Groups seek halt to Bill Barrett gas exploration project in Utah

Groups seek halt to Bill Barrett gas exploration project in Utah

Washington (Platts)--26Apr2004


A coalition of environmental groups Monday sued the Bush administration to
halt a natural gas exploration project in Nine Mile Canyon region of eastern
Utah. The coalition -- the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Natural
Resources Defense Council, The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, and Utah Rock
Art Research Association -- contend Denver-based Bill Barrett Corp's Stone
Cabin seismic project, approved by the US Bureau of Land Management in March,
could damage centuries-old Native American rock art sites, which they said are
"fragile, irreplaceable national treasures." BLM's Price, Utah, field office
approved the project Mar 17 following an 18-month environmental assessment
that determined the company's exploration plan would have "no significant
impact" on the environment, said a field office spokeswoman. The approval was
made with a number of stipulations, including that no activity would occur in
"Nine Mile Canyon proper," where the vast majority of the rock art sites are
located, and that archaeologists be on site at all times, she said.

The plan involves exploration only, the BLM spokeswoman said, adding that the
area Bill Barrett proposes to do its work in has been an active field since
the 1950s. The company, which purchased the leases from another company about
five years ago, has also proposed another project in the exact area, which
involves 38 exploratory wells. BLM should release an environmental assessment
on that project shortly, the spokeswoman said. The environmental groups
contend that these projects deserve a more comprehensive environmental impact
statement. "Irreplaceable cultural resources will be damaged or destroyed if
natural gas exploration is allowed to proceed as planned," said Stephen Bloch,
staff attorney for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "We're going to do our
best to stop that from happening."