Geothermal leasing moves forward

Renewable energy one small step closer

Gunnison County came one step closer to possible geothermal development last week when the Bureau of Land Management released a decision to place two geothermal leases up for sale.

The land parcels, which total nearly 9,000 acres near the Waunita Hot Springs and Tomichi Dome, fall on BLM and Forest Service Lands. Geothermal development would bring a renewable energy source to the Gunnison Valley by using the earth’s heat to turn water into steam—that steam could then be used to generate electricity. But developers would need to follow several lease stipulations to protect wildlife and the environment, and at this early stage in a lengthy process, there is no real way to know who will bid on the lease.
 “We don’t have a sense of the competitive, market-driven interest right now,” BLM Gunnison Field Office manager Brian St. George told the Gunnison county commissioners in February, prior to the bureau’s final decision.
Denver-based Flint Geothermal submitted the block nominations for the Waunita Hot Springs and Tomichi Dome parcels in 2009, initiating the BLM process of public scoping and environmental review. But pending public and government reviews of the BLM decision to move forward, any local person or interest may bid on the leases when they go up for live auction in November.
According to BLM public spokeswoman Vanessa Delgado, when an interested party nominates a parcel, “the BLM will look to see if it is in an area where we allow for that type of use, in this case geothermal. If it is, it will then go up on an announcement for sale notice… The public will be able to go in and comment. Based on those comments, we make a decision.”
For the Waunita Hot Springs and Tomichi Dome parcels, the BLM considered five action alternatives, including closing the area to leasing altogether. Each alternative was then reviewed for conformance with the Gunnison Resources Area Resource Management Plan (RMP).
The decision released last Thursday is actually two separate decisions. The first is an amendment to the RMP to include greater protection for resources like big game wintering areas, Gunnison sage grouse habitat and lekking areas, geologic issues like erosion, and senior water rights. The second is what’s known around the BLM as a FONSI, a Finding of No Significant Impact—meaning the proposed development was found to have no significant effects on the environment.
But according to BLM realty specialist Marnie Medina, the findings do not mean that development is imminent.
 “With the leasing, there are multiple steps along the way. This doesn’t authorize any on-the-ground activities,” Medina said. “If this does go to lease and somebody buys and intends to develop it, there will be significant further studies.”
There are four stages of decision-making for resource development: exploration, drilling operations, utilization, and reclamation and abandonment.
Each stage requires a site-specific environmental analysis before receiving a permit.
But first, the RMP amendments are subject to public protest, and the BLM decisions—including the adoption of Forest Service findings that lands under its jurisdiction are suitable for leasing—are subject to a governor’s review to make sure there are no inconsistencies with any state planning,
Matt Reed, public lands director of High Country Citizens’ Alliance (HCCA), has been watching developments closely to ensure that proper accommodations are made for the Gunnison sage grouse. At this point, Reed said, HCCA is reviewing the decision in detail.
“We’ll look at how [the BLM] parcel conforms with the Forest Service parcel and if it responded to our asks. We think they did, but we’ll look more closely at how it comports with what we feel needs to be done to balance energy development with environmental protection,” said Reed.
What seems to be more up for debate at this stage is who will actually bid on the lease if it is placed for sale. There are few bases for comparison in Colorado. Last November, the BLM leased an 800-acre geothermal parcel in Buena Vista near Princeton Hot Springs in Chaffee County. It was the first nominated lease in 35 years, and only three parties bid on the lease.
The granted lessee was a surprise for everyone: 3E Geothermal LLC, a subsidiary of Young Life, which owns a Christian camp in the area. The group was initially opposed to geothermal development, and according to coverage in the Chaffee County Times, the group is currently contemplating the most “conscientious” way to comply with lease stipulations that lessees begin to assess geothermal development potential within the allotted timeframe.
“Given the momentum behind geothermal resource development in Colorado and on public lands in general,” Reed said. “Many people were surprised that only three entities entered a bid for the Mt. Princeton lease. With an abundance of outspoken landowners in the area opposed to leasing, there is speculation that the controversy surrounding geothermal development at the site was a major setback in the bidding process. While we ultimately do not know, we are anticipating a better response from industry in the Tomichi Dome area,” he said.
Flint Geothermal declined to comment on the pending leases, leaving the possible auction in Gunnison County up for speculation.
In the meantime, according to Medina, “The protest and appeal periods for the leasing decisions must be complete before the parcels can be put on the lease sale. Given that, the parcels will most likely be on the November sale, notice for which will be posted in August.”