"U.S. gas drilling boom stirs water worries"--Reuters

Excerpt: "They have lied to us so much," Grimm told Reuters. He said the company has exceeded the promised number of workers on its drill sites, and flared, or burned, excess gas when it said it wouldn't.

"This was almost a pristine township. They have taken the innocence off it," he said.

Grimm said he has no evidence that drilling is contaminating groundwater, but is aware of concerns that the "fracking" fluid may escape -- either above or below ground -- and that the chemicals in it have the potential to cause cancer, damage human immune and reproductive systems, and trigger other illnesses.

U.S. gas drilling boom stirs water worries
Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:18pm EST
By Jon Hurdle

HICKORY, Penn. (Reuters) - On a snowy hillside in rural southwest Pennsylvania, Larry Grimm drives his truck up a steep gravel track to a hilltop reservoir surrounded by orange plastic fencing and "keep out" signs.

The pond supplies water pumped from a local creek to the natural gas wells that are springing up throughout Mount Pleasant Township, where Grimm is the municipal supervisor.

Range Resources Corp, the Texas company that has drilled 68 wells in the township, needs millions of gallons of water for "hydrofracking," a process that forces a chemical-laden solution deep into the rock, allowing natural gas to be released.

The technique is being repeated at hundreds of other sites in Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states as energy companies scramble to exploit the Marcellus Shale, one of America's biggest natural gas formations, which some geologists believe contains enough recoverable gas to meet total U.S. needs for a decade or more.

At a time when America is stepping up efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign energy, the Marcellus appears to offer an abundant alternative close to America's biggest natural gas market, the northeast.

But Grimm and others in Hickory say they have already paid a high price for the development of their quiet community from the noise of drills and compressors, heavy truck traffic damaging local roads, and air pollution from flaring or escaping gas.

"Mora group wants hearing"--OPTIC by David Gulliani

A group concerned about possible oil and gas drilling in Mora County
contends the public has yet to get its say with elected
representatives.
A year ago, the Mora County Commission had planned to hold a public
hearing on the issue, but it canceled the meeting at the last minute.
The nonprofit group, Drilling Mora County, carried on with the event,
with more than 200 attending to listen to arguments about the
drawbacks of energy development.
The commission has yet to hold the public hearing, said Kathleen
Dudley, chairwoman of Drilling Mora County. “We have continued to
ask the commissioners to hold a public hearing, where people can tell
them their views.”
Drilling Mora County was formed after Albuquerque-based KHL Inc.
started looking at leasing mineral rights near Ocaté, northeast of
Mora, a first step to oil and gas drilling.
Dudley said she had been told by the county that it doesn’t have
time for a public hearing, but she said it had time to go to a
KHL-organized trip to Santa Rosa to look at a gas well.
Commissioner Laudente Quintana, who represents Ocaté, said the
commission will hold a public forum before it makes any decision on
oil and gas drilling. So far, no one has filed any applications for
permits for drilling, he said.
The company has contracted with a Santa Fe company to propose
changes to the county’s regulations for development, Quintana said.
“All three commissioners are looking at different angles (of this
issue) about what’s good and what isn’t. We aren’t going to
jeopardize anything for the people,” he said.
Quintana said he’s particularly concerned about the effects of oil
and gas drilling on water supplies.
That’s also an issue of concern for Mora County Drilling. The
group contends that hundreds of water wells across the state have been
contaminated as the result of oil and gas drilling and that the
extraction of natural gas takes upward of 800,000 gallons of a
ranch’s water to begin the drilling process.
The group has started to run weekly advertisements in the Optic,
asking residents to call their commissioners about their views on
energy development. One of its main arguments is that oil and gas
drilling will displace the county’s agricultural way of life.
“What I’d like to see is that any industry that is known to
pollute be prohibited in Mora County, just as the county’s
development guidance standards state right now. It concerns us if an
industry pollutes water or causes health problems,” she said.
“We’re not anti-drilling; we’re anti-pollution and
anti-destruction.”
Whatever the outcome of a public hearing, Dudley said it’s
important to have one.
“Maybe more people want industry to come than don’t. We would
like the commission to hear the voice of the people,” she said.
KHL President Knute H. Lee Jr. didn’t return a message for
comment. He has said before that drilling would benefit the area
economically and that it would be “minimally intrusive.”
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------

Congress May Close Huge Drilling Industry Loophole that Threatens Clean Drinking Water

Congress May Close Huge Drilling Industry Loophole that Threatens Clean Drinking Water
By Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica. Posted May 26, 2009.

