Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Oil Shale in an Energy Self-Sufficient Nation

News Articles, Politics, Regulations | Posted by rebhan
Nov 12 2012

Combining increased fuel production and reduced oil consumption, the United States is leading a “sweeping transformation” in worldwide energy production and will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil producer by 2017, the International Energy Agency said Monday. If the projection comes near being accurate, it may cast a shadow over plans to develop an oil shale industry in the Western US.

The IEA, a Paris-based agency providing energy policy analysis, projects that the US will become “all but self-sufficient” in energy within the next twenty-years. “North America is at the forefront of a sweeping transformation in oil and gas production that will affect all regions of the world, yet the potential also exists for a similarly transformative shift in global energy efficiency,” said Maria van der Hoeven, IEA’s Executive Director.

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BLM Scales Back Oil Shale Development in Final PEIS

Ecology, Politics, Regulations | Posted by rebhan
Nov 09 2012

The Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Interior have chosen to dramatically reduce the amount of land allocated to the oil shale industry in Shale Country. After months of public comments and hearings concerning the 2012 Oil Shale and Tar Sands Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), the BLM chose Alternative 2(b) as their Preferred Plan, which makes 667,000 acres available for oil shale leasing, down from nearly 2 million acres made available in 2008. The companies will also have to follow the Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D)  process before obtaining a commercial lease.

Following thousands of pages of public comments, the BLM chose to reduce the amount of land made available to the oil shale industry in large part because of environmental concerns over the yet unproven industry. Environmental groups raised concerns about the opening and exploitation of public lands and concerns about how much water the industry would use. Several big-game hunting associations also raised concerns about the impact of the industry on hunting and outdoor recreation.

A coalition of environmental groups filed suit against the previous plan, made under the waning days of the Bush Administration, which had opened nearly 2 million acres of land for commercial oil shale development. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar (D) agreed to take a “fresh-look” at oil shale following the settlement. Alternative 2(b), the plan ultimately chosen by the BLM, had been their preferred alternative from the beginning.

We will have more on what the new PEIS means for Westerners in the coming weeks, as well as reaction from the oil shale industry and environmentalists. To read the Final Environmental  Impact statement, visit http://ostseis.anl.gov/documents/peis2012/.

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Western Communities Wrangle with Oil Shale and its Impacts

Media, News Articles, Politics, Regulations, Water | Posted by rebhan
Oct 24 2012

Western communities along the Colorado River are expressing their concerns about the potential impact of oil shale extraction on their water quality. Some organizations, meanwhile, are claiming that concerns about the industry’s environmental impact are overblown. The Associated Press reports that communities in Nevada and Arizona, as well as Colorado, have sent letters to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar expressing their concerns about the potential growth of the oil shale industry in Colorado.

Nevada state lawmakers Peggy Pierce and Tick Segerblom along with Arizona House Minority Whip Leader Anna Toyar and Arizona Corporate Commission member Paul Newmen sent a letter telling Sec. Salazar that “we believe that a comprehensive study of the cumulative impacts of oil shale development to the Colorado River basin should be conducted before the BLM considers commercial leasing of  public lands.” The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently in the final stages of deciding how much public land in the West will be opened to oil shale development.

Several organizations, including Club 20 and the Colorado River Conservation District, are promoting the merits of the oil shale industry and want to quell fears that many residents and politicians have about the industry. Club 20, a coalition of leaders representing Western Colorado, supports the 2008 Bush-era plan to open up nearly 2 million acres of oil shale land because it “established a reasonable and thoughtful approach to the development of Oil Shale resources in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah,” according to their press release.

Club 20’s stance has been criticized by some because it may have emerged form a mid-October press event that touted the 2008 plan. The event, sponsored by the Environmentally Conscious Consumers of Oil Shale, also included the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, who also supports the 2008 plan. A coalition of environmental groups filed suit against the 2008 plan and the Bureau of Land Management is currently working on a new Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). The preferred alternative in the 2012 PEIS would drastically reduce the amount of land made available to commercial oil shale leasing.

