The BLM has withdrawn a proposed oil-and-gas lease sale over concerns that it was too close to McPhee dam, officials say.
Parcel 7379 is a 720-acre piece of private land with federal subsurface minerals situated west of McPhee Reservoir at the end of County Road Z.
The parcel was listed in September for a Feb. 11 lease sale. Local resident Ellen Foster expressed concerns about the potential development impacting the dam because the border of the proposed lease was within 1 mile of the dam.
Montezuma County commissioners agreed with the concern, and included it in a Aug. 31 comment a letter to the BLM.
The county urged the agency to “analyze impacts a lease sale would have on the operation and integrity of the dam. The potential for seismic activity due to drilling should be thoroughly evaluated.”
The message was received, BLM spokesman Courtney Whitehead said Friday.
“Based on the comments the lease was in the area of McPhee Reservoir, we withdrew it from the lease sale,” she said.
The proposal could be made again, Whitehead said, “but I’m sure the same comments would be raised.”
Other parcels postponed
Also on Friday, the BLM announced that five of its proposed oil-and-gas parcels in Dolores County scheduled for the Feb. 11 sale will be postponed to allow more time for tribal consultation.
The BLM intends to complete the tribal consultation process, and will determine whether those parcels are available to be offered at a subsequent sale.
Three of the postponed parcels, totaling 2,742 acres, are north of Groundhog Reservoir. Another is east of Elston Mountain, and one is east of the Plateau and Summer Camp creek confluence.
Nearby parcels proposed for leasing in the area were deferred because of their proximity to Lone Mesa State Park.
Twenty-six tribes have ancestral ties to the Four Corners region and must be consulted by the BLM regarding development zones to avoid harming sensitive cultural sites.
“Stringent consultation to our face and our eyes, that’s how we do business,” said Timothy Menchego, cultural resource coordinator for the Santa Ana Pueblo, during a Native American forum on oil-and-gas development last November.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com