Wyoming is weighing a massive land and mineral rights purchase that could give it a piece of Colorado — actually, a lot of little pieces — along with a big straw to dip into the state’s oil and gas reserves. The coronavirus is getting worse in states that President Donald Trump needs the most. Mark Gordon wants the state to step up as a buyer, using state funds, a move he argues provide better control over how the land is developed, as well as a revenue source of the state, which has had the foresight to store up billions in reserves generated from its mineral holdings. Anadarko Petroleum bought the land from Union Pacific and Occidental acquired it in a merger with Anadarko in 2019. This tract of land is commonly referred to as the Union Pacific checkerboard. autoPlayHoverPause: false, } innerThumb.height(parentHeight * scale); if ( number_hide_ads > 0 ) { // autoWidth: true, $(document).ready(function(){ It will need to settle on a price and terms and win political approval. The bulk of the assets for sale are in Wyoming. “It is unusual that a state would buy mineral resources at all, and that they would buy these resources in another state,” said Mark Squillace, an expert on natural resource law at the University of Colorado Boulder. Much of the land was the old route of the Transcontinental Railroad. var parentHeight = "250"; innerThumb.height(parentHeight); A border war? Jacqueline Joyce Edgin (October 11, 1951 – July 18, 2020), Food Bank of Sweetwater County receives $40,000 United Way grant, 13 students quarantined after SCSD#1 staff tests positive for COVID-19, MHSC board holding special workshop on Thursday, Arrest made in Saturday’s C Store stabbing. Georgia owned a railyard in Chattanooga that occupied prime real estate. bsaProResize(); The total land area involved in the sale is bigger than Connecticut. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which has taken heat from members for rates and what they say is a lack of flexibility, said Wednesday that it will cut rates by 8% and allow individual electric associations to produce more of their own power. function bsaOwlCarousel() { object.height(parentHeight); owlCarousel.fadeIn(); That ruling makes it unlikely Wyoming could argue its oil and gas holdings should be regulated under its laxer environmental standard rather than under Colorado’s more stringent rules. The property is currently owned by Occidental Petroleum Corporation. } function bsaProResize() { And there is a scenario where Wyoming could get even more valuable assets in Colorado. var ajax = $('.bsa_pro_ajax_load-30'); “If I were the state, I would want to be sure that Wyoming had agreed to comply with all state laws and regulations and to comply with all royalty and severance taxes,” said Squillace. autoPlayTimeout: 5000, Police in Gilbert say a suspect has been arrested in a recent homicide case. innerThumb.height(parentHeight); } Advertisement The bulk of the assets for sale are in Wyoming. Proponents of Wyoming buying the land have said it could deliver a better return than the current rate on 10-year Treasuries. owlCarousel.fadeIn(); Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. bsaOwlCarousel(); (function ($) { max-width: 728px; if ( objectWidth > 0 && objectWidth !== 100 && scale > 0 ) { But the Supreme Court ruled that when Georgia purchased the land, it surrendered its rights as a state in regard to that parcel. Had Wyoming’s bid been accepted, the rate of return was expected to be in the range of 8 percent to 12 percent, depending on the assets and how quickly the economy recovers. width: 100%; Say the state or one of the counties, uncomfortable with the idea of “foreign” ownership, make laws that specifically target Wyoming but not everyone else. Arizona Department of Transportation officials say ramps at the Interstate 10 and Interstate 17 “Stack” interchange in Phoenix will have overnight closures this week for bridge inspections. var ajax = $('.bsa_pro_ajax_load-20'); GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. Wyoming considers massive land, mineral rights purchase from oil company, which would spill over into Colorado Purchase from Occidental Petroleum, which could be … “We don’t get in the middle of people selling their private property rights,” she said. var animateThumb = $(".bsaProContainer-" + sid + " .bsaProAnimateThumb"); bsaProResize(); Wyo4News is an online media company providing free news and journalism to Sweetwater County and southwest Wyoming. Gordon’s spokesman. Congress had to step in to resolve the dispute. But a sliver of the land being sold, under 1,000 acres, and a bigger chunk of mineral rights, spill over into Colorado. dots: false Assume Occidental decides it needs to sell more holdings, this time large chunks of lands and mineral rights deep in Colorado’s highly productive Wattenberg Field. paginationSpeed: 700, var owl = $(".bsa-owl-carousel-30"); And legal experts say there probably isn’t much Colorado can do to block that from happening. autoPlayHoverPause: false, The purchase involves 1 million acres of land and 4 million acres of mineral rights now owned by Occidental Petroleum, which has had them on the market since October. Over time, those holdings ended up with Union Pacific Resources Group, then Anadarko Petroleum and then Occidental. } else { })(jQuery); dots: false setTimeout(function () { Still, Wyoming will keep its bid active and confidential in case the top bid falls through, Gov. $(document).ready(function () { dots: false That is all hypothetical. A border war? Mark Gordon said. About 20% of the land includes surface rights that could be leased for grazing or wind and solar energy projects. }, 100); Is there a danger that struggling companies will walk away rather than pay tens of thousands of dollars to clean up just one well site? })(jQuery); Larimer County attorney Jeannine S. Haag didn’t return calls to discuss the matter and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser was reluctant to offer a legal opinion until putting more research into the question. } if ( objectWidth > 0 && objectWidth !== 100 && scale > 0 ) { Weld County would want to make sure Wyoming paid all of the property, severance and income taxes it owed, down to the last penny. Georgia cried foul, arguing that it had sovereign immunity. owl.owlCarousel({ This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. $(window).resize(function(){ The state of Georgia purchased land in Tennessee as part of the construction of a railroad line between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The map was provided to WyoFile by the governor's office. “Our concerns are more financial,” she said. “To expand Wyoming, they would need the consent of Colorado and Congress to do that,” Watkins said. “I am disappointed that Wyoming was not the ultimate buyer of the Union Pacific Land Grant lands and minerals. if ( ajax.children.length > 0 ) { “As Wyoming moves forward and continues to pursue analyzing this opportunity, we would consider including the Colorado properties, which is almost all mineral acres and not surface,” said Michael Pearlman, Gov. Wyoming will need to do its due diligence and get an outside appraisal for the value of the minerals in question before it decides whether to makes a purchase, Pearlman emphasized. Occidental Petroleum, Colorado’s largest oil and gas producer, needs to raise cash and pay down the debt it took on as part of its $57 billion purchase of Anadarko Petroleum, which wrapped up in August. // autoWidth: true, $(document).ready(function(){ // autoWidth: true, if ( objectWidth < parentWidth ) { The system -- known as Climate Action Engine — is intended to help companies meet benchmarks for greenhouse gas emissions and invest more in targeted efforts to curb the effects of climate change. “It’s a complicated issue that would require more time for review and analysis,” said Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office. var scale = objectWidth / parentWidth; Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver, Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. All options for the Colorado land and rights remain on the table,” he said. } Wyoming not top contender for purchase of Occidental land By MEAD GRUVER August 11, 2020 GMT CHEYENNE, Wyo. And as far fetched as that might sound, in 2013, Colorado northeastern counties, fed up with state leaders, floated a secession plan. rewindSpeed: 1000, Fights over land and borders were more common when territories jostled to become states and define themselves. var parentWidth = "300"; “But with regards to the payment of taxes, we would absolutely be getting involved.”.

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