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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Oil and gas leases on 116,000 acres in the northwestern arm of Great Salt lake are being pulled back in a settlement between the state and environmental groups.
The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and Lands said Tuesday that the suspension of the 52 leases was part of a larger agreement to reopen the state's Great Salt Lake Mineral Leasing Plan established in 1996.
"The mineral leasing plan is 10 years old. It's time to take a look and see if there's new information or new issues concerning the division's public trust responsibilities and the mineral resources of the Great Salt Lake," said Joel Frandsen, division director.
Another 55,000 acres of Great Salt Lake energy leases issued earlier last year will remain unaffected by the settlement.
Under the terms of the settlement, the environmental groups have withdrawn their challenging to the 52 leases, but they reserve the right to challenge the revised mineral leasing plan and any development authorized under it.
Sean Phelan, an attorney for the groups, which include the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club, Friends of Great Salt Lake and the Great Salt Lake Audubon, said, "We see this as an opportunity for the state and the public to revisit the whole issue of whether it is appropriate to offer these leases."
The coalition had challenged the leases on the ground that the management plan "identifies, but does not analyze" potential serious adverse impacts that could arise from energy development.
They said the comprehensive management plan noted the presence of sensitive ecological interests in the lake's north arm that are currently buffered by limited access. The area provides critical habitat for American white pelicans and other shorebirds.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
