Daily Sentinel repeated earlier selective reporting on oil shale moratorium

Summary: The Daily Sentinel uncritically reported that Republican U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard "said he has enough votes from Democrats from energy-rich states to win approval" of a measure to overturn a moratorium on the issuance of regulations for oil shale development leases on federal land in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. However, the Daily Sentinel again omitted that the moratorium already is set to expire on September 30, and that the Republican push to lift the moratorium comes, as The Denver Post reported, as "Republicans sought to make gas prices a centerpiece of their November campaign effort."

In a June 25 article by Gary Harmon, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction uncritically reported that Colorado Republican U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard "said he has enough votes from Democrats from energy-rich states to win approval" of a measure he introduced to overturn a moratorium on the issuance of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations for oil shale development leases on federal land in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. However, the Daily Sentinel again omitted that the moratorium already is set to expire on September 30, as Colorado Media Matters noted after the newspaper reported in a June 21 article by Harmon that an Allard spokesman had made the same claim. Further, the Daily Sentinel's June 25 article omitted that the Republican push to lift the moratorium comes, as The Denver Post reported June 19, as "Republicans sought to make gas prices a centerpiece of their November campaign effort."

Allard introduced the legislation, S. 3062, on May 22 "to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to modify certain provisions relating to oil shale leasing." As the Rocky Mountain News reported May 16, the previous day the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected on a 14-15 vote Allard's attempt to lift the moratorium through an amendment to an emergency supplemental appropriations bill.

From the article, "Oil shale may figure into GOP's energy plan," published June 25 in The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction:

Republicans in Congress today will unveil their proposal for greater production of domestic energy, a plan in which western Colorado could play a significant role.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said Wednesday he couldn't unveil further details, but confirmed that one plank of the plan would allow the Bureau of Land Management to proceed with writing regulations for the commercial development of oil shale, which is abundant in western Colorado, eastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming.

An existing moratorium on the development of those leases last month survived a bid by Allard to overturn it, but he said he has enough votes from Democrats from energy-rich states to win approval if he can get the measure to the floor.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., fended off the attempt to overturn the moratorium, however, and maintains it will hold.

In contrast with the Daily Sentinel, the Post in its June 19 article noted that the oil shale regulatory moratorium is due to expire September 30. The newspaper also put Republican calls for the removal of the moratorium in the context of Republican members of Congress having "sought to make gas prices a centerpiece of their November campaign effort":

The fight over energy and how to lower gas prices threw the Rocky Mountain West into the spotlight Wednesday when President Bush urged Congress to repeal a moratorium on the development of oil shale.

In a speech that spurred protests from Democratic leaders and environmentalists, Bush called for harvesting oil from shale rock found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. The president also advocated drilling for oil in coastal waters and the Alaskan wilderness, saying the tight supply is pushing up gas prices.

"Every American who drives to work, purchases food or ships a product has felt the effect," Bush said. "And families across our country are looking to Washington for a response."

Bush's words came as Republicans sought to make gas prices a centerpiece of their November campaign effort. GOP leaders and candidates blame Democrats for $4-a-gallon fuel, saying they repeatedly have blocked oil production. Democrats and environmentalists call those claims a political stunt. New production efforts would take years, they said, and do little to lower current pump prices.

"I suggest that if the president really wants to develop oil shale, that he first come to the Western Slope of Colorado and learn something about our experience with the economic crash in the 1980s," said U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo. "We can develop this resource, but we need to do it in a way that proves up the potential for jobs, economic stability and protects scarce water resources."

Additional caution is needed on oil- shale development, said Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, because the technology is mostly untested.

"No one -- not even the companies working on oil-shale development -- can tell us with any certainty how much energy it will take to develop this resource, where that energy would come from, what the impacts on Colorado's water supplies or quality would be, and what housing, transportation and other infrastructure needs will be," he said.

[...]

The development moratorium in place was enacted to ensure that oil shale is acquired in a responsible way, Salazar has said. The language bars the Interior Department from issuing regulations for oil-shale development.

Oil companies want to add new oil- shale leases primarily to drive up stock prices, Salazar said. Much of the federal land leased by oil and gas companies has yet to be developed, he added.

Shell Exploration & Production Co. is working an oil-shale research project on three 160-acre parcels in Colorado. Spokeswoman Darci Sinclair in Houston said that the company wants "commercial development as soon as feasible."

She declined to answer whether Shell believes development is commercially viable. She said that the lack of regulatory framework on oil shale "creates additional uncertainty for companies trying to prove viability of new technologies."

The moratorium backed by Salazar and Udall expires Sept. 30. Salazar is looking for a major bill where he can add wording that would extend the moratorium.

So far, there have been three failed attempts to repeal the existing moratorium.

Moratorium opponent Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said Wednesday that he has support from potentially 48 Senate Republicans and two Democrats, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

While that is still one vote short of a majority, Allard said Republicans will try to offer a package that would revoke the oil-shale ban, allow offshore drilling and increase nuclear production.

—E.B.