Meetings set in 3 cities on oil shale, tar sands

Public meetings have been scheduled in three Utah cities to discuss development of the state's oil shale and tar sands resources. The shale and sands resources fall within the jurisdictions of the Moab, Monticello, Price, Richfield and Vernal BLM field offices.

The Bureau of Land Management has set up the following informal meetings:

Feb. 25, 2-4 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m., BLM office, 2370 S. 2300 West, Salt Lake City; Feb. 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Holiday Inn, 838 Westwood Blvd., Price; and Feb. 27, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Western Park Convention Center, 302 E. 200 South, Vernal.

Public comment on a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement will end on March 20. A copy of the document can be viewed at ostseis.anl.gov.

The draft statement shows BLM land-use plans possibly being amended to allocate approximately 1.9 million acres of public lands in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming for potential commercial oil shale development and an estimated 430,000 acres in Utah alone for tar sands development.