Polis, Lamborn Spar Over Oil Shale Proposal
DENVER (AP) - Members of Colorado's congressional delegation are at odds over a proposal on oil shale.
Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado has proposed requiring the Interior Department to offer more land and leases for oil shale research and commercial production, saying that could help support jobs.
Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado wanted to strip the proposed mandate for commercial leasing from a pending highway bill, but the House rejected the Democrat's proposal in a voice vote Wednesday.
Polis had argued Lamborn's proposal is premature because companies haven't found a commercially viable way to develop oil shale in the U.S. yet. He says development could threaten limited water supplies in the West.
Oil shale must be mined, then heated at very high temperatures before it produces oil.
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