Cutting Off Our Nose

Remember the bill that Mark Udall amended to prohibit drilling on the Roan Plateau? Supposedly it was because the Roan was a unique place.

It turns out that the bill does more:

The Roan Plateau amendment isn’t the only reason oil and gas producers are bitter. One provision within the energy bill would close down seven multi-agency offices in the West that were created to facilitate coordination between the BLM and other agencies and speed up the permitting process.

That provision makes Mark Udall, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and John Salazar into bald faced liars. They aren't interested in preventing gas production in just the scenic areas in the west. They want to ensure that it doesn't happen anywhere.