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BLM cancels oil leases! Wonderful Change!

leanin' H

Well-known member
BLM cancels 77 oil and gas leases in Utah
February 4th, 2009 @ 6:00pm
By Whit Johnson and AP
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he's scrapping the lease of dozens of parcels of federal land for oil and gas drilling in Utah's redrock country.

Salazar says the Bush administration rushed an auction in December of some of the country's most precious landscapes around national parks and the wild Green River.

Salazar on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Land Management, which is part of the Interior Department, not to cash checks from winning bidders for the parcels at issue in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups.

A federal judge last month put the sale of the 77 parcels on hold. Now Salazar is saying he won't sell any of them -- at least not until the Obama administration has a chance to take a second look.

In a news release, Salazar said, "We will take a fresh look at these 77 parcels and at the adequacy of the environmental review and analysis that led to their being offered for oil and gas development. I am also concerned that there was inadequate consultation with other agencies, including the National Park Service."

The parcels total about 130,225 acres and are in the vicinity of two national parks and Dinosaur National Monument.

Environmental groups and actor Robert Redford have been fighting the lease auction that was announced on Election Day. They believe some of the land in question is too close to national parks and monuments.

Environmental groups called today's announcement a step in the right direction. Stephen Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said, "We're thrilled. We think that Secretary Salazar made exactly the right move to tell the BLM to back off from leasing these 77 parcels."

But petroleum advocates fear the decision will impact the state's economy. President of the Utah Petroleum Association Lee Peacock said, "It will put a damper on future oil and gas development if this sentiment continues because we do depend on the use of those public lands."

Sen. Bob Bennett said he was disappointed with today's decision. He sent a statement that reads in part: "I am concerned that today's announcement was motivated more by political reasons than environmental reasons, and I hope this is not a preview of what is to come for Utah in the Obama administration."

Of the 130 parcels offered, bids were received on 116 parcels, totaling 148,598 acres.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Exploration in North America has already lost invaluable time!

With the price of oil, the markets etc. When the price rebounds, it will sling shot past price records.
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
Now this is truly change! We would rather buy oil from dictators like Chavez and radicals like Iran than develope energy here at home! And as we battle economic issues like the great depression (Obama's words, not mine) we willingly CHOOSE to affect communitys, companys and workers by shutting down oil and natural gas drill sites and the hundreds of jobs that are directly dependent on them! This is nothing more than playing environmental politics! The justification used by the wilderness advocates tonight on local news broadcasts was it is only a tiny amount of energy! So if ten farmers ONLY grow 1000 bushels of corn each and 10 ranchers ONLY send 200 weaned calves each to feedyards then running them out of buisness is perfectly fine because it's ONLY a small percentage of the overall harvest and calf crop? THIS IS TRULY NUTS! I guess a bunch of you will defend this and tell me to quit taking unfair shots at the new adminastration! I need to give them more time! To do what? Take more food off my table? Destroy my health insurance that I work my guts out to pay for? Run up a tab my kids will have to pay for? Push abortion rights and same-sex unions while telling me to learn to be tolerant? Play patty- cake with terrorists and sing love songs to enemys of our nation? I am totally ticked off tonight and i'm sick of this agenda of change! This is the world's greatest nation! And the jackass's running it are the problem! And those of ya who agree with me need to stand up and be counted for the sake of the nation and our children's future before these idiots ruin it! Every Senator and Congressman needs to get calls and emails telling them how we feel! And we HAVE to throw all the bums out in 4 years! God help us til then!
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
I feel for you Leanin H.

Energy is a big part of the picture. It will be an even bigger part of the picture, in the future.

And Oil is the backbone. It's hovering around $40 right now. Unfortunately it is needed for any type of recovery.

The record prices we saw were do to demand last time, proven by the lack of increased production.

We'll probably see another blip in production as soon as Iraq comes online, but that will be the last spike in production of the "cheap" conventional oil.

The US economy better take advantage of the cheap stuff when it is here, cause it will only continue to slow growth after that!
 

Triangle Bar

Well-known member
This is just as I expected. Salazar, my former Senator (gag), was selected by Obama for this very purpose, of limiting if not eliminating energy exploration on public land. Senator Salazar managed to block for an entire year the opening up of Rocky Mountain oil shale fields to development by inserting language in a spending bill that blocked the federal government from pursuing a leasing program to allow oil-shale exploration on federal lands. That ban ended on October 1. Thus, the Bush administration scrambled to issue leases in the Rocky Mountain states before he left office.
 

Richard Doolittle

Well-known member
This is an AP story from yesterday's Rapid City Journal.

The Environmental Protection Agency's decision to require changes in air quality permits for the proposed Big Stone II power plant in northeastern South Dakota is a discouraging delay to the project, Sen. John Thune says.

"Big Stone II is needed to meet our region's energy needs," the first-term Republican The 580-megawatt coal-fired plant is planned by Otter Tail Power Co., Bismarck-based Montana-Dakota Utilities and other utilities for the Milbank area.

The EPA listed three main objections to the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources' renewal of the air quality permit for the existing coal-fired electric plant at Big Stone City, and portions of the objections involved emissions measurement requirements for Big Stone II.

The senator says he has written a letter to the new EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, explaining that the planned $1.6 billion plant is essential to meeting the region's growing energy needs and would be "environmentally responsible."

Thune said his letter stresses the significance of the project to wind energy development in South Dakota.

A big deterrent to developing wind farms is the lack of transmission lines to move energy to markets with higher electricity demands, he said.

"The transmission upgrades that coincide with the construction of the Big Stone II project will provide opportunities to expand upon renewable energy projects in South Dakota, such as wind, hydro and biomass and make it possible for us to transmit that energy to destinations and population centers around the country that can benefit from it," Thune said.

Earlier this month, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved transmission lines for the proposed plant.

He said he will work with the other members of South Dakota's congressional delegation to make sure the project and the 2,500 jobs it would create moves forward.

Thune also said he will keep close tabs on what the new EPA and the Obama administration does.

The Obama administration's EPA chose to raise its objections to the plant on the final day of a 45-day comment period, he said.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
The Obama administration will make it right - they'll put up 5 wind turbines instead. :mad:

We all had to know this was coming with this clown. Can we get rid of him yet?
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
Nancy Pelosi claims that we will lose 500 MILLION( :roll: ) jobs per month if we don't rush this stimulus package through! So what does the new President do? He stops energy exploration and STOPS COUNTLESS NEW JOBS!!! :mad: Are the Democrats and you Liberals on here supporting them aware of how ridiculously counterproductive and stupid that is? :shock:
 
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