Oil and Gas Activity Returns to Santa Fe County - Rio Grande Chapter

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Conservation What Can You Do to Save Energy We all have many opportunities to save on energy by reducing our energy footprint. Most actually save you money and are really not inconvenient to do. Water Heaters One of the largest energy hogs in our households are water heaters. There are many ways to cut our hot water usage without affecting our standard of life, and most have been published before. Even with a dog to prewash our dirty dishes, most of us hand wash them after or use a dishwasher. Don’t leave the hot water running while washing them; use what’s sufficient to scrub what the dog leaves behind, then run the hot water to rinse them. If you use a dishwasher, store the dirty dishes inside until the machine is filled, and only then run it. I check my electric meter daily, and it indicates the increased usage when I wash my dishes. Showers and baths are another heavy use of hot water. In the shower, you can greatly reduce the amount of hot water used by wetting down, then with the water off, soaping up and scrubbing, and then turning the water back on to rinse. Also there’s no reason to leave the water running while brushing your teeth or shaving. Another saver is a flow restrictor in the shower head. Dollar savings may be small and water savings may not seem that much until you consider the huge savings if several million households in the country implemented these actions. Lighting and TV Watch your lighting. Don’t leave your lights on all over the house if you’re only active in one or two rooms. Compact fluorescents are an excellent energy saver for hall lights, porch lights, and even in the kitchen. TVs also use a lot of energy. If you’re not watching it or are going out, turn it off. It saves energy and the TV will last longer. Vehicles Our vehicles also are frequently overused. Sure, we have to commute to work or carpool, but there are still many avenues for savings on our shopping trips in town. Unless you have to use the handicapped parking area, pick the first open parking slot. Nothing uses gas like cruising back and forth, looking for parking a few feet closer to the store’s front door. Besides, the extra distance walked adds to your MDR of exercise. Try to combine your shopping trips to stop at several stores on one trip. You save gas, and only have to fight traffic once. Keep your vehicle maintained, which will improve your gas mileage and should pay for itself. Again, these are things that will put money in your pocket. It’s nice to trade in your vehicle for a more fuel-efficient one, but for those of us that can’t do that, these suggestions can still lead to surprising savings from not visiting the money-thirsty gas pumps as often. For more tips, contact the Southern Group’s Global Warming Chair Earle Pittman (541-6281, espittman@zianet.com), or visit the National Sierra Club website (www.sierraclub.org). —Earle Pittman Wolf Pack Destroyed On May 26, the alpha male wolf of the Saddle pack in Southern NM was trapped and removed from the wild. His mate and their puppies were trapped a few days later. The alpha female began killing cattle only after scavenging on the carcass of a cow that had previously died from another cause, but the pack’s last depredation was two months ago and they may never have preyed on livestock again. Cattle in the wild die every day from many causes, and wolf depredation is among the least of them. The history of this pack is a tale of wolf mismanagement writ large. The mother of the alpha female died of capture-related stress two years ago. She also began preying on cattle after scavenging a carcass. The alpha female’s father was hit by a car after his pack split up following trapping and re-release. Most of her siblings and puppies from her three previous litters were killed by poachers or from trap-related capture and stress. Her first mate, even though he was genetically irreplaceable, was shot by government agents. Another pack member was shot from the air only last March. The alpha male of the Saddle pack was born in captivity and is also extremely valuable genetically. He is related to all three lineages of surviving Mexican wolves. But he will spend the rest of his life in captivity, along with his puppies and his mate. Mexican wolves are being re-exterminated from the wild to mollify the livestock industry. Let Governor Richardson (see contact info page 3) know that wolves belong in the wild. For more info, contact Wildlife Co- Chair Mary Katherine Ray (see masthead page 2). —Mary Katherine Ray Oil and Gas Activity (continued from page 1) and north of the Ortiz including deer, bear, cougar. There are migration routes along the Galisteo Creek dating back to Pueblo days. • Some say you can’t walk in the Galisteo Basin without being at an archaeological site. Who will protect them Does the Bingaman Act address this Further complicating the matter is the fact that most landowners in New Mexico own only the surface rights, not the rights to the oil and gas and other minerals under the surface. Many oil and gas rights are owned by the State Land Office and the federal government, which generally lease these rights to the highest bidder. If you do own the rights to the oil and gas under the surface, you can control your fate, right Not so fast; there is something called involuntary pooling. When a well is drilled and they start pumping, the oil or natural gas that they get does not observe the boundaries on plats. It may well come from under your land, even if you own the oil and gas rights and refuse to participate in the oil venture. Yes, you will get paid for your oil and gas under state law. Can forced participation in an oil or natural gas pool end up with drilling activity on your land so as to better achieve conservation of the oil resource That is an outstanding question. There are safeguards, right Well, maybe. We did pass the Surface Owners Protection Act in the last session of the Legislature. What the Act Does • Establish procedures for notifying surface owners of the intent of oil operators to explore for and possibly produce oil, and for arriving at a mutually agreeable agreement on restoration and compensation for damages • Require a minimal bond to