By the OGJ Online Staff
WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 27 -- The White House is bracing for what could be a protracted battle with environmental groups and some agency officials who object to industry plans to expand drilling near Arches National Park in Utah. An official with the Department of the Interior's Board of Land Appeals halted drilling, even though the Bureau of Land Management earlier approved a permit for the Dome Plateau area, east of the park.
The environmental group Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) claimed the initial exploration work involves using "enormous" seismic trucks that will hurt a fragile, unique ecosystem. The US Geological Survey also raised objections.
"Ironically, there are areas in Utah and the rest of the country where energy resources can still be developed, where oil companies can use existing infrastructure like pipelines, roads, waste pits, and other development," the SUWA said.
BLM officials are working now to appeal the decision. BLM said the company holding the lease, seismic contractor Western GECO—a joint venture of Baker Hughes Inc. and Schlumberger Ltd.—is losing as much as $45,000/day during the delay. However, USGS warned in earlier comments on the permit that Western GECO's thumper trucks may destroy surface bacteria that retard desert soil erosion.
Environmental groups said that if BLM successfully appeals the decision by the Interior Appeals board, they will lobby Congress to pass a drilling ban for the region. Congress last year sought to block drilling in the Great Lakes last year and has routinely rejected drilling in much of the federal offshore, except for portions of the Gulf of Mexico and Offshore Alaska.
A key part of the White House's energy blueprint is to give industry expanded access to oil-rich public lands and to streamline permitting. Industry supports that policy, but some public lands interests caution that faster permitting may leave the administration more vulnerable to protracted lawsuits.