Split Estate Leases Hit Speedbump

The Farmington Times reports that while drilling rights were recently sold in San Juan County with little contention, 16,000 acres are being withheld from leasing in La Plata County Colorado:

Much of the property up for lease to developers is private land of which the federal government maintained below-surface mineral rights, known as a split estate, allowing the Bureau of Land Management to sell potential drilling sites to developers without regard to property lines. "Basically it was the fact that (residents) just said, No, we want to have some input in this process,'" said Matt Janowiak, assistant manager for physical resources with the San Juan Public Lands Center, which incorporates both the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service in Southwest Colorado. The BLM is looking to address both environmental concerns and property easement restrictions while seeking comment on the proposed leases. But the question is not if the land will be leased, it's when.

Several western states have enacted split estate legislation, leveling the playing fied between the surface owner and and the owner of the mineral estate. Similar legislation has been introduced in Colorado but hasn't become law. Governor Ritter needs to make this a priority.