cover court awards when no agreement is reached or if either party violates the agreement What the Act Does Not Do • Provide notice to communities when new oil and gas drilling programs are initiated • Establish realistic bonding levels: $25,000 for all the activities of an oil company statewide is simply inadequate • Provide assistance to surface owners in repatriating their oil and gas rights by identifying who owns their oil and gas rights so that the surface owners can attempt to reacquire those rights • Deal with special situations such as flood plains and where wildlife and or archaeological sites might be impaired • Require best technology to avoid damages caused by exploration and production, in particular the outlawing of pits in favor of closed-loop systems for dealing with the reuse of drilling muds and disclosure of all chemicals utilized underground The Environmental Protection Agency was cut out of the process (see www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/oil/ index.htm). That pretty much takes the NM Dept of the Environment out of the picture, also. What about the State Engineer, who should be concerned about the potential impact on domestic wells That responsibility has also been given to the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) within the NM Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, which is responsible for regulating oil and gas operations in NM. The OCD has been doing a pretty good job recently, but New Mexico benefits from oil, gas, coal-based methane, and coal revenues. The ability of the OCD to resolve conflicts with the oil and gas industry and replace the most destructive practices with improved methods to reduce the negative impacts of oil and gas exploration and operations is still in doubt. A little help from other state agencies and the expected federal protectors of the environment could make a big difference. What is the role of Santa Fe County The County has no jurisdiction with respect to what goes on under the surface, but it issues permits for various oil- and gas-related matters such as roads and structures. Right now, Santa Fe County is considering how to deal with a new situation with which it has little experience. The city of Lovington has developed an ordinance to protect Lovington’s water facilities from oil and gas pipelines. Other cities in New Mexico have also adopted ordinances to regulate oil and gas operations. We need to encourage counties to take an active role in managing their landscapes. The Oil and Gas Accountability Project (OGAP) has developed model oil and gas regulations (see www.earthworksaction.org/oil_and_gas.cfm). These regulations require: • A sound exploration plan • A sound development plan • A comprehensive surface restoration plan • Inspections • Fiscal responsibility and protection from companies with a bad prior record Some of the provisions in the OGAP model regulations are already covered by the Surface Owners Protection Act. Other needed protections are not, and in any case county regulation can be stricter than the state’s Surface Owners Protection Act. The OGAP regulations are good, but each county needs to review their own situation and adjust as appropriate. Enactment of such regulations by counties in New Mexico would go a long way towards mitigating the impact of oil and gas operations. Perhaps we should request support from the New Mexico Legislature to allow the New Mexico Association of Counties or the New Mexico Municipal League to provide assistance to cities and counties in developing and enacting such regulations. I want to acknowledge the many suggestions for this article received from the Galisteo Watershed Partnership Oil and Gas Working Group. For further information or to volunteer to help with this issue, contact Sigmund Silber (473-7006, ssilber1@juno.com). Rio Grande Sierran July/August 2007
Political U.S. Attorney Firing Scandal Has Potential to Impact NM Politics There has been some coverage in local press of the firing of David Iglesias, U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, along with seven other U.S. Attorney Generals, but many threads of the story are scattered throughout the country, making it hard for a casual observer to follow. This is an attempt at gathering many of the threads and examining how it affects the political scene in New Mexico. Both Republican Senator Pete Domenici and Republican Representative Heather Wilson have admitted calling U.S. Attorney David Iglesias before the 2006 election, inquiring about the progress of the U.S. Courthouse investigation. The investigation was widely viewed as a potential source of bad press for the Democrats while Wilson was engaged in a very tight race. According to Iglesias, Wilson asked about a “sealed indictment.” Evidence all but shows that Domenici was responsible for getting Iglesias added as a late addition to the list of U.S. Attorneys who were fired. Congressional ethics rules bar contact with U.S. Attorneys during most active investigations in order to avoid influencing them. An ethics charge has been filed in the Senate against Domenici. The House requires another member to request an ethics charge, and currently there is a truce among members, so Wilson may escape a House ethics investigation. Fired Prosecutors U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of San Diego had prosecuted Republican Congessman Randy Cunningham, now in jail, and had expanded her investigation to Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis. Her investigation resulted in the resignation of the head of the CIA, Porter Goss, and the number-three person in the CIA had been indicted. Lam’s request for additional time to transition ongoing cases was rejected “at the highest levels.” As a result, Lam’s prosecution of Brent Wilkes, who was the person accused of bribing Randy Cunningham, ground to a halt. U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton of Arizona was investigating Republican Representative Rick Renzi. U.S. Attorney John McKay of Seattle, who had received the Navy’s highest civilian honor and positive evaluations, was pushing for the federal government to investigate the death of a friend, Thomas Wales. Wales, assistant U.S. Attorney General for Seattle, was killed by gunshots in 2001, possibly the first