Oil Shale

The Department of the Interior is rushing to finalize regulations that would govern commercial leasing and development of oil shale, a sedimentary rock containing kerogen which, when heated to extreme temperatures, yields oil. Commercial development could pose serious threats to the global climate and the communities, water tables, energy infrastructure and environment of the West. One of the world's richest deposits of oil shale is found in the Green River Basin and harvesting it with current technologies would adversely impact nearly 2 million acres of public lands and thousands of residents in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Oil shale extraction depends on literally melting oil from rock-but technologies to do so efficiently, cost-effectively, and safely do not exist. The Bureau of Land Management currently oversees research and development on federal lands to address unanswered questions, and many companies continue to conduct research on the thousands of acres they own privately.

Last year, Congress put in place a funding limitation to ensure that we don't rush into a commercial program without viable technology or a full understanding of such a program's impacts. That extension expired on October 1.

What happens now that the limitation has expired and nothing has been put in its place? 

The Bush administration has already put forward draft regulations that were developed in secret and without adequate consultation with states and communities that have raised concerns about rushing to regulate an industry that is still conducting research. The regulations also have few environmental safeguards and offer bargain basement royalty rates to the industry that could cost taxpayers trillions. These regulations could go into effect in coming weeks, locking in lax rules and paving the way for commercial leasing.

It is critical that Congress take action to ensure that neither the regulations nor commercial leasing proceed prematurely or irresponsibly. The moratorium would not have impeded research and development activities underway on federal lands or the extensive private lands currently held by most major corporations. However, Congress should still act to negotiate an effective legislative fix for the root of the problem.

Additional information on the extensive environmental impacts of commercial scale oil shale development can be found at National Wildlife Federation and Natural Resources Defense Council.  Please also contact us for help.