Adobe Town Oil & Gas Lease Sale
Put on Hold

By Dustin Bleizeffer/Tribe.com

Wyoming Bureau of  Land Management officials announced Wednesday they had deferred 15 oil and gas lease parcels from being included in a Dec. 1 public auction, “pending Washington Office guidance on wilderness issues.”

The lease parcels in question total 14,842 acres. The parcels reside within a citizens’ proposed wilderness area at Adobe Town in south-central Wyoming — a highly sensitive terrain decorated with sand stone spires. The area is so remote, it’s usually where Wyoming’s state logo is stamped on maps.

“On behalf of the Wyoming Association of Churches, we’re very pleased they have done this,” said Warren Murphy, environmental projects director for the association. “We hope they continue in this direction because it is a sacred place and very unique to Wyoming. It should be protected for its spiritual values, I believe, and for its recreations values.”

The BLM’s action comes after a request from a number of conservation groups, including the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, Wyoming Outdoor Council, The Wilderness Society, Wyoming Wilderness Association and Center for Native Ecosystems.

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Attorneys for Feds, Environmental Groups, Argue for Roadless Rule in 10th Circuit Briefs

CHEYENNE - Attorneys for the federal government and environmentalists argue that a federal appeals court should uphold a ban on new roads in national forests known as the “roadless rule.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and environmental groups laid out their arguments in documents filed Monday in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The 2001 rule applies to at least 40 million acres of forest land. Lawsuits challenging the rule include one filed by Wyoming. Last year, U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer in Cheyenne ruled in that case that the rule wasn’t properly implemented. Wyoming has until Dec. 23 to respond in the 10th Circuit Court. Oral arguments are expected early next year.

The California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the roadless rule in a separate case in August.

Our View: Task Force Offers Good Wind Recommendations

From the Star-Tribune Editorial Board

Thanks to a legislative task force on wind energy, next year Wyoming may have a good regulatory structure in place for the development of wind farms.

But first, the plan must be approved by the Legislature, and the related bills will need two-thirds support just to be introduced in next year’s budget session. Lawmakers who didn’t serve on the task force should recognize that it’s an essential component if Wyoming wants to make the most of opportunities to develop this important renewable energy resource.

About 20 wind farms in Wyoming produce about 1,000 megawatts of electricity, including about 170 megawatts that were added during the summer. According to the American Wind Energy Association, Wyoming’s new wind capacity was the fifth highest in the entire nation during the third quarter. Meanwhile, dozens of more projects are being considered by companies throughout the state.

Currently, only six Wyoming counties — including Natrona — have wind development regulations in place. Eight counties, meanwhile, have no zoning at all. The task force recommended minimum state standards for wind farms, but counties would be allowed to enforce more stringent regulations if they want to.

It’s the right approach. Wind projects could easily cross county lines, and there shouldn’t be a hodgepodge of rules for different counties. The task force’s plan would ensure that the state standard would be met in all counties.

The county permit application would require plans for logistics such as waste management and traffic, minimum setbacks, and public hearing and comment requirements. The county regulations would also require companies to show plans and financial assurances for decommissioning, or taking down wind farms.

READ THE COMPLETE EDITORIAL HERE.

 Denbury Will Sell Off Assets in Advance of Purchasing Encore Acquisition

Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR.N) expects to sell off about $500 million in assets to pay down debt from its planned purchase of Encore Acquisition Co (EAC.N), its chief executive said earlier this week.

Denbury said it would buy Encore for $3.2 billion, creating a company with 426 million barrels of oil equivalent in proved reserves, on par with companies such as Range Resources Corp and Forest Oil Corp

The companies said the acquisition would allow Denbury to leverage its enhanced-oil-recovery business into Encore’s properties in Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, and would give it a large stake in the Bakken shale on the U.S.-Canada border.

Denbury is an industry leader in producing carbon dioxide and injecting it into older oil wells to help pump out difficult-to-reach oil.