Excerpt:
"The drilling process involves injecting millions of gallons of water and sand mixed with tens of thousands of gallons of chemicals -- some that are known to cause cancer -- deep into the ground, where as much as a third of those fluids typically remain after the gas is removed".

Congress is having second thoughts about the environmental dangers posed by the burgeoning gas drilling industry.

Four years after Vice President Dick Cheney spearheaded a massive energy bill that exempted natural gas drilling from federal clean water laws, Congress is having second thoughts about the environmental dangers posed by the burgeoning industry.

With growing evidence that the drilling can damage water supplies, Democratic leaders in Congress are circulating legislation that would repeal the extraordinary exemption and for the first time require companies to disclose all chemicals used in the key drilling process, called hydraulic fracturing.

The proposed legislation has already stirred sharp debate.

Hydraulic Fracture Fluid Kills 18 Cattle Near Chesapeake Well in LA--by TX Sharon

The drilling crew at a Chesapeake well site in Louisiana was "injecting fluids at high pressure to break down the shale and release natural gas," when some cattle ingested the fluid and died. 19 of the cattle died.

That sure sounds a lot like hydraulic fracturing. In 2005, at the urging of Dick Cheney, former Halliburton CEO, Congress exempt fracing from the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It's way past time to repeal that exemption! I'll have a link up later to resolutions your group, municipality, county, etc. can adopt asking our legislature to remove the exemption.

But, there's no need to worry because the industry tells us that hydraulic fracturing is perfectly safe and never, ever contaminates any water and it's really precise except for when it's imprecise.

UPDATE: I understand that the death toll is now up to 30 but that's unconfirmed.

An animal lies near the drilling site where at least 18 cows died Tuesdayevening
in a pasture next to a Chesapeake Energy Corp. drilling site in Caddo Parish. (Jim Hudelson/The Times)

DEQ: 'Nobody is owning up to it'

DuBose said he and Canady captured on video a yellowish-green substance that was spewing into the air and falling onto the ground. Caddo deputies also said a yellowish-green substance was covering the ground and a Chesapeake employee said it was a chemical used in the fracing process.

19 head of cattle die near north La. gas well

...investigators found white, milky puddles here and there both on the well site and in a 400 square-yard area just inside the pasture.
...
The livestock died Tuesday near rain puddles in their pasture, said a Caddo Parish sheriff's spokeswoman, Cindy Chadwick. Local residents reported the cattle were foaming at the mouth, bellowing and had bleeding tongues.
...
"The cows' tongues hanging, bleeding off front and back, foaming at the mouth and bellowing" she said.

William Dubose said he captured video of yellowish-green fumes that smelled like a combination of antifreeze and petrochemical.

Antifreeze just happens to be one of the chemicals in frack fluid.

Frac Water Chemicals Chemical Components (From MSDS)

This is not an isolated case. One of the Wise County Commissioners lost a calf because it got in a spill on his land, in Freestone County several cattle died so the gas company paid the owner and hushed him up. There are many such cases if you dig around a little bit.

If it does that to cattle, imagine what will happen to people. Oh, HERE's what.

Scientists studying residents living in a 1970s era housing development built atop a retired oil field waste pit found an extraordinarily high incidence of lupus, an autoimmune disease. Researchers calculated that the rate was 30 to 99 times higher in people living in this six-block area of Hobbs, NM, than what would be expected in the general population.

Drink up! Eat up!

Drilling Mora County meeting/Ocate, with Anna Real Delay/Senator Tom Udall's office and Pamela Garcia/Representative Ben Lujan's office

Dear Pam and Anna,
It was so nice to have met you both at the Ocate meeting this past Thursday, April 23, 2009.

I wish to thank you both for having taking the time and effort to attend and make the presence of Representative Lujan and Senator Udall felt, not only for the Mora and San Miguel County residents who were present, but also for Johnny Micou and myself, residents of Santa Fe County -- all of us your constituents.

It is wonderful that our national elected public officials are becoming aware of the extreme danger to Northern New Mexico should oil and gas drilling take place in our watersheds and remaining rural areas that are a national treasure AND the natural resource treasure of fresh air and pure drinking water for all of Life and future generations of New Mexicans to whom we all owe a debt of accountability.