time that a federal prosecutor had been slain due to his position. McKay’s office was recused from the investigation due to his relationship with the victim. Off-duty, Wales was a strong advocate of gun control. Kyle Sampson stated that he may have put McKay on the list due to being too aggressive in pushing for more resources in investigating the Wales murder (half of the four FBI agents assigned to the case were removed in June 2006). Washington State Republicans felt that McKay should be putting more emphasis on investigating voter fraud in a close gubernatorial election that was lost by the Republican candidate. McKay, Bud Cummins of Arkansas, and another U.S. Attorney reported phone calls after their dismissals from Michael Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, that all three interpreted as a veiled threat to keep silent about their firings. Elston and McNulty are among the five from the Justice Department that have announced their resignations. Partisan Prosecutors Some people have suggested that if those who were fired were not partisan enough, we should look at the actions of those who did not get fired. Chris Christie, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey and Bush Pioneer, issued subpoenas two months before the 2006 election, alleging corruption on the part of Senator Bob Menendez, who appeared to be in a close race at the time. The allegations now appear to be groundless. U.S. Attorney for Wisconsin, Steven Biskupic, prosecuted Georgia Thompson before the 2006 election when Governor Jim Doyle was facing a tough race with Republican Representative Mark Green. Georgia Thompson was convicted, but an appeal resulted in the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals taking the very unusual step of summarily acquitting and releasing Thompson immediately after oral arguments, saying that there was no evidence to support the charges. Lest some say that these incidents are just isolated, Professors Donald Shields and John Cragan compiled a study of 375 investigations and/or indictments of candidates and elected officials since Bush became President. Democrats were seven times more likely to be targets. While Domenici and Wilson appear to have violated ethics rules, how serious were those violations The above incidents show that the U.S. Attorney purge should be of grave concern to all citizens, but supporters may say Domenici and Wilson were only peripherally involved. Critics may note the casual manner they employed in acts that certainly would influence a criminal investigation, and that they still have not admitted that such phone calls were wrong and violations of ethics rules. Both have stated that they were merely relaying the concerns they had been hearing from their constituents. Both have been viewed as not among the extreme right wing of the Republican Party and portray themselves as moderates. Both are generally viewed as having good records with regards to ethics. Wilson has always had close races in her district, which is more Democrat than Republican. While Domenici has enjoyed wide support, even among Democrats, a recent Survey USA automatic phone survey shows Domenici’s approval rating dropping to 51%. There have also been concerns about Domenici’s age and persistent rumors of retirement, perhaps late in the race to pave the way for Wilson taking his seat while opponents have little time to mount a viable challenge. Former Republican Governor David Cargo has stated, “This has the potential to really cripple the [state] Republican Party.” Certainly, the loss of both would have a tremendous impact on New Mexico politics, and the results are hard to contemplate. For more information, contact Political Committee Chair Tom Robey (see masthead page 2). —Tom Robey Democratic Challengers Line Up Democratic challengers have emerged against both Domenici and Wilson even though the election is still well over a year away. Martin Heinrich, Albuquerque City Councilor, and Rick Homans, NM Economic Development Department Head, both appeared to express interest in challenging Wilson for her House seat. Feeling that a primary contest would be detrimental, the party support has solidified behind Heinrich (www.MartinHeinrich.com). Heinrich was instrumental in the fight for the Ojito Wilderness and has roots in the environmental community. Wilson has a rating from the League of Conservation Voters of 17% in 2006, not great but not among the worst of the Republicans. Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP) rank her at 29, which included recognition of her support for protecting Valle Vidal. Jim Hannan (www.jimhannan.com), past Chair of the Rio Grande Chapter, has announced he is running against Domenici. At press time, Don Wiviott of Santa Fe also announced his intention to run for the race. If Domenici’s health or popularity drops further, then other candidates are more likely to enter the fray. Domenici has a League of Conservation Voters rating of 14%. REP ranked Domenici at -7 on a scale of 0-100, which included recognition of his support of protecting Valle Vidal, which was offset by leading efforts for recognizing speculative revenues from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and sponsoring a bill for drilling in sensitive areas in the Gulf of Mexico. They also gave him the award among Republicans as “Worst in the Senate in 2006.” —Tom Robey Jim Hannan-US Senate www.jimhannan.com As your US Senator, I will work to slow global warming by supporting the following: 1. Increase fuel standards for vehicles to 40 miles per gallon by 2020. 2. Adopt a national energy efficient building code, moving to zero energy passivhaus type buildings by 2020. 3. A huge increase in development of concentrating solar power generation. Our two New Mexico national labs can help. July/August 2007 rio Grande Sierran
Page 1 and 2: Rio Grande Sierran News of the Rio
Page 3 and 4: Info for Activists & a Word from Yo
Page 5: Public Lands More Support Needed to
Page 9 and 10: Taos Branch News Sentinels Celebrat
Page 11 and 12: Northern Group News Sat Sun July NO
Page 13 and 14: Southern Group News Outings Please
Page 15 and 16: Preservation Live Earth Concerts to

Oil and Gas Activity Returns to Santa Fe County - Rio Grande Chapter

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?