Post by jadedsage on Apr 27, 2004 12:05:42 GMT -5
Groups Sue Government Over Utah Gas Survey That Allegedly Threatens Ancient Art, Dwellings
By Paul Foy Associated Press Writer
Published: Apr 26, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Conservation groups filed suit Monday to stop a natural gas survey alongside an eastern Utah canyon that contains a wealth of ancient Indian art and dwellings.
The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., claim heavy trucks and blast holes used to look for gas reserves could damage one of the nation's greatest concentrations of ancient sites.
"There will, in all likelihood, be damage to these irreplaceable resources," said Stephen Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Nine Mile Canyon has more than a thousand rock panels and ancient dwellings. A consultant hired by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance says there could be hundreds more undiscovered sites.
Leaders of the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society painted the project as a reckless act by the Bush administration to exploit more public lands for gas and oil. The lawsuit was filed against the Bureau of Land Management and Interior Department.
Bureau officials say the seismic exploration will stay out of Nine Mile Canyon.
The surveyor, Denver-based Bill Barrett Corp., will have to keep its vehicles and blast holes at least 300 feet away from known archaeological sites, said Fred O'Ferrall, the bureau's associate field manager.
Another BLM official said the agency was requiring the company to take extraordinary steps to protect the ancient sites.
"We're confident that these standing structures and rock art will be protected," BLM special projects manager Mark Mackiewicz said Monday.
Jim Felton, Barrett Corp.'s investor relations manager, added: "The steps we're taking to avoid areas of Indian art are very painstaking. We're an energy company. We're not going to apologize for that. People like hot coffee and cold beer."
Barrett Corp. received federal approval March 19 for the survey; work could begin as early as May 15.
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On the Net:
Utah BLM: www.ut.blm.gov/
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance: www.suwa.org/
By Paul Foy Associated Press Writer
Published: Apr 26, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Conservation groups filed suit Monday to stop a natural gas survey alongside an eastern Utah canyon that contains a wealth of ancient Indian art and dwellings.
The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., claim heavy trucks and blast holes used to look for gas reserves could damage one of the nation's greatest concentrations of ancient sites.
"There will, in all likelihood, be damage to these irreplaceable resources," said Stephen Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Nine Mile Canyon has more than a thousand rock panels and ancient dwellings. A consultant hired by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance says there could be hundreds more undiscovered sites.
Leaders of the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society painted the project as a reckless act by the Bush administration to exploit more public lands for gas and oil. The lawsuit was filed against the Bureau of Land Management and Interior Department.
Bureau officials say the seismic exploration will stay out of Nine Mile Canyon.
The surveyor, Denver-based Bill Barrett Corp., will have to keep its vehicles and blast holes at least 300 feet away from known archaeological sites, said Fred O'Ferrall, the bureau's associate field manager.
Another BLM official said the agency was requiring the company to take extraordinary steps to protect the ancient sites.
"We're confident that these standing structures and rock art will be protected," BLM special projects manager Mark Mackiewicz said Monday.
Jim Felton, Barrett Corp.'s investor relations manager, added: "The steps we're taking to avoid areas of Indian art are very painstaking. We're an energy company. We're not going to apologize for that. People like hot coffee and cold beer."
Barrett Corp. received federal approval March 19 for the survey; work could begin as early as May 15.
---
On the Net:
Utah BLM: www.ut.blm.gov/
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance: www.suwa.org/