Oil exploration sought in new Calif national monument
I recall Bill Clinton doing a surprise conversion of a large part of the state of Utah into a National Monument or park or some such, without consulting the Utah governor or legislature beforehand. It was an area that had huge reserves of low-sulfur coal, the most environmentally-friendly kind. That kind of coal is required for use in many power plants in environmentally sensitive areas, and Clinton's act blocked off any mining of it from that source.
Turned out later that the only other source of such low-sulfur coal was in Indonesia, and was owned by "Friend Of Bill" James Riady, who had illegally helped Clinton's campaign for President. Riady reaped a huge windfall from Clinton's act. Clinton and Riady both denied any quid-pro-quo or other connection.
This article mentions that this monument in California, was created by Clinton too. Was its creation part of the same (or a similar) scheme? How many environmental groups supported Clinton during his campaigns?
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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/29204.html
Oil exploration sought in Calif. national monument
By David Whitney
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Sunday, March 2, 2008
WASHINGTON — A subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum has notified the Bureau of Land Management that it would like to explore for oil in a central California national monument.
John Dearing, a BLM spokesman, said the agency can do nothing to stop Vintage Production from testing for oil under the Carrizo Plain National Monument in eastern San Luis Obispo County because the company has owned the mineral rights there since before President Bill Clinton created the monument in 2001.
“Because this is a national monument, there will be environmental concerns that will have to be strongly looked at,” Dearing said. “But they have a right to access.”
The monument's 250,000 acres are not virgin territory for drilling rigs. The monument is just over a hill from the oil fields of Kern County. There is a small amount of production already occurring in remote canyons of the monument.
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