Continue reading to hear from opponents of oil shale development as well as a company who claims to be ready to produce within the decade.

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Commissioners forced to rescind oil shale opposition in face of lawsuit

Politics, Regulations | Posted by rebhan
Sep 05 2012

Garfield County commissioners unanimously voted to rescind their official stance against the Bureau of Land Management’s plan to tighten regulations on the oil shale industry and limit the amount of land made available for development, The Aspen Times reports. The commissioners stance came under fire when two citizen groups filed lawsuits against the commissioners for rules violations at a meeting with other county officials and industry representatives in March.

All three Garfield County commissioners attended the March 27th meeting in Vernal, Utah and released their official stance to oppose the BLM’s Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that will cut the amount of acreage available for oil shale development from a previous 2 million acres to 830,000 acres in Shale Country. The land will only be available for RD&D until the industry can prove their technology economically and environmentally feasible.

The meeting came under scrutiny when it was discovered that industry representatives attended the closed door meeting which was not open to the public. Two citizens groups filed lawsuits to release records from the meeting. Although the commissioners deny any wrongdoing at the meeting and still oppose the BLM’s plan, the commissioners voted to rescind their official stance to try and avoid long, drawn out litigation.The meeting did technically violate rules on public meetings though because a twenty-four notice was not given to the public in advance of the meeting.

Commissioner Tom Jankovsky (R) admits that he made a mistake in posting a notice about the meeting. “That was a mistake made by me,” Jankovsky said. “I would note that we did talk about this four different times in public sessions. We have also been very conscientious about giving notice since that meeting in Vernal.” Jankovsky hopes to bring to vote an official stance to oppose the BLM’s plan again soon.

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Oil Shale Appeal in Limbo as Officials Ask For More Analysis

Politics, Regulations, Technology, Water | Posted by rebhan
Jun 26 2012

A decision on Living Rivers appeal of Red Leaf Resources’ oil shale permit has been delayed until more data analysis is completed, putting the appeal into limbo until later in the year. As first reported in the Salt Lake Tribune,  Red Leaf received a permit from the state of Utah to implement their Eco-Shale technology on a commercial basis in April despite Living Rivers’ claims that insufficient data was available for groundwater contamination. Living Rivers recommended that the state wait until the Division of Water Quality released their findings on potential contamination. Living Rivers immediately appealed the permit and was supposed to present their case to the Utah Division of Oil. Gas and Mining on Wednesday, June 27.

The division decided to delay the meeting until they complete further analysis of the Eco-Shale process on the environment. If the permit is approved, Red Leaf believes their technology is capable of producing 9,500 barrels of oil daily on their 1,500 acre permit in eastern Utah. The Ec0-Shale process, according to the company’s website, is a hybrid between older mine and extraction methods and more current in-situ processes. The company plans to mine the shale rock, place it in clay capsules and then heat the capsules with closed-system pipes containing heated natural gas. Red Leaf claims that their process uses very little water compared to other conventional methods but some critics believe the clay capsules might fail and leak hydrocarbons into the ground.

Living Rivers considers the delay a temporary victory. “We would consider this a win,” Rob Dubuc, a Western Resource Advocates attorney representing Living Rivers, said Tuesday. “This is what we’ve been asking the division to do for some time.” Living Rivers had asked that the original permit not be granted before this analysis was made, citing that the technology may not be feasible and could produce unknown contamination to ground water. “We are concerned that hydrocarbons can leak through the earth ovens and pollute the groundwater there,” said John Weisheit, Living Rivers conservation director.

It is unknown when the analysis will be completed and the meetings can continue, although it should be before year’s end. To read more about Red Leaf’s Eco-Shale technology, visit their website. More on Living Rivers can be found at their website, as well.

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Colorado Common Cause Calls Vernal Oil Shale Meeting Illegal

Politics, Regulations | Posted by rebhan
Jun 14 2012

Colorado Common Cause, an open-government advocacy group, claims that documents obtained from a March 27th closed-door meeting on oil shale prove the meeting to be a violation of state regulations and are seeking legal action against the counties. County commissioners discussed the Bureau of Land Management’s PEIS that seeks to reform Bush-era oil shale leases at the meeting and emerged from it in opposition to the reforms. Each county released similarly worded formal statements of opposition to the PEIS shortly after the meeting.

