For Immediate Release: June 15, 2007
Contact: Denise Adamic BLM 303-239-3671
Chris Paolino BLM 202-208-6416
Local governments to receive PILT funds
WASHINGTON—Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced that more than $232.1 million will be distributed in 2007 to local governments whose jurisdictions contain tax-exempt federal lands. In Colorado, this equates to $17.3 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes funds to 55 counties.
"This year’s appropriation was able to maintain the level of PILT funding achieved last year, the highest funding level in history,” Kempthorne said. “We are getting these funds to local governments in a timely manner, by June 15, to help the counties plan their annual budgets. We recognize the importance of these communities in helping to support federal lands and this money will help pay for essential services, such as firefighting and emergency response and to help improve school, water, and road systems.”
The Interior Department collects revenues of $4 billion annually from commercial activities on federal lands, such as oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing and timber harvesting. A portion of these revenues are shared with states and counties in the form of revenue-sharing payments with the balance deposited in the U.S. Treasury, which in turn pays for a broad array of federal activities, including payments to counties.
PILT payments may be used for any governmental purpose, and have been used to help improve local school, water, and road systems. Payment eligibility is reserved for local governments (usually counties) that provide services such as those related to public safety, environment, housing, social services and transportation, and that contain nontaxable federal lands.
Payments under PILT are made for federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation water projects, and some military installations.
As a result of increases in Forest Service timber payments, reductions in PILT entitlement land, a decrease in the prorating percentage and expiration of section 6904/5 payments, the total 2007 PILT payments to 37 states will be slightly lower than the 2006 payments. The following listing shows a county-by-county breakdown of how PILT payments will be paid to counties within Colorado:
County | Total Payment | Acres |
Alamosa County | $95,373 | 69,571 |
Arapahoe County | $6,543 | 4,613 |
Archuleta County | $529,492 | 438,797 |
Baca County | $269,725 | 205,519 |
Bent County | $26,935 | 21,386 |
Boulder County | $220,450 | 164,780 |
Chaffee County | $730,803 | 511,991 |
Clear Creek County | $106,392 | 170,812 |
Conejos County | $609,120 | 499,008 |
Costilla County | $1,245 | 887 |
Crowley County | $5,851 | 4,055 |
Custer County | $233,125 | 174,155 |
Delta County | $231,636 | 405,106 |
Dolores County | $84,704 | 422,282 |
Douglas County | $202,279 | 145,838 |
Eagle County | $891,765 | 848,738 |
El Paso County | $141,992 | 105,020 |
Fremont County | $642,699 | 454,658 |
Garfield County | $1,078,087 | 1,187,973 |
Gilpin County | $47,938 | 41,995 |
Grand County | $458,557 | 801,615 |
Gunnison County | $329,003 | 1,640,208 |
Hinsdale County | $74,056 | 676,499 |
Huerfano County | $217,527 | 207,687 |
Jackson County | $103,454 | 515,757 |
Jefferson County | $143,579 | 104,850 |
Kiowa County | $6,485 | 9,087 |
La Plata County | $552,890 | 436,373 |
Lake County | $253,797 | 188,376 |
Larimer County | $1,088,378 | 809,192 |
Las Animas County | $234,170 | 310,222 |
Lincoln County | $2,981 | 2,066 |
Mesa County | $1,255,414 | 1,554,531 |
Mineral County | $90,223 | 524,228 |
Moffat County | $431,032 | 1,671,738 |
Montezuma County | $287,295 | 472,476 |
Montrose County | $1,277,559 | 976,751 |
Morgan County | $3,169 | 3,221 |
Otero County | $242,200 | 181,442 |
Ouray County | $209,016 | 159,300 |
Park County | $853,783 | 712,832 |
Pitkin County | $536,195 | 566,486 |
Prowers County | $0 | 430 |
Pueblo County | $88,057 | 63,536 |
Rio Blanco County | $300,537 | 1,498,289 |
Rio Grande County | $428,651 | 335,526 |
Routt County | $587,881 | 665,659 |
Saguache County | $465,483 | 1,340,318 |
San Juan County | $43,078 | 214,757 |
San Miguel County | $191,178 | 490,081 |
Sedgwick County | $0 | 273 |
Summit County | $176,047 | 315,025 |
Teller County | $223,878 | 162,071 |
Washington County | $159 | 795 |
Weld County | $39,604 | 197,440 |
Yuma County | $1,499 | 7,470 |
Total | $17,352,969 | 23,693,791 |
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