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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A report to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar finds that many oil and gas parcels auctioned off in the final days of the Bush administration were too close to Utah's national parks and shouldn't have been sold.
Senior government officials say the report -- released Thursday -- found that 47 of the leases were close to wild areas or Arches and Canyonlands national parks.
Salazar scrapped 77 leases within weeks of taking office but promised to review them.
The findings were described to The Associated Press by senior officials who asked not to be identified because they were speaking ahead of the report's release.
The officials say the remaining 30 leases that Salazar rescinded could go up for sale again because they are in or next to existing oil and gas fields.
The Hayes Report made several recommendations, all of which Secretary Salazar has directed to be implemented, including:
- That BLM work more closely with the National Park Service to avoid a repeat of last fall's public listing of parcels adjacent to three National Park units for oil and gas leasing;
- That Interior issue guidance to assist BLM officials in making leasing decisions on lands that are near parks and other sensitive landscapes, including parcels that have wilderness characteristics or other values that may not be consistent with oil and gas development;
- That a special BLM team be created to make final decisions regarding potential re-offering of some of the 77 parcels for oil and gas leasing. The review team grouped the parcels in several categories, noting that some parcels, such as those in current production areas, appear to be appropriate for oil and gas leasing, while other parcels will need more extensive review.
- That BLM initiate a comprehensive air quality strategy for the region, in consultation with the National Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and state officials.
The Hayes Report is available online at www.doi.gov/utahreport/
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
