Reported by Art Mass

The Federal government is seeking another extension of a deadline to respond to lawsuits filed that contest the opening of nearly 2 million acres of public land in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah for oil shale development. If granted, the additional 30-day delay would mark the fourth such extension in the lengthy process, which began when environmentalists filed lawsuits during the Bush Administration.

The government is seeking the additional time in order to respond to amendments that conservation groups made to their original lawsuits that the BLM did not adequately consider the impact that commercial-scale operations may have on climate change.

The Obama administration said in its filing in federal court last week that recently appointed officials need additional time to review the issues, especially Bob Abbey director of the Bureau of Land Management and Wilma Lewis, the assistant secretary for lands and minerals management in the Interior Department. The officials were confirmed by the Senate earlier this month and both will play pivotal roles in any future decisions concerning the oil shale commercialization process, in and out of court.

“Although their nominations have been confirmed, Ms. Lewis and Mr. Abbey are in the process of being briefed on a number of issues that they will be required to address in their official capacities, including the issues raised in this case,” said officials. Other parties to the lawsuits have not objected to the extension.

Wyoming Energy News  has reported on the potential yield of oil shale development in the region, thought to be as much as 800 billion recoverable barrels by some industry experts, as well as the ongoing R&D efforts to develop extraction processes that are both economically viable and environmentally sound. So far, no silver bullet has been found and developing the best technology is a work in progress.

The two lawsuits originally filed challenged the Bush Administration’s plans for oil shale development, claiming that public comment was curtailed and the potential effects on air quality, endangered species and, as noted above, climate change were not given proper consideration.

The American Petroleum Institute and Shell have intervened in the case to side with the government. The latter company has taken the R&D lead at its Mahogany Research Project in Western Colorado..