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Moffat County received confirmation Friday that it will not receive any of the $17 million in severance tax grant funding made available this year by the state Legislature.

The county applied for almost $5 million to repave 28 1/4 miles of Moffat County Road 4, which officials said is in disrepair because of increased energy industry traffic between Wyoming and the Piceance Basin.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs oversees the money.

Until recently, the agency distributed regular energy im­­pact grants throughout each year.

When the energy industry was actively investing and drilling in Colorado, the severance taxes and mineral lease payments given to the state amounted to about $80 million in grant dollars during the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

But now, DOLA has little to give.

The state pulled funds out of the grant pool to balance its budget, and most of the energy industry left the Rocky Mountains and Colorado in the midst of a commodity price crash.

Moffat County Commissioner Audrey Danner said she has been told by DOLA Executive Director Susan Kirkpatrick that DOLA will not be awarding any grants for at least six months, even to those who applied in August.

At the same time money is short, counties are asking for more help.

A letter from Kirkpatrick to the county states DOLA received $85.6 million in requests for the $17 million it has available.

The implications of DOLA’s situation have given county officials little choice but to adapt to the times.

“We know that we’re going to have to change how we do business,” Danner said.

County officials have said previously they used to apply for about $800,000 each year in DOLA grants for equipment replacement, as well as other capital projects such as road maintenance.

Various county commissioners have said they may have to turn some paved roads back to gravel without DOLA assistance, and Danner mentioned that as a possibility for County Road 4.

“We are in the budget process and have put together a draft of the budget and are looking at what are the critical expenses we need to take care of,” she said, adding that county officials have not decided where to make cuts, but some services may receive less funding in the future.

Bill Mack, county road and bridge director, said he couldn’t guess when County Road 4 would deteriorate past the point of repair.

He hopes the county can spend enough on chip sealing and other maintenance to carry every paved road through the recession until money frees up.

The county has reserve funds that will help, Mack added, but he also said cuts are a real possibility.

“You can only spend what you have,” he said.

Collin Smith can be reached at 875-1794 or cesmith@craigdailypress.com.