Posted on 06/23/2012 5:26:11 AM PDT by Olog-hai
A U.S. district judge ordered the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Friday to re-assess its plan to allow drilling on some 50,000 acres on the Roan Plateau, which the energy industry says contains one of the largest natural gas fields in the continental United States.
Judge Marcia Krieger said BLM had failed to thoroughly assess all the environmental impact to the ecologically sensitive plateau in western Colorado before approving energy development on the mountain.
"Like many areas of Colorado, the area has been blessed with an abundance of two major resources, the uses of which are often in conflict," Krieger—who was appointed b President George W. Bush—wrote in her 38-page opinion.
"Its surface offers extensive and largely unspoiled … scenic, ecological and wildlife virtues. Below the surface… contains valuable oil and gas reserves."
The BLM failed to consider alternative plans, or fully address air-quality issues and the potential impact from ozone emissions, Krieger wrote.
The ruling was a victory, if a temporary one, for environmental and conservations groups who sued to halt the project. The BLM gave the initial green light in 2007 for oil and natural gas development on the plateau near Rifle, Colorado, about 175 miles west of Denver.
The Colorado Oil & Gas Association says the plateau contains enough natural gas to power 4 million homes for 20 years. …
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Note: a Bush Year.
Sorry, but I believe the reasoning of a judge about as much as I believe the reasoning of the Obamadork or Goregoon.
Now the Western Colorado oii/gas rigs are flocking to North Dakota. Welcome to the Baaken.
These same type of ecofreak gave Colorado the Pine Beetle outbreak which turned millions of square miles of forest dead brown and is making fire fighting hard.
South Dakota is experiencing the same thing, and while we are on the subject, anyone going through the east entrance to Yellowstone in the past few years the one reached through Cody WY should notice what the National park service has allowed to go on in our premier “National Park”.
The bark beetle devastation is everywhere, and consistent with the Park Service policy of “let nature take its course” lazy crapola that is completely inconsistent with how man should be managing the Park IMHO.
No one needs reminding that the west entrance is slowly after 24 something years recovering from a fire that burned enough wood to provide log homes for a good portion of the US population in 1988.
...and if you need further reminders, consider the Elk population implosion, after the idiocy of introducing the wolf back into the Yellowstone park. Govt on the move looking more like a bowel movement.
Does anyone reading this story have any doubts the order came directly from the White Hut and the EPA goons? This lame brained “Judge” was just the first vehicle in their plan to make this case, as in countless others, to punish us for “raping” the planet. We all know the real root of it all is to destroy our free market society at the whims of their socialist/communist masters.
On the other hand:
“Green groups balk as feds OK nearly 1,300 gas wells in eastern Utah “
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54326521-78/desolation-wells-canyon-gasco.html.csp
“The plan to drill on 3,600 acres near the put-in ramp for float trips through Desolation Canyon includes areas the Bush administration agreed contain wilderness qualities, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance attorney Steve Bloch said, “and now the Obama administration is authorizing their destruction.””
Envirowackos just can’t get a break.
Thanks for the post Wita.
You are absolutely right about the pine beetle scourge in Yellowstone and elsewhere in Montana, and most certainly about the elk disaster.
Since Canadian wolves were introduced into the park the Northern Yellowstone elk herd has plummeted from 19,000 elk to fewer than four thousand, and very few of those are breeding cows or calves.
In eastern Idaho the numbers are 16,000 down to fewer than 3,000.
Our government at work with our money.
The question here is whether it is a bad judge or a bad law.
Interesting. Thanks for posting. Thread BUMP!
Opponents say it stops the experts from regulating harmful pollutants.
One could also say it stops UNELECTED supposed experts from regulating what they have NO power to regulate unless given that power by the “people” through it’s elected representatives. IOW no such legislation is necessary, the Congress need only to ACT. Get rid of the EPA. Good Luck! We could add the DOJ to the list, while we are at it, and keep right on going for good measure saving the budget, oh there isn’t one, the republic, oh that went out with Woodrow Wilson, or was it good ol Abe?
Thanks.
“Our government at work with our money”.
Calling it work is a greater travesty than the money angle, but you are just quoting what “they” call it, and “they” need to be called to account.
Criminal is what it really is and anyone associated with such policies needs to be in the grey bar hotel. Yes I said it, A N Y O N E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every time I think about what “they” have done and are doing to our National Treasures, including the dollar itself I want to... Remaining comments self censored.
A good many of the EPA “experts” have little or no training in any of the environmental sciences. One of the EPA experts who comes to my area to speak on behalf of our local enviroweenies is an attorney who specializes in zoning for the EPA.
Has anyone else noticed that every part of the world is “ecologically sensitive?” They never describe what that means. You can be in frozen tundra, hot desserts, lush forests, middle of the ocean, or on a dry lake bed where nothing grows and no animals live and its all “ecologically sensitive.” We should start demanding what they mean when they use this catch phrase.
When the wolves run out of elk they will start on cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats and whatever else they can kill, like people, especially little people hiking or playing outdoors. [planned parenthood helpers?]
Our grandparents who homesteaded and pioneered this land faced wolf problems on a daily basis. But each generation has to learn the hard way, it seems. Our schools dumb down the past history in favor of political environmentalism for our children.
From my understanding of the former Constitution, "both". That assumes that anything that is "unconstitutonal" is by definition, "bad".
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