Drilling near parks opposed

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told Congress Wednesday that he will not support oil drilling near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, nor Dinosaur National Monument.

That comes as his office is reviewing which of 77 canceled oil and gas leases in those general areas should be reinstated after Salazar earlier this year rescinded a Bush administration auction of them. It also comes as a Vernal couple who depend on the oil industry for their livelihood traveled to Washington at the invitation of the Department of the Interior only to be stood up by Salazar's top deputy.

Salazar also said the Obama administration should not be blamed for economic problems in Utah oil country related to rescinding the auction, but the Bush administration should be for rushing the auction without fully consulting the National Park Service.

"What happened with those 77 parcels … is that there was simply not the consultation that should have taken place there between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service," Salazar told the House Natural Resources Committee.

"Because that consultation did not take place, there was a need to review that to ensure that the other legal interests of the United States of America were being protected," he said.

The comments came in response to questions by committee members during a hearing on a Democratic bill seeking to meet future U.S. energy needs while also protecting the environment. Republicans contend the bill will make oil, gas and oil shale development more difficult and filled with delays by federal review.

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., complained the administration already is making it too difficult to drill for oil and asked about the canceled Utah leases.

Salazar said about them, "Many of those lease parcels are in fact going forward. But the fact is I don't believe we should drill everywhere because not everyplace is appropriate for us to drill."

Salazar added, "We shouldn't be drilling near Arches National Park and Canyonlands and Dinosaur. Those are important treasures that we need to protect."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, complained that Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes had canceled a meeting with Jeremy and Amber Harrison of Vernal who brought 150 letters from neighbors to describe economic distress from the canceled auction — after they spent their own money to travel to Washington on the promise of meeting him Tuesday.

"I'd be happy to take whatever documents they have," Salazar said, but said economic problems in the Uintah Basin should be blamed more on rushing a bad auction than on him for trying to fix it.