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Oil and gas industry sues over sage grouse drilling restrictions

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thackney:
Oil and gas industry sues over sage grouse drilling restrictions
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/05/12/oil-and-gas-industry-sues-over-sage-grouse-drilling-restrictions/
May 12, 2016


--- Quote ---The oil and gas industry on Thursday challenged in federal court drilling restrictions imposed by the Obama administration to protect a struggling bird that ranges across 11 Western states.

The Western Energy Alliance and North Dakota Petroleum Council said they would ask a U.S. District judge in North Dakota to block sweeping land use plans for the region adopted in September by the Interior Department.

The groups said local and state efforts to prop up populations of greater sage grouse have been effective. Sweeping changes to U.S. Interior Department policies were not needed to ensure the chicken-sized bird’s long-term survival, they said.

It marks the oil industry’s first attempt to undo federal policies that already have drawn opposition from both ends of the debate over the bird. The challenged plans cover about 165 million acres of land in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah.

Interior Department spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw said in response that the new land use plans strike a balance between conservation and economic development. Their adoption was considered key to keeping sage grouse off the endangered species list and avoiding even more severe restrictions on development....

...There are now an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 greater sage grouse.
--- End quote ---

IsailedawayfromFR:
I see no struggling for an animal that can successfully thrive over eleven states and 165 million acres.

Smokin Joe:

--- Quote from: IsailedawayfromFR on May 12, 2016, 08:56:22 pm ---I see no struggling for an animal that can successfully thrive over eleven states and 165 million acres.

--- End quote ---
Not just that, but the ESA is being invoked to stop drilling activity in huge areas. Especially with the pad well, (up to 4 or more wells to a pad) 1280 acre spacing concept being very common in this area, the development generally occurs in parallel strips usually roughly 2 to 4 miles apart.  On Google Earth, look at  47 degrees 50 minutes N 103 degrees 20 minutes West (Mc Kenzie County North Dakota) and you will see such drill/production pads and the roads that serve them with the expanse of untouched terrain in between. There is plenty of room in this development paradigm for sage grouse and plenty of other critters as well.

Weird Tolkienish Figure:
I don't know what a sage grouse is but it sounds delicious for some reason.

IsailedawayfromFR:

--- Quote from: Smokin Joe on May 13, 2016, 04:48:26 am ---Not just that, but the ESA is being invoked to stop drilling activity in huge areas. Especially with the pad well, (up to 4 or more wells to a pad) 1280 acre spacing concept being very common in this area, the development generally occurs in parallel strips usually roughly 2 to 4 miles apart.  On Google Earth, look at  47 degrees 50 minutes N 103 degrees 20 minutes West (Mc Kenzie County North Dakota) and you will see such drill/production pads and the roads that serve them with the expanse of untouched terrain in between. There is plenty of room in this development paradigm for sage grouse and plenty of other critters as well.

--- End quote ---

Current design of pad wells over large swaths results in some of the minimalistic footprints one could make to extract energy.

Compare that to the huge footprints made by solar.  Bet you will not find any 'endangered' animals or plants where they site those.

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