The closed-door meeting was held on March 27th between county commissioners and various state authorities, including public land directors and planning and zoning directors about the BLM’s new PEIS. The new PEIS is expected to shrink the amount of land made available for oil shale leasing and limit leasing to research until commercial operations are proven by the companies. Records obtained via an open records request by Colorado Common Cause show that the meeting was also attended by oil shale industry leaders, including Roger Day, the Vice President of of Operations for American Shale Oil (AMSO); Glen Vawter, the Executive Director of the National Oil Shale Association; and Jeff Hartley, a consultant for Red Leaf Resources.

“It’s outrageous that these counties shut the public out of the meeting but let oil-shale lobbyists from Red Leaf and others in the room,” Colorado Common Cause Executive Director Elena Nunez said. “The emails we obtained demonstrate state and local public officials meeting with industry behind closed doors to advance a policy position and develop a political strategy.”

Utah state officials say that the closed-door meeting was not illegal because state regulations allow for closed-door meetings on “imminent legislation,” which they claim the meeting was about. After the meeting, the counties in attendance released strongly worded formal statements of opposition to the BLM’s PEIS. One such statement from Garfield County in Colorado claims that the BLM is “encumbered by a host of anti-oil shale pro-wilderness groups steering the BLM’s every move.”

Below the jump: Colorado Common Cause’s next steps and a Garfield County Commissioner’s explanation of what the meeting was about.

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Polis Amendment Scraps Oil Shale Subsidy

Politics | Posted by rebhan
Jun 07 2012

Oil shale research will not be subsidized by the federal government, at least not in the near future, after an amendment to an energy appropriations bill removed a potential subsidy. Rep. Jared Polis’ (D-CO) amendment to remove a potential $25 million subsidy for oil shale research from an energy appropriations bill narrowly passed in the House, Real Vail reports. The amendment, attached to The Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, passed the House by one vote–208-207. The $25 million will be used for deficit reduction instead.

Polis gained some bi-partisan support to pass the amendment in the Republican controlled House. Colorado, however, split directly down party lines with all four Republican representatives voting against the measure and all three Democrats voting in support. Rep. Lamborn (R-CO) had given a speech on the House floor in February that the federal government should not subsidize the industry and make the companies pay for their own research until they could prove oil shale to be economically feasible but voted with his Republican allies against the amendment.

Polis has been staunchly opposed to taxpayer-subsidized oil shale development in Western Colorado, citing the fact that the industry has yet to prove itself to be economically viable and the potential devastating effects the industry might have on the environment and water resources.

“We shouldn’t be throwing good money after bad on oil shale research that won’t produce energy for the foreseeable future,” said Polis. “Dumping another $25 million of taxpayer money into oil shale research makes no sense when there isn’t commercially viable technology that will turn it into oil and many energy companies consider it such a low priority.”

Rep. Lamborn, meanwhile, has supported the oil shale industry. His PIONEER’s Act, a bill that would have left 2 million acres open for oil shale research along with a assortment of other domestic energy policies, failed to pass Congress earlier this year. Lamborn was expected to vote for Polis’ amendment, though, because he had gone on record saying that the oil shale industry should pay for its own research.

Below the break: More from Lamborn and his Republican competitor in the upcoming election, Robert Blaha

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Colorado Congressmen Weigh in on Congressional Oil Shale Battle

Politics | Posted by rebhan
Jun 05 2012

A congressional appropriations bill for energy and water development is being hotly debated this week, and oil shale is of major importance for Colorado’s congressmen. While past bills concerning oil shale have been contentious between two of Colorado’s representatives (see the earlier post about the PIONEER’s Act), both Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) agree that the proposed $25 million allocation for oil shale is too much and want the money spent elsewhere.

