BLM opens nominations for oil shale leases in Colorado

Casper Star-Tribune, AP ^ | 6/11/05 | Judith Kohler

[Dane]

BLM opens nominations for oil shale leases in Colorado

By JUDITH KOHLER Associated Press writer

DENVER -- Citing the need for more domestic energy production, the Bureau of Land Management opened nominations Thursday for leases for oil shale research projects in western Colorado.

Companies have 90 days to seek leases on parcels of up to 160 acres. The BLM and other federal and state agencies will review the proposals and consider the "appropriate environmental constraints," said Jim Edwards, head of the solid minerals division in the state BLM office.

"We have a very rich energy resource out there that we'd like to take another crack at," Edwards said.

An environmental group, though, criticized the agency for moving too quickly to lease land for a venture that devastated the area economy when the fledgling industry collapsed.

[Dane]

How'd this escape the FR radar?

[IronJack]

Ahhhh. "Black Sunday." I was living on the Western Slope when that happened. It was a scary time.

[skinkinthegrass]

How'd this escape the FR radar?

Didn't.

Vernal company set to exploit oil

shalehttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1379577/posts

[skinkinthegrass]

How'd this escape the FR radar?

Didn't.

Vernal company set to exploit oil shale

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1379577/posts

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Good to see that the BLM is moving ahead.

[ken21]

yeah, i remember that.

a friend of mine was a journalist and he and some of his buddies were driving up to parachute.

the company was working 24 hours a day. we were there in the canyon at night. i remember lots of flood lights and earth moving equipment.

and then, one day it ended.

there were a lot of new houses abandoned in parachute.

[kms61]

Before I get too excited about this I'd like to see where they plan to get the water for this project. Extracting oil from shale is very H20 intensive, and that's a very dry part of the world.

[IronJack]

I was a journalist in Montrose. I drove up to see what the hubub was all about. I have to admit I've never seen a human endeavor of that magnitude before. There were literally armies of earthmovers and bulldozers. They changed the landscape overnight. I was in awe.

And as quickly as it began, it ended. I remember hearing rumors that the governor had alerted the national guard in case riots broke out in the legions of displaced workers.