PRICE, Utah – The Price Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management has finalized the environmental assessment and signed the decision record for the Horse Bench Natural Gas Development Project.
Signing the decision record authorizes the XTO Energy Inc. project, located 36 miles north of Price.
“The BLM is committed to responsible energy development,” Green River District Manager Gary Torres said. “This project is an example of the BLM carefully considering potential impacts to sensitive resources while also contributing to the national energy goals of this administration.”
The wells proposed by XTO are on lands managed by the BLM and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). The signed decision allows for the extraction, processing, and transportation of natural gas.
Steve Bloch, Legal Director with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, says his group and other environmental groups will review the documents.
Bloch says he expects the review will prompt a challenge to the project.
He says an administrative appeal will most likely be filed with the state director of the BLM outlining any concerns about negative impacts the project will have on the environment.
The attorneys will then ask that the proposal be sent back to the Price BLM Field Office to make changes to the plan.
Bloch says Horse Bench is located in a remote section of the state next to Nine Mile Canyon and calls it one of the “crown jewels” of public lands in Utah.
The public can view the EA, as well as, what’s called the BLM-signed and decision here.
