CONTACTS:
Stephanie Valencia (Sen. Salazar) – 202-494-8790
Cody Wertz (Sen. Salazar) – 303-350-0032
Steve Wymer (Sen. Allard) – 202-224-6207
Eric Wortman (Rep. Salazar) – 202-225-4761
Salazars & Allard Introduce Bill to ‘Fix’ Transfer Act and Ensure that Colorado and West Slope Communities Get Their Fair Share
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, in a continued effort to ensure that Colorado’s West Slope communities get their fair share from oil and gas development leasing revenues, United States Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard and Congressman John Salazar introduced a bill that would amend the Transfer Act ensuring that the Anvil Points clean-up fund would be split 50-50 between the federal government and four of Colorado’s northwest counties.
“Mineral leasing revenues provide a strong economic stream for communities across Colorado’s West Slope and the entire American West,” said Senator Salazar. “It only makes sense that the very communities where these resources are extracted will get to benefit from the revenues they help generate. This bill ensures that our West Slope communities can use those funds to maintain the natural habitat, infrastructure and quality of life that make Colorado the best state in the nation.”
“Forty-four million dollars may not seem like a lot of money to some people here in Washington D.C., but we know that in Colorado these funds will have a huge impact on our local communities,” said Senator Allard. “I am very pleased that Senator and Representative Salazar and I have worked out an agreement on this issue and we can now offer legislation that will start to return these much needed funds back to Colorado where they belong.”
“Coloradans are on the forefront of oil and gas development, and I firmly believe those that are impacted the most deserve their fair share of leasing revenue to address impacts on our schools, land, and roads on the Western Slope,” said Congressman John Salazar. “Our bill sends a strong signal to our constituents in Garfield, Rio Blanco, Moffat and Mesa Counties that help is on the way.”
The Anvil Points trust fund amounts to approximately $88 million, which exceeds the estimated cost of cleanup (current BLM estimate $23 million) by approximately $65 million and accrues approximately $1.5 million per month. Under this legislation the trust fund will be split 50-50 between four Colorado counties and the federal government, with 40 percent each going to Garfield and Rio Blanco counties, and 10 percent each to Moffat and Mesa Counties. The counties (and municipalities and political subdivisions within the counties) may use the money to mitigate the impacts of oil and gas development.
Currently, under the Transfer Act (Public Law 105-85), Colorado does not receive any of the leasing revenues that would normally be shared 50-50 between the state and federal government under the Mineral Leasing Act until cleanup of the Anvil Points Superfund Site is complete. This bill ensures that, upon enactment, all mineral leasing revenues from the former Naval Oil Shale Reserve, including the Roan Plateau, will be shared equally between the state and federal government. The legislation also eliminates the need under current law for certification by the Secretaries of Energy and Interior.
The bill also ensures the clean-up of the former Anvil Points oil shale facility and that it will be paid for entirely out of the federal share (one-half) of the existing cleanup fund.
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