Earth Equity News

Salazar OKs Some Drilling Permits on Disputed Utah Lands, Rejects Others. By Joan Lowy, AP, October 8, 2009. "Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday that oil and gas drilling will be permitted on some of the Utah land parcels near national parks that were hurriedly readied for leasing in the waning days of the Bush administration. Salazar said at a media briefing that 17 parcels were approved for drilling and eight rejected. But no decision has been made on the fate of the majority of the disputed lands -- 52 parcels totaling 69,373 acres. He said more work needs to be done to determine if those lands qualify for oil and gas leasing... it's unclear if they will ultimately be made available for leasing... Drilling supporters pointed to portions of the review that said Bush administration officials correctly followed leasing procedures. 'This report proves what I've been saying all along -- that the Utah BLM office followed the proper procedures for reviewing the proposed lease parcels that were sold last year,' said Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah... Bennett held up Senate confirmation of Salazar's chief deputy, David Hayes, while demanding the administration revisit the leasing issue. Environmentalists said they were pleased by the review. 'We think the report is an astounding rejection of the Bush administration policy of drill here, drill now,' said Steve Bloch of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, one of the groups that sued to block the leases."