U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

Thursday , March 20, 2008

CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-494-8790
Cody Wertz – 303-350-0032

Sen. Salazar Statement on BLM Agreeing to Extend Comment Period on Oil Shale-Tar Sands Draft PEIS

 

DENVER, CO - Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar released the following statement after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agreed to extend for 30 more days the public comment period on BLM’s draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), which could potentially open thousands of acres in Colorado for commercial oil shale leasing. Earlier this week, Senator Salazar requested that the BLM extend the comment period an additional 60 days.

“I am glad that the BLM decided to listen to the local communities and extend the comment period for the Oil Shale-Tar Sands Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. The BLM’s 30-day extension is a step in the right direction to allow a more thoughtful review of the draft PEIS by affected local communities, citizens and public interest groups. Oil shale development is a complicated process that has the potential for tremendous social, environmental and economic impacts on the Western Slope and many questions still remain. For that reason, I continue to urge that the BLM give the public ample time to review and ask questions.”


###