For Immediate Release: August 22, 2002

BLM Approves Carbon Dioxide Drilling Proposal in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

The Bureau of Land Management has approved a proposal by Kinder Morgan Company to drill
two carbon dioxide gas (CO2) wells on existing federal leases in Canyons of the Ancients
National Monument about 20 miles west of Cortez.

One well will be drilled in the Yellow Jacket Unit and one well will be drilled in the McElmo Dome Unit.

Total surface disturbance for well pads, access roads, and roadside pipelines will be about 6.8 acres.

If the wells prove unproductive, they will be abandoned and reclaimed to BLM specifications.

The environmental assessment for this project addresses potential impacts of all activities associated with the proposal on natural and cultural resources within the Monument, including construction, operation, reclamation and abandonment of the wells.

About 85% of CANM is leased for oil and gas resources. About 272 billion cubic feet of CO2 was produced in CANM in 2000, resulting in $8.6 million in royalties to the Federal Government and $4.3 million to the State of Colorado. The proclamation that created the Monument provided fordevelopment of energy resources on existing leases when those activities donot create new impacts that would interfere with proper care and managementof the resources protected by the Monument Proclamation.

Hard copies of the EA are available at:
Anasazi Heritage Center, 27501 Highway 184, Dolores, CO 81323, and
San Juan Public Lands Center, 15 Burnett Court, Durango, CO 81301.

The EA is also available on the Web at:
http://www.co.blm.gov/canm/index.html
http://www.co.blm.gov/sjra/index.html

For more information, please contact Loren Wickstrom, 970 385-1373.

-BLM-