GLENWOOD SPRINGS Colo.
The state’s share of projected revenue from the gas-rich Roan Plateau should be set aside for higher education and for services in communities hit hardest by energy development, two Colorado lawmakers say.
State Rep. Al White and state Sen. Josh Penry said Tuesday the state could reap more than $500 million from gas-well leases on the plateau and more than $100 million a year for up to 30 years in royalties and taxes.
The state gets half of the bonuses, rents and royalties the federal government collects from energy development on federal land in Colorado.
White and Penry said they are drawing up a bill for next year’s Legislature that would put the Roan Plateau money in two permanent trust funds, one for higher education and one for energy-impact assistance.
The revenue projections are based on a Bureau of Land Management proposal unveiled this month to allow up to 1,570 new gas wells on and around the Roan Plateau over 20 years.
About 210 of those wells would be clustered on 13 well pads on the plateau top.