Over this past year, my community efforts have been focused in Santa Fe County and protecting the Galisteo Basin, and by extension, the Rio Grande Rift Valley from the Federally unregulated, highly toxic and destructive
methods and materials currently employed by the og industry. As a part of this effort, I was asked to produce and participate in the benefit exhibition: The Galisteo Basin Photography Project (www.GalisteoBasinPhotoProject.com), a celebration of the Galisteo Basin. Governor Richardson endorsed our effort by signing the Title Page and one special boxed set edition of 27 photographs was purchased and donated to the Palace of the Governors, Photographic Archives by the McCune Foundation and John Scanlon and Verve Gallery in Santa Fe. I attach here our Press Release and postcard and invite you to have a look at the online gallery. The Project's photography sales totaled $20,425. $7,056.24 was raised and, in equal proportions, given to three grassroots organizations working to protect New Mexicans: Drilling Santa Fe, Oil & Gas Accountability Project, and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.

I am now turning my attention to the effort to protect our Northern New Mexico watersheds, water, and traditional ways of life -- from our acequias to the famous weavers of Chimayo and Los Ojos, and all the other unique cultural and traditional lifestyles and sustainable resources found in our communities -- everything that would be destroyed should full-scale og fields be allowed to be developed in our northern counties.

I would ask Representative Lujan and Senator Udall to please work to make the og industry again subject to our national environmental laws and regulations, including: Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Surface Water Run-off Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; Community Right-to-Know Act; amongst others that the og industry was exempted from by the Bush-Cheney administration. Also, I would urge them to permanently ban the use of hydraulic fracturing hazardous chemicals and materials (including biocides, silica, and corrosive chemical dust suppressants). These (including identified chemicals on the superfund list) poisonous, carcinogenic, endocrine-disruptive materials do not belong in the water and bodies of Earth nor Man. It is impossible to remediate aquifers. It is irresponsible and reprehensible to squander the God-given gifts of clean air and water.We need leadership to move into a sustainable, non-fossil-fuel energy future.

Again, my thanks to you both, Pam and Anna, serving as the eyes and ears of
our Congressman and Senator respectively; and to let them hear what the People need and want.

Most sincerely yours,

Linda Spier

OPTIC Letter to the Editor--Oil and Gas Drilling in Mora County

As we all know by now, the climate crisis is real. And
as we all know, only immediate measures to cap carbon pollution
can turn the ship of destruction around, and protect a planet
worth living on.
In the face of these facts it is astounding to me that the oil
and gas industry is still pushing into areas like Mora county,
trying to get the last pockets of fossil fuels out of the
earth, with no regards for the future of those living here.
Hopefully our county government officials, elected and paid by
the people, have enough far sight to withstand the short lived
lures and promises of a predatory industry promising false
wealth to a county that already has a different kind of wealth:
clean air, clean water, agriculture, wildlife, community, a
quality of life people are longing for in most other places of
this country.
With some long term consideration the county government could
leave its mark by igniting a transition into clean and
renewable energy, creating local jobs and supporting an
economic recovery for the whole country, all the while
protecting the beauty and values of our community and the
health and welfare of its people.

by Claudia Stromberg, Ocate resident
published April 17th 2009

The Mosquito and the Dalai Lama

Somebody asked the Dalai Lama how to approach a mosquito that is biting his arm...he said...first I wave and let him know is not OK to bite...if he comes back I slap my arm near as second warning...if he insists in coming back...I have to slap the mosquito for good.

Amendments to the States Pit Rules Proposed

Governor Richardson has proposed amendments to the state's new Pit Rule.

The public hearing on these amendments will be:

Thursday
April 2, 2009
9:00 am
Porter Hall
1220 South St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe, New Mexico

PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY ATTENDING THE HEARING AND URGING THE OIL CONSERVATION COMMISSION TO UPHOLD CURRENT PROTECTIONS.

BACKGROUND:
OGAP, New Mexico Citizens for Clean Air and Water and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, representatives on Governor Richardson's Pit Rule Task Force - and official parties to the lengthy rulemaking process in 2007 and 2008 - will urge the state not to rollback standards that currently limit the toxicity level of wastes that are buried on oil and gas well sites throughout New Mexico. While we are gravely concerned with the process by which the proposed amendments to the Pit Rule were generated, we are most concerned with the proposal to "increase the chloride waste standard for closure of temporary pits or drying pads by on-site trench burial from 250 milligrams per liter (mg/l) to the greater of 3000 mg/l." It is a shame the proposed Pit Rule changes had no stakeholder input other than industry input and were not subject to any meaningful public discussion. The three organizations filed a motion to continue/delay the hearing for 30 days in order to give us more time to prepare and provide technical information given that everyone has been consumed with the Legislative Session which just ended a week ago. We've heard that our motion will be denied and we should receive official notice of that decision shortly. The Governor has proposed six amendments to the Pit Rule. For full detail on the six proposals, please click on the link below. The OGAP website is chock full of information on the Pit Rule hearing, chemicals used in drilling operations, etc. A link to that webpage is provided below as well.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PITS AND NEW MEXICO HEALTH AND TOXICS ISSUES:
http://www.earthworksaction.org/NMToxics.cfm

