American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016 - 103

ConventionSection: Western Energy Alliance
meritless and the product of a procedurally
defective rule making."
The Alliance has engaged in the legal
fight because members consider the BLM
fracturing rule expensive and unnecessary,
given states' effective regulation of wellbore integrity and other completion issues,
Sgamma relates. "The bureau's rule would
unnecessarily add $113,000 to the cost
of each new well," she estimates. "It has
provided no justification for that, nor evidence of contamination."
Roan Plateau
In late June, BLM issued a long-delayed
decision regarding the Roan Plateau in
western Colorado, Sgamma reports. BLM's
final supplemental environmental impact
statement and an accompanying proposed
plan amendment were published June 29.
They cover the plateau's 73,800 acres in
Garfield and Rio Blanco counties.
"In 1997, the Naval Oil Shale Reserves
were transferred to BLM for the purpose
of developing the gas resource," Sgamma
recounts. "This final SEIS represents a
compromise among the companies holding
leases, environmental groups, Colorado,
and the federal government. We are glad
it is done and that responsible development
can move forward."
Under the plan, much of the plateau
and the 17 oil and gas leases there that
were canceled in 2014 as part of an agreement that settled a lawsuit brought by
environmental groups, remain off-limits,
she explains. Two leases that remain on
the plateau and 12 adjacent ones can be
developed, but only under a new set of
stipulations in the plan.
Ultimately, the final SEIS includes
most of the terms of the 2014 settlement
and effectively fences off 63,910 acres
of the 115-square-mile Roan Plateau planning area for no ground disturbance or
surface occupancy, Sgamma describes.
The money put up for the 17 canceled
leases, all held by Bill Barrett Corp., was
refunded in January 2015, published reports indicate.
Sgamma notes the Roan Plateau SEIS
process has involved controversy, litigation
and lease cancelation. Moreover, she observes, getting to a final plan has been "a
long road-almost two decades."
BLM says the final SEIS includes a
review of more than 50,000 comments
from the public and that "a vast majority"
favor the terms of the 2014 settlement.
The final plan "protects Colorado's important fish and wildlife habitat while al-

WEA Annual Meeting - Vail, Co.
Wednesday, Aug. 17
1-4 p.m. Registration Desk Open, Vail Marriott Mountain Resort
5 p.m.-8 p.m. Family Dinner and Reception
Sponsor: SM Energy
Speaker: Heidi Gahnal, Founder, Camp
Bow Wow, Candidate for University of
Colorado Board of Regents, "Fighting
the Divestiture Movement at Major Universities"
8-10 p.m. Cigars Under the Stars, Featuring
Pete Martinez on Acoustic Guitar
Sponsor: Jacam Chemical Company

Thursday, Aug. 18
7:30 a.m. Family Breakfast, Vail Marriott
Mountain Resort
7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration Desk Open
8:30-9 a.m. Opening Remarks/Welcome
9 a.m. Western Energy Alliance Update
10 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, Challenge of the EPA's
Clean Power Plan on Behalf of the State

lowing for the responsible development
of oil and gas resources," characterizes
BLM Director Neil Kornze.
Planning 2.0
BLM's approach to finalizing the Roan
Plateau EIS signals how the government
will move forward with resource development projects on public lands, Sgamma
suggests.
"It is a change in the way BLM will
do resource management," she maintains.
"Bureau staff are adding layers to National
Environmental Policy Act reviews, and
is working at what is now referred to as
'landscape level.' This means pulling
more states into the process and stitching
together multiple planning areas. At the
same time, they are reducing the role of
county commissioners, state agencies and
governors, while elevating community
input and public participation."
The change in tactic for resource management planning runs parallel to a stubborn lack of consideration of the socioeconomic impacts brought by rules promulgated for RMPs, master leasing plans,
and other restrictions on oil and gas development, Sgamma assesses. "We have
repeatedly asked for a third-party review
independent of BLM or other agencies,
of all new land use plans to ensure the
public has a good understanding of the
full economic impacts of the government's
regulatory actions," she reveals.

11:15 a.m. Keynote Address: Charlie Kirk,
Founder, Turning Point USA, "How to
Engage the Millennial Generation and
Get It Thinking of the Positives of Oil
and Natural Gas Production."
12:15 p.m. Family Lunch
Sponsor: IMA Inc.
1:30 p.m. Sean Tonner, Denver President,
R&R Partners, "How Industry can Better
Market to our Everyday Consumers of
Oil and Natural Gas"
2:15 p.m. Awards Presentation
2:30 p.m. Break
3 p.m. Jay Ottoson, "Telling Our Story"
4 p.m. Passing of the Chairman's Gavel
from Outgoing Chairman Jay Ottoson
to Incoming Chairman Daryll Howard
4:15 p.m. Board of Directors and Membership Meetings; Board Elections
5 p.m. Adjourn

Friday, Aug. 19
9 a.m. Golf Outing & Lunch, Eagle Vail
Golf Club
Shotgun Start

BLM says the initiative, known as
Planning 2.0, "aims to increase public
involvement and incorporate the most
current data and technology into our land
use planning."
The bureau adds that it has released
proposed revisions to planning regulations
and a preliminary economic analysis for
public comment. Referred to by the bureau
as regulatory improvements, the changes
"enhance the way (BLM) involves the
public in its planning efforts, including
measures to provide earlier, easier, and
more meaningful participation."
Planning 2.0 "supports BLM's shift
to science-based, landscape-scale approaches to resource management," the
bureau asserts. It adds that a draft handbook providing guidance on implementing
the planning process is scheduled for release later this year.
Taking Notice
As a regional trade association, the
Western Energy Alliance sees its role as
drawing interest from producers and service providers across the western United
States. Wigley says the group's leaders
believe the core of the Alliance's mission
deals with its ability to champion public
lands access and push back on what many
see as a continuous, gradual constriction
of oil and gas development.
"In the past, operators outside the
Rockies saw us mostly fighting the federal
AUGUST 2016 103

American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016

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