b of two oil
<br />shale land leases awarded earlier this year 10
<br />the Cult Oil Corp" Standard Oil 0). of Indiana
<br />and a consortium ot oil firms he"uE'd by the
<br />Atlantic Ri("hlil'ld OJ.
<br />The landmark It'as{'s g-h't' thl' oill'offipaniE's
<br />the right to mine a pair of 5,OOO-acrE' tnlcls in
<br />
<br />Tues., M,mh 12. 1974, Denver, Colo.
<br />
<br />Rocky MOllTltllin News_S
<br />
<br />the north ('{'ntral Plceance Basin _ In r.ht" mid-
<br />dle of one of th{' most active golrlen l'aglt' nt'st_
<br />ing areas in the nation and directly 0 nth e
<br />migration COUll'S of the largest migratory mul{'
<br />d("('r ht'rd In the nation, possibly the world.
<br />Oltidals of the U.S. INpartml'nt of the In-
<br />tl'rior, which will ov{'rsel" the oil shall' indus_
<br />try, say Itll')' included St'ction l1-b in the It'<lsE's
<br />so oil firms bidding for the tracts wouldn't h f"
<br />discouraged by the Possibility of astronomical
<br />('n\'ironmenlal rt'pair costs. S{'ction 11.b gi\"{'s
<br />them an out l! E'cological damage gets out of
<br />hand.
<br />That W8j I n the days v.-hen Dl'partment or
<br />Inlerior officials belicVE'd that the oil Cnmpa_
<br />nie-s belie\"l'd the oil Shale busine~s was a
<br />shaky nnture. One Intl'rior official prl'uicted
<br />the highest bid tor the choicest Colorado shalf'
<br />tract, callf"d Ca, would be $9 milHon. Another
<br />said s:;o million. The Winning bid was roof{'
<br />than $210 million, and recE'ntly oil ex('clllh't's
<br />ha\'{' l'stunatM that shalE' in C-.a and C-b mil-;ht
<br />urin!!; gross re~'enues to S~5 billion.
<br />111{' hlankE't l{X}phole offered by Sectinn 11..0
<br />is one of man)..
<br />For I"xample, it thl're Js en\'ironml'nlal
<br />
<br />damage that can be rl'palred "practically," but
<br />repair costs will be "E'xtraordinary," the oil
<br />COmpanil"s. may crt'dit the rests against the
<br />shale royalties Ihl'y will be paying the gO\'E'm_
<br />ffil'nt. In otrn-r words, extraordinar)' environ_
<br />meot"l ('"()Sts will tJ{' borne by the taXpa){'N.
<br />The Departml"nt ot thl' Intl'rior has dedded
<br />to let thl" oil firms do their own environmental
<br />monitoring. It will be thE'ir rE'sponsibility to find
<br />OUt Ilnd reporl when, for cxamr>l{', an eagle
<br />eyrie fnl'stl has been deslro.Yed or a mulE" d('{'r
<br />killE"d. or \\hl'n coyotes, llushed oft shale lands,
<br />o\"l'rcrowd surrounding lerrain and E'radicate
<br />Ihe rabbit populations.
<br />B,J.' the gm'l'rnmE'nt admission, th{' oil shale
<br />impact ur....n the Piceance Basin's wildlife
<br />might be rf'lt 50 miles from the shale lands.
<br />Ix>cause or the "ripple ('fEet't" _ dispJac{'d ani_
<br />mals pushing olheC"S Ofr land who in turn push
<br />of! others farthl'r from the mining siles. But
<br />lease.. require Ul{' oil companies to monitor
<br />wildlife impact on!,)' as far as 00l' mile from
<br />leas,>d lands and Waste-dis[JOsa! sifes.
<br />(f'()nd\l!lt"d on I'llge 20)
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