Release: Sunday March 5, 1967 Office of Wayne N. Aspinall, M.C. 2313 Rayburn Building Washington, D.C.
ASPINALL ON OIL SHALE HEARINGS
THREE SIGNIFICANT NEW FACTS were developed during the Senate Interior
Committee's recent hearings on oil shale, or so says Congressman Wayne N. Aspinall of Colorado
Aspinall is chairman of the House Interior Committee---and the trillion dollar oil shale deposits are located mostly in his Congcessional District in Colorado.
Aspinall said that the House Interior Committee would also be holding hearings on oil shale sometime in the future, but said hearings would have to await more
sub-stantial developments.
The three new facts as set forth by Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall were, According to Aspinall:
1. That the work of the Department of Interior in examining and evaluating oil shale claims had been hindered by lack of information and that as a result
the Department is preparing a "Recording statute" that would require all past and future mlaims to be recorded with the Bureau of Land Management.
2. That the Interior Department was presently in active planning with the Atomic Energy Commission for in-place oil shale retorting by atomic blasting and
that this research is likely to cost the government $15 million.
3. That general research on methods of retorting oil shale will, over the next ten years, cost the Government $86 million---for a total research bill for general and in-situ research of $101 million.
The Secretary recently released a new oil shale policy. In doing so, he
stated the Department of Interior would announce new regulations for limited research and development of federal oil shale lands by private companies.
Aspinall said the announcement of the rules could provide an appropriate occasion for oil shale hearings in his committee.
