Shell Stakes Claim on Yampa River

While water supplies have become scarce throughout our country, many industries are fighting to stake their claim on the last remaining water rights available. One such, Shell Exploration and Production Co., has recently applied to Colorado's state water court in Steamboat Springs for the substantial right to use the Yampa River in Northwestern Colorado for future oil shale development. Currently, Shell manages three research and development leases in Colorado, as well as many other water rights throughout the Colorado Basin. Shell is in the process of testing a method of heating shale to release petroleum distillates that can be refined into products such as jet fuel and gasoline .

Shell's future development of oil shale will involve the construction of a 45,000-acre-foot water reservoir, which will claim 375 cubic feet per second (750 acre-feet per day) of water, in turn requiring extreme amounts of energy to complete the process . Water would only be diverted during peak runoff periods in the spring (April-June), and any movement to actually take and store the river water is at least a decade away. "Regardless of where oil prices are, we think the opportunity is great and the benefit is great. We plan to continue our slow and methodical approach and stay the course." Town officials in Moffat County are particularly concerned about the affect on the area's future water rights and development across Northern Colorado .

While Shell has stated reasonable justifications for the water use and will "apply best water management practices to treatment, storage, and reuse" , I feel that the construction of the reservoir should be avoided. Not only does oil shale development have the potential to harm fish and wildlife habitat, contribute to global warming, and produce excessive pollutiing emissions, but also requires large amounts of energy in order to heat and process the oil shale to more than 600 degrees F. The Yampa River has proven an important water source for Colorado's Front Range communities, and "it doesn't make sense to hand over our scarce water just so an oil company can squander it on a pipe dream like oil shale." Objections of the possible construction are comprised from twenty-five federal, state, and local agencies, national parks, coal companies, and agricultural affiliates, simply seeking more detailed information on the proposed reservoir and it's potential impacts. "We want to make sure that the water right isn't speculative, that it will be put to a beneficial use and that Shell can and will develop the required infrastructure...We just want to be part of the process to protect our citizens."

As the Yampa River remains one of the last wild water sources yet to be claimed, I feel it should continue to be valued, and free from industrial disturbance, unlike most other water resources throughout the country. Although Shell has made intriguing claims on the production of the reservoir, they have omitted the necessary proposal of the coal-fired power plants that will be necessary to process this shale, or the excessive amounts of water consumption needed for each barrel of oil produced (3 barrels of water:1 barrel of oil). Not only are our limited water resources at stake to dirty oil companies like Shell, but issues concerning the surrounding habitat, wildlife, and groundwater supply have yet to addressed. In conclusion, I, along with many other citizens throughout the Northern Colorado region, oppose the water rights Shell Oil Company has claimed on the Yampa River.