H.R. 5325, better known as The Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, will determine congressional financial allocations for the energy sector for the 2013 fiscal year. Committee Report 112-462 recommends that $25 million be allocated to oil shale research to “accelerate the safe and effective use of the nation’s shale oil reserves.” (Note: while the report refers to ’shale oil,’ they are actually discussing oil shale.)

With gas prices once again at record levels, the Committee believes it is more important than ever to use all means possible to increase the domestic oil supply. The nation has more than two trillion barrels in estimated shale oil reserves, but significant economic and environmental barriers prevent our effective use of this significant resource. To accelerate the safe and effective use of the nation’s shale oil reserves, the Committee recommends $25,000,000 for shale oil technology research and development. The funding is to be used to support both research to improve the economics of oil production from shale oil, as well as to reduce the health, safety, and environmental risks associated with shale oil extraction.

Not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, the Department shall provide to the Committee a program proposal with specific objectives and timelines for improving the efficiency and environmental effects of oil shale retrieval.

Rep. Polis is expected to propose an amendment to the bill that would eliminate the oil shale subsidy. Polis spokesperson Chris Fitzgerald told The Colorado Independent via email that, “oil shale will not produce an ounce of American energy in the foreseeable future. If energy companies believe, despite their 100 years of failing to find a commercially viable way to produce oil from oil shale, that this will work then they should invest their own profits rather than continuing to waste taxpayer money.”

Rep. Polis was instrumental in defeating the PIONEER’s Act, an omnibus energy bill that would have streamlined oil shale development, as well as open up the Anwr reserves in Alaska and sped construction of the Keystone oil pipeline. The sponsor and co-writer of that bill, Rep. Lamborn, is actually in agreement with Polis that oil shale research and development should be funded out of the companies pockets, not by government subsidies.

Continue reading after the break for more on the Congressmens’ previous battles over oil shale.

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Wyoming Governor Opposes BLM on Oil Shale

Politics, Regulations | Posted by rebhan
May 07 2012

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead disagrees with the BLM’s plan to reduce the amount of acreage available for oil shale research and wants them to stick with the 2 million acres allocated in 2008. Gov. Mead joins several counties in Shale Country who have drafted resolutions opposing the BLM’s new plan.

The largest proposed cuts in Wyoming would come on sage grouse lands–an endangered species–and the Adobe Town in southern Wyoming. Some lands with “wilderness characteristics” and areas of environmental concern would be removed, as well.

Mead suggested to the BLM that these wilderness areas should not receive blanket protection but rather be left to local resource management committees who could make better land use decisions.

Mead’s spokesperson Renny MacKay said that leaving the decision to resource management planning process “allows for more analysis. It allows for a more local, participatory approach to land determination, in cooperation with state and local interests.”

Governor Mead joins Utah Governor Gary Herbert as the highest ranking state officials to officially oppose the BLM’s 2012 draft programmatic environmental impact statement. The draft PEIS recently finished with the public comment period and the BLM will make an official decision later this summer.

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Towns Disagree with County on Approch to Oil Shale

Politics | Posted by rebhan
May 07 2012

Three towns in western Colorado are urging the BLM to take a conservative approach to oil shale, placing them at odds with county commissioners who want to leave nearly 2 million acres in Shale Country open for oil shale development. The towns of Rifle, New Castle and Carbondale endorsed Alternative 3 in the 2012 draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), which limits oil shale leasing to the less than 30,000 acres that are already leased.

The city council of Rifle asked the BLM to “carefully analyze the potential socio-economic impacts of large-scale development before issuing any further leases,” according to the Rifle Citizen Telegram. This is a slightly different than the council’s position last year when they wanted to limit oil shale leases to the preexisting lease areas. Rifle now feels that this position was too restrictive and have instead urged the BLM to move slowly with oil shale leasing, at first only granting research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) leases and then analyzing the impact of commercial leasing upon cities and the environment.

If the companies on these leases are able to prove their technology as economically and environmentally sufficient, more land would become available for commercial leasing under Alternative 3.

Read more about the towns’ positions after the break

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