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE HEARING AND THE PIT RULE AMENDMENTS:
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/ocd/documents/4-2OCCMEETINGspecial.pdf

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/ocd/documents/Application030209WebPosting.pdf

STATE OF NEW MEXICO
ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
OIL CONSERVATION DIVISION
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

The State of New Mexico, through its Oil Conservation Commission hereby gives notice
pursuant to law and Commission rules of the following special meeting and public
hearing to be held at 9:00 A.M. on April 2, 2009, in Porter Hall at 1220 South St. Francis
Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico, before the Oil Conservation Commission. This public
hearing concerns the amendment of 19.15.17 NMAC (the "Pit Rule"). If additional time
is needed, the hearing may continue at a later date announced by the Commission. If you
are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign
language interpreter or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate
in the hearing please contact Commission Clerk Florene Davidson at (505) 476-3458 or
through the New Mexico Relay Network (1-800-659-1779) by March 22, 2009. Public
documents can be provided in various accessible forms. Please contact Ms. Davidson if a
summary or other type of accessible form is needed. A preliminary agenda will be
available to the public no later than two weeks prior to the meeting. A final agenda will
be available no later than 24 hours preceding the meeting. Members of the public may
obtain copies of the agenda by contacting Ms. Davidson at the phone number indicated
above. Also, the agenda will be posted on the Oil Conservation Division website at
www.emnrd.state.nm.us

STATE OF NEW MEXICO TO
All named parties and persons :
having any right, title, interest
or claim in the following cases
and notice to the public.

CASE 14292: Application of the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division for Adoption
of Amendments to Rule 19.15.17 (the "Pit Rule"); Statewide. The State of New Mexico,
through its Oil Conservation Commission, hereby gives notice that the Commission will
conduct a public hearing at 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, April 2, 2009, in Porter Hall at 1220
South St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico, concerning the Oil Conservation
Division's proposal to adopt amendments to 19.15.17 NMAC (the "Pit Rule"). The
proposed amendments will (a) allow an operator of a below-grade tank existing on June
16, 2008, that has side walls entirely open for visual inspection, but which does not
conform to the design and construction requirements of the Pit Rule as adopted on that
date, to continue operating that tank until a sale or transfer of the tank or facility, so long
as the tank maintains demonstrated integrity; (b) require that any below-grade tank that
does not conform to the design and construction requirements adopted on June 16, 2008,
(non-conforming tank) be either closed or retrofitted to conform to those standards prior
to sale or transfer of the tank or facility; (c) extend the retention requirement for below-
grade tank inspection records from five years to the life of the tank; (d) require an
operator of a non-conforming tank, if the tank's integrity fails, to comply with applicable
tank closure requirements prior to replacing the tank; (e) require an operator who
retrofits or replaces a non-conforming below-grade tank to inspect the area underneath
the tank, report any evidence of contamination to the Division, and, if the Division
determines that the contamination poses an imminent danger to the environment, to
comply with applicable tank-closure requirements prior to retrofitting or replacing the
tank; (f) extend the time for an operator to request a permit or permit modification for an
existing, lined permanent pit, or for an existing below-grade tank, to two years from June
16, 2008, provided that the operator complies with registration requirements set forth in
these amendments; and (g) increase the chloride waste standard for closure of temporary
pits or drying pads by on-site trench burial from 250 mg/l to the greater of 3000 mg/l or
background. Copies of the text of the proposed amendments are available from
Commission Clerk Florene Davidson at (505)-476-3458 or from the Division's web site
at http//www.emnrd.state.us/ocd/rules/

. Proposals for alternatives to the proposed
amendments must be received by the division no later than 5:00 P.M. on Thursday,
March 19, 2009. Written comments on the proposed new rule must be received no later
than 5:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 26, 2009. Persons intending to offer technical
testimony at the hearing must file a Pre-hearing Statement (six copies) conforming to the
requirements of 19.15.3.11 NMAC, including six copies of all exhibits the person will
offer in evidence at the hearing, no later than Thursday, March 26, 2009. Proposed
alternatives and written comments may be hand-delivered or mailed to Ms. Davidson at
1220 South St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, or may be faxed to Ms.
Davidson at (505)-476-3462. Pre-hearing statements must be hand-delivered or mailed to
Ms. Davidson at the above address. If you are an individual with a disability who is in
need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of
auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing, please contact Ms.
Davidson at (505)-476-3458 or through the New Mexico Relay Network (1-800-659-
1779) as soon as possible.
Given under the Seal of the State of New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission at Santa
Fe, New Mexico on this 2nd day of March, 2009.

