Some Advice: 'Remember to Anticipate'

By DIANE FREEMAN
EXPLORER Correspondent

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A former Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation commissioner said geologists must become "more proactive" in educating the public about seismic activity.

Claudia Rebne, vice president and co-founder of Denver-based Legacy Energy Corp., made her remarks recently at the annual 3-D Seismic Symposium, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and the Denver Geophysical Society.

Rebne, who is a past president of the Denver Geophysical Society and who previously worked for Mobil Oil, said that in the past year the energy industry has seen several challenges to federal seismic permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management.

"Environmental or obstructionist groups are now aggressively challenging these permits through the BLM's administrative appeal process and the federal court system," Rebne said. "These challenges add significant time, expense and uncertainty to seismic projects on federal lands."

She pointed out that there are more than 100 million acres of prospective lands in the western U.S. managed by the BLM.

"These days, the energy industry is not only faced with pre-permit delays, but we are also encountering post-permit challenges to seismic projects that fall on federal lands," she said. "Obstructionist groups now realize that seismic exploration typically leads to drilling."

Rebne suggested that energy companies need to help provide the BLM with pertinent information and documentation for comprehensive environmental assessments for 3-D seismic projects.

When obstructionist groups challenge the BLM's decision to issue permits for seismic activity, energy companies can intervene, giving them the right to participate in any settlement discussions, she said.

"Remember to anticipate," she said. "Things happen really quickly. Don't count on the BLM to defend its decision. They don't have as much at stake as you do."

She encouraged attendees to solicit support from ranchers, politicians, state agencies and local citizens groups that favor the seismic process.

Examples

Recent federal lawsuits against the BLM, challenging the permitting process, have been related to the surface impact of seismic operations on biological, archaeological and land-use resources, Rebne said.

Some personal examples included:

• Intrepid's Fertilizer 3-D study in Grand County, Utah, apparently the first BLM seismic project challenged in federal court by members of the environmental community.

The project's 36-square mile vibroseis survey was acquired in the Paradox Basin about 10 miles west of Moab, Utah. The southern boundary of the survey is a few miles from Canyonlands National Park.

A week after the BLM issued a seismic permit in August 2001, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) filed suit and sought an injunction to halt the project, claiming it would harm cryptobiotic soils, impact a sensitive snake species and a rare bat species, and significantly impact the surface.

Although two experts filed affidavits regarding the effects on wildlife, Intrepid deposed them and found that neither had ever been to the project area and did not know whether the two species were present there, she said.

The case was dismissed and the seismic project moved forward.

However, legal fees amounted to about $250,000, she said. SUWA was ordered to pay litigation costs of about $5,000 to Intrepid.

• In another case involving Red Willow's North Mail Trail 3-D, the BLM issued a seismic permit in August 2002, and within a week, four environmental groups sued the agency in federal court.

The area involved a 20-square mile vibroseis survey located in the Paradox Basin of southwestern Colorado.

The project area became included in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument by Presidential Proclamation in 2000. The monument designation specifically allows seismic operations and energy resource development to continue, Rebne said.

WesternGeco, the seismic contractor, and three other energy companies intervened in the lawsuit, and the federal judge strongly encouraged all parties to try to reach a settlement.

The plaintiffs, including the San Juan Citizens Alliance of Durango, Colo., were most concerned about protecting cultural resources and a sensitive lizard species.

The parties were able to reach a settlement and the lawsuit was dismissed. The survey was completed in November 2002.

Rebne noted that the four energy companies incurred about $40,000 in legal fees even though the case never went to court. Because of the delays, it took more than two years to acquire data on the land.

• A third case involved Eclipse's Yellow Cat 2-D vibroseis swath program in Grand County, Utah, about five miles northeast of Arches National Park in Utah's Paradox Basin.

The permit was issued in January 2002, and the contractor, WesternGeco, started acquisition in early February.

SUWA opposed the project and appealed the BLM decision as well as filed suit in federal court, Rebne said.

A stay was issued and WesternGeco was forced to stop seismic operations before the project could be completed, she said.

WesternGeco and Eclipse decided to intervene in SUWA's IBLA appeal. That agency affirmed the BLM's decision to issue a permit, allowing the project to move forward again.

In September 2002, SUWA challenged the project again by filing a lawsuit in federal court. It claimed that the BLM failed to consider alternative plans such as limiting vibrator points to existing roads and that the IBLA ignored evidence. It also claimed that the BLM failed to take a hard look at the project's impact to biological soils, visual resources and endangered species.

The state of Utah, Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, and Utah State Lands intervened in support of the project.

In his final ruling, the judge concluded that the BLM failed to adequately study alternatives and the IBLA did limit SUWA's input during the appeals process making its decision "arbitrary and capricious." The judge remanded the case to IBLA for further consideration.

"It has been over a year since WesternGeco was forced to shut down field operations in the Yellow Cat project area," Rebne said. "Completion of the project is still on hold because of permit challenges."