Roan Plateau options include revoking leases

Author: Associated Press
POSTED: 01:24 PM MST Jan 25, 2013 
DENVER -

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will do another environmental analysis of drilling on Colorado's Roan Plateau, looking at a range of options, including revoking existing oil and natural gas leases.
    
The agency announced its plan Friday in response to a ruling by a federal judge in June faulting it for not following protocol when it approved drilling on the plateau, which looms over the Colorado River.
    
The BLM said it will also look at barring drilling on its top - as proposed by Garfield County communities - as well as allowing the existing leases to continue. The review will also consider the cumulative effects of drilling in the surrounding area.
    
The BLM approved phased-in drilling on the Roan in 2007 and environmental groups sued to block it.

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