Comments about ‘Drilling sales affirmed’

Do people in Arlington, Virginia realize what we have here?

Can we hope that the drillers will take care not to harm the ancient building sites?

It has been my experience, living in oil country here in the Uintah Basin, that drillers are very careful and cognizant of fragile surroundings. For example, Bill Barrett, who has done drilling in the Nine Mile Canyon area, has spent a lot of his own money to spray the dirt and gravel roads with something to lessen the dust caused by traffic, in an attempt to prevent problems with the petroglyphs there.

Those of us who live here, and who depend so greatly on jobs in the oil fields, not just as employees, but also retail business whose revenues have been down also because of the high unemployment rate here, have been very concerned about the almost instant slowdown that has occurred in recent months. We feel the actions of the government have been the greatest cause of this slowdown (although not the only cause, of course), and it's good to hear that someone else feels that SUWA has overstepped its bounds in this area. We just want to help the USA become energy independent, and we can't do that if we can't work.

Why does a group with no property ownership or vested interest have the right to sue to stop drilling on public lands? It's as though anyone could sue anyone for anything.

It seems to me that allowing anyone with an agenda to sue anyone else just clogs the courts and wastes time and money. The right to sue should be limited to those with vested interest, like nearby property owners, ranchers, mineral rights owners, the state, the county, etc.

Stalling tactics like those done by SUWA are in part responsible for the energy mess we're in, and it's time they stopped.

To answer your question:

If the lands are public lands then, by extension, the public owns them and has a property ownership/vested interest in those lands. Every American citizen has an interest in those lands and standing to sue over what is done with them.

(I really thought that was obvious.)

SUWA does not represent "the public" It's a special interest group with an agenda.

SUWA is single handly turning the oil and gas industry into their own personal circus! They are starving hardworking Americans for kicks. Shame on SUWA

While it's hopeful to hear that at least one driller cares about our ancient heritage, it is not the government that has caused the rapid slowdown in the Uintah Basin.

It's the oil companies who decided to stop drilling. The oil companies sell their product on the world market, not just locally, so being dependent for jobs on the oil companies, who do not care about local economies, is not healthy for the Uintah Basin.

I hope the people in the Uintah Basin will think creatively on how to diversify the economy from finite fossil fuels to something longer lasting and more stable.

Meanwhile, as in any industry that takes something out of the earth, workers have always had to move to where the jobs are. In this case, the jobs will not come to you. A miner's/oil worker's life is a tough lot, but it has always been mobile.

Thankfully, there are new jobs in other parts of Utah in the solar, wind, and geothermal industries that can be applied for.

We have worked both oil and mining, and spent 16 years in Nevada where my husband worked at 3 different mines, as well as mine construction in between the mining jobs. The kids and I just stayed put and he traveled to the job, coming home on the infrequent days off. So we were glad to come back to Utah. While there are probably jobs in the solar, wind, and geothermal industries, this is where our home is. We are buying a house, which we could not sell if we wanted to. We are nearing retirement age, but not close enough yet. Plus, he doesn't know anything about solar, wind or geothermal, and at this point in life, there isn't enough time to learn it.

We know diversification would be good for the Uintah Basin, but we are too far removed from freeways and railways to make most types of industries a viable alternative, due to the high cost of shipping things by truck.

This is a new day, so this may not get posted, but I just wanted to "say my piece", so to speak. Being out of work is very frustrating to many people here.

SUWA is made up of members of the public who have an interest in preserving those lands, therefore SUWA has standing to sue.

(Again, I didn't think this stuff was that obtuse.)

I am reviewing this article for research and realized my post may never be read. I am responding to the comment about Nine Mile Canyon and the supposed care that has been taken to not destroy the fragile landscape there.

I worked in and around Nine Mile Canyon for three years as a wilderness guide for a therapy program. What I witnessed was not "care" but destruction. New roads being built where there were once fields of fragile cryptobiotic soil. New wells and trucks that pay no heed to the environment, the development that occured out there under the Bush administration was hectic and ill advised when it comes to conservation. Take the scenic route as described at the entrance to Nine Mile coming from Duchesne...tell me if you can even begin to imagine the landscape that John Wesley Powell first cartographed, it would be in stark contrast to what one sees now.