Dear Editor,
These are facts: The Grand County Council argues that the county road department and the Grand County Transportation Special Service District are short of funds. The expenditures below have contributed to the shortfall in funding road maintenance and construction.
Over $94,000 of Grand County Transportation Special Service District funds were used in 2014 to improve Spring Canyon Road in the Big Flat area. The all-weather road ends several hundred yards past Fidelity Oil and Gas Exploration’s last well pad. The road beyond that point has a rough dirt surface that would probably be impassible during a storm.
The Dubinky Wells Road in the same area is a three-season road, well-graded, and fully culverted for stormwater. The road is only improved up to the oil company’s pumping station for the pipeline. The road past the pumping station would also probably be impassible during a rain storm.
Part of the 2016 proposed road projects for the transportation special service district is a $60,000 allocation to resurface 3 miles of the Dubinky Well Road starting at state Route 313.
In 2014, the transportation district spent $10,000 to help find a route for the Book Cliffs Road.
Grand County has not received any funds from the oil company for road construction.
This $154,000 above is a small portion of the funds that will be needed in the Big Flat area for a road system necessary to serve the 16 new oil pads proposed by the oil company. Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be needed to improve many other roads in the area as the new well pads are developed. Who will pay for this?
This is opinion: The shortfall in funds available for road construction in the Moab area is partially due to the transportation special service district building roads in the Big Flats area near Highway 313 for the oil industry. The district should not be using a large portion of its mineral lease money to build high-quality, all-weather roads in the oil fields to transport oil from well pads.
The transportation special service district was formed to channel mineral lease money into road construction for Grand County residents. Mineral lease money can also be used for the solid waste special service district and for the Canyonlands Health Care Special Service District. Building infrastructure for a multimillion dollar oil company, although legal, is not in the best interests of Grand County’s residents. The county receives pennies from the oil company revenues as mineral lease funds and there are many area of the county that need these funds more than a multimillion dollar oil company.
The Grand County Council has full control of the expenditures made by the Grand County Road Department through the budget process. The Grand County Council’s control of the transportation special service district is limited to appointment of board members and the allocation of mineral lease money to the transportation special service district. The county council needs to do everything possible to guarantee that road funds are used on roads that are primarily used by residents of Grand County, and not on roads that are primarily used to transport oil to market.
Here’s what you can do: Write letters to the newspaper and email the county council at council@grandcountyutah.net, the Moab Sun News at editor@moabsunnews.com and The Times Independent at editor@moabtimes.com.
Mineral lease funds and future sales taxes for roads should be used for the construction and improvement of roads that are used primarily by county residents. Mineral lease funds and future sales taxes should not be used for roads located in an oil field that are primarily used to transport oil to market. Tell the council to negotiate a contract with the oil companies. A contract would require the oil companies to pay a major portion of the cost for roads that are located in the oil fields and used primarily to transport their oil to market.
The extraction industry controls the CIB board, and Uintah and Duchesne counties. The industry should not control Grand County.
