Thursday, September 4, 2008

State Trust Land leasing must comply with Mora County DGS

State Trust Land leasing to private corporations for oil and gas development must be accountable to Mora County Development Guidance System (DGS) for permiting for private drilling operations--according to latest legal research by New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC), Bruce Frederick, for Drilling Mora County

In a letter to Drilling Mora County, Bruce Frederick, NMELC, lays out the reasons Commissioner Pat Lyons of the State Land Office, needs to inform all lessees for oil and gas drilling leases, on state trust land that they must comply with Mora County permitting. Frederick clearly outlines the reasons they must first contact the Mora County Commissioners for a permit to drill in Mora County.

The DGS is a set of laws governing the development in Mora County. All development, such as oil and gas development, even including those acres leased by the State Land Commissioner, that extends outside the strict guidelines of agriculture, must go through an extensive review including environmental impact statements.

This letter to Drilling Mora County outlines the County's authority, should they act on their right to protect their hundreds of thousands of acres of state land.