Judge refuses to halt gas survey

A federal judge refused Wednesday to halt a natural gas survey alongside an eastern Utah canyon that contains a wealth of ancient American Indian ruins and rock art.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan threw out a lawsuit filed by The Wilderness Society and other groups and upheld the Bureau of Land Management's decision to let a Denver company look for an estimated 66 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

While Sullivan was making his decision, Bill Barrett Corp. was able in late May to begin a seismic survey involving the use of blast holes and heavy "vibrioses" trucks, which pound the earth looking for likely gas traps deep underground. Barrett Corp., which hired Dawson Geophysical Co. for the survey, plans to finish up within two months.

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance decried the project as a reckless act by the Bush administration to exploit more public lands for gas and oil. SUWA and other groups argued ground explosives and vibrating trucks would almost certainly crack some ancient rock art panels and damage pit houses in Nine Mile Canyon and its tributaries.

But Sullivan said the groups failed to prove any damage was likely to occur. BLM required surveyors to steer clear of ancient sites and to keep archaeologists on hand to monitor them. The judge said heavy equipment was tearing up only 11.5 acres of land in a 57,500-acre survey area.

"The court is satisfied that BLM adequately analyzed the cumulative impacts of the instant project," wrote Sullivan, concluding his 50-page decision by saying, "The court upholds the agency's decisionmaking process."

Jim Felton, Bill Barrett Corp.'s investor relations manager, said "For us, it is refreshing to see that reliance on science and data triumphed over legal maneuvering and fund-raising hyperbole. This project has been very good for SUWA's business."

SUWA officials did not return messages Wednesday from The Associated Press.

The Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council joined in the suit filed in Washington, D.C., against the BLM and Interior Department.

Felton said his company has spent $400,000 identifying ancient sites and taking steps to make sure they remain protected.

Heavy trucks are rumbling through Nine Mile Canyon, actually 78 miles long, en route to some canyon tributaries for survey work. Most of the survey is taking place atop a mesa flanking the canyon that already has some oil and gas development.