Environmentalists are bracing for Rocky Mountains debate

Environmentalists are bracing for the debate over energy production to shift to the Rockies now that the Bush administration's proposal to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge appears dead. The US Bureau of Land Management, which oversees 262 mm acres, mostly in the West, has identified five mineral-rich spots in the Rockies.
They are the San Juan-Paradox Basin in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah; the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana; the Uinta-Piceance Basin in Colorado and Utah; the Green River Basin in Wyoming and Colorado, and the Montana Thrust Belt. "With the Arctic Refuge fight over for the time being, I would expect there would be more attention on the overthrust-belt states in the Rockies," said Dave Alberswerth of The Wilderness Society.

The US Senate defeated the plan to drill for oil in the Alaskan wildlife refuge. The House version of the energy bill includes it, but it likely will not survive House-Senate negotiations on a final bill. The West cannot replace the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a source of crude oil. But industry officials describe the Rockies as a "Persian Gulf of natural gas."
President Bush's national energy plan said there is 137 tcf of natural gas in the region, enough to supply the United States for seven years. A key difference between the Rocky Mountain West and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is that Bush needed congressional approval to drill in the Alaskan refuge. The administration can move on its own in many parts of the West.

The Bureau of Land Management is exploring ways to streamline the permitting and review process for companies and remove obstacles to development. During a conference in March in Denver, BLM officials said the goal is to be more efficient while still protecting the environment.
"Our approach is to encourage working with states and local governments," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said. "There is more of an understanding in the West of how development can be done without harming the environment."

But landowners and environmentalists complain the government cannot keep up with existing production on 700 mm acres on minerals. The federal government does not have the staff or budget to make sure companies are complying with environmental laws, critics say. Interior officials have said they are seeking more money for inspections and enforcement.