Company proposing testing for oil, gas potential near Lima

By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard - 02/26/2008

Graphic adapted from map courtest Montana Bureau of Land Management

A Nevada energy company is planning to conduct seismic testing near Lima this year to determine the potential for oil and gas drilling.

Green River Energy Resources filed a notice of intent to conduct the testing along 26 miles of seismic lines on state and federal land west of Lima. The lands are a mix of state, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management property near the Big Sheep Creek drainage.

BLM officials expressed concerns about the testing’s impacts on area wildlife, especially in spring and summer when Green River is proposing the work. The testing involves underground blasting.

“They would like to get in as soon as possible, but it’s a winter range for elk and deer,” said Tom Bozorth, BLM Dillon manager. “It’s also a bighorn sheep lambing area and an elk calving area.” Green River is proposing to drill 60-foot deep test holes every 220 feet along the lines. A 40-pound explosives charge would be set down each hole and detonated to provide information about the geology under the surface.

In flat areas, drilling buggies would be used to dig the holes. In areas with slopes steeper than a 15 percent grade, helicopters would bring in digging equipment. No new roads would be built, Bozorth said.

While the work would disturb the surface, changes would be most visible while the charges are being set up and not during the actual testing.

“If you’re standing there you’ll hear it go thump that’s about it,” he said. “There’s no stuff spewing in the air or anything like that — it’s a subsurface explosion that’s directed downward.” But a representative of a conservation group that has protested numerous oil and gas leases in southern Beaverhead County criticized the BLM for even considering allowing testing at this time.

Bruce Farling, a spokesman for Montana Trout Unlimited, said his organization has appealed to the U.S. Interior Board of Land Appeals several leases in the Big Sheep Creek area, only to learn that the BLM is moving forward with this plan while those appeals are pending.

“Apparently already they’ve prejudged what the decision is going to be, I’m a little bothered See TESTING, Back Page Testing ...

Continued from Page A1 by that,” he said.

The area’s abundant wildlife and healthy fisheries makes it the wrong place for oil and gas drilling, he said. Spring and summer exploration could be harmful for bighorn sheep, elk and sage grouse — all of which use the area.

And the popular Big Spring Creek is a healthy trout fishery that would also suffer from seismic exploration during spawning, Farling said.

“A good way to go ahead and trash trout eggs is to have a nearby explosion and shake the ground a bit,” he said. “I can’t think of a worse place to do it.” The BLM will be accepting public comments until March 30 to measure concern over the proposal. Those comments will determine how thorough of an environmental review is conducted.

Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached at nick.gevock@mtstandard.com Fore more information For a map and supplemental information or to comment on the proposal, contact Robert Gunderson at the BLM, Dillon Field Office, 1005 Selway Dr., Dillon, MT 59725, or calling 683-8000. E- mail comments or request to MT_Dillon_FO@blm.gov. Please reference the Green River Energy project in the subject field. Issues and concerns should be submitted by March 30 to be included in the environmental review.