But Democrats warn they may replace bans on oil shale production - and potentially on limiting off-shore drilling - as soon as Congress reconvenes in January.
The Democratic-controlled Congress is backing down from efforts this week to push through their own energy package allowing some drilling off American coasts and to let states choose whether to pursue oil shale extraction in the face of a threatened White House veto.
The current ban on finalizing an oil shale leasing program for federal lands in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming ends at midnight Sunday, allowing the Interior Department to push through draft rules already in the pipeline.
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, called the expiration a victory for Utah and the West.
"I've always said [to oil shale critics], 'What are you afraid of?'" Bennett said. "You're afraid it might work. And it's very clear, given the price of $4 a gallon gas, that people want to find out."
Three Colorado Democrats blasted the Bush administration's threatened veto of an omnibus spending bill - a move that would have shuttered federal offices starting Monday - and vowed to re-enact the moratorium on an oil shale leasing program as soon as Congress returns in January.
"The White House is evidently willing to go to all extremes to trample on the will of Western communities," Sen. Ken Salazar, Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall said in a joint statement. "They were threatening to shut down the entire federal government - at a moment when our economy is in crisis - over two issues: offshore drilling and oil shale development."
The three, who advocate a go-slow approach to oil shale production, said they wanted either another moratorium or an alternative, as proposed by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, that would have allowed states to choose whether they wanted oil shale exploration within their borders.
"Neither of these options was sufficient for a White House that, in its waning days in office, is hellbent on running roughshod over Colorado and the West," the three Democrats said in their statement.
Several oil shale companies have eyed federal lands in Utah for exploration; supporters say the tri-state area holds billions of barrels of obtainable oil and it can be tapped without environmental damage.
Critics charge no company has shown it has the technology to be commercially feasible, that such a process is still more than a decade away and that the production of oil shale might soak up much needed water in the arid West.
Oil shale is actually sedimentary rock that when heated produces a chemical mixture called kerogen that can be processed into a synthetic fuel. Companies seeking oil shale leases would still have to go through environmental approvals and set royalty rates, steps that could take several months if not a year or more.