STATE OF NEW MEXICO
OIL CONSERVATION DIVISION

Mark E. Fesmire, P.E.
Director, Oil Conservation Division

Mora County's DGS revision meeting November 19th 2008

A Public meeting for community input regarding changes to The Developmental Guidance System (DGS), the planning and zoning regulations that currently protect the Mora Valley will be held:

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19th @ 6pm
Mora School Board Room
Mora High School

Please plan to attend, tell you neighbors and pass this email on.

The DGS currently requires a lengthy procedural review for any development within Mora County that does not meet the DGS agricultural guidelines. This past year we have been notified of our County's jurisdiction over permitting for any oil and gas development in Mora County. While no permits have yet to be requested according to the County Manager Rumaldo Pino, the County has decided to address the DGS and theW Comprehensive Plan and make changes to include more informaiton on oil and gas permiting.

Currently the DGS does address oil and gas development and according to Drilling Mora County's attorney, Bruce Frederick, New Mexico Environmental Law Center, is complete in and of itself for issuing permits or oil and gas development in Mora County. Mr. Frederick wrote two legal letters. One reviewing the DGS and its inclusion of oil and gas permitting within the county, and another affirming the county's jurisdiction over permit requirements for oil and gas drilling on State Trust Lands by private companies. Both letters are available by emailing drillingmoracounty@gmail.com.

The DGS is a strong document designed and developed by the people of Mora County in the 1990s that protects Mora County from industrial development while protecting the agricultural basis of the County. Through a comprehensive review involving public input, any development can be turned down if it falls outside the DGS requirements of protecting the culture, water, air, land/soil and human and animal health. At this juncture in Mora County's history, with pressure from industry, it will take the influence of the people of Mora County to maintain the strength of the DGS. Only with public input will Mora County continue to be so carefully protected. Once again the people will have a say and will have influence on what happens to their County. There is hope.

"Setting the Record Straight on the Pit Rule," Joanna Prukop/Daily Times

"By Joanna Prukop Guest Column

Article Launched: 09/17/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

A story published on Sept. 14 on the decline of drilling permits on BLM land, and an editorial published Aug. 12 warning of a possible slowdown in natural gas production in the San Juan Basin were both inaccurate, misleading, and a disservice to Farmington Daily Times readers. In these cases the paper has erred by omission, leaving out relevant and important facts that would have provided much needed balance and context.

Evidence presented at a recent hearing held by the Oil Conservation Commission, or OCC, clearly and definitively demonstrated that a significant number of serious groundwater contamination cases have resulted from the use of pits by the oil and gas industry. The hearing, at which the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico, or IPANM, was an active participant, is a matter of public record.

The story and the editorial fail to mention that in 2006, the Oil Conservation Division, or OCD, documented nearly 300 confirmed cases where pit substances contaminated ground water. In each case the contamination was self-reported by the operators. This key information was provided to the Farmington Daily Times on more than one occasion, yet to date, the Times has not reported it.

Today, OCD records show more than 421 such cases of pit-related contamination. Such an increase in a relatively short period of time is a clear sign that the state has a problem with oil field waste pits currently in use, and from many other pits poorly closed in the past.

The industry was also fully engaged in the creation of the new Pit Rule. In fact Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, had stated that while the new regulations were tough, the industry could live with them. Furthermore, testimony during the OCC hearing clearly showed that any increased costs to industry that might result from the new Pit Rule are not unreasonable. Now, for some reason IPANM is using incorrectly inflated figures to generate opposition to the new regulations. The organization and the newspaper also fail to mention the testimony at the hearing that showed the new rules might actually result in cost savings.

The story and the editorial insinuate that the new Pit Rule is the reason for a projected drop in drilling permits. But, they fail to mention that the Bureau of Land Management recently began charging $4,000 to process each new oil and gas drilling permit application — a fee that was not assessed last year.

The new fee is required under an appropriations bill approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 26, 2007. Now, companies must be serious about drilling before they spend $4,000 per application.

The editorial quotes Mr. Gallagher as saying, "rig counts throughout the state have dropped significantly since the pit rules implementation." However, in the Albuquerque Journal, on Aug. 10 "Gallagher acknowledges that a shortage of drilling rigs could slow new development. There are about 1,900 rigs in use today, compared with about 4,000 in 1980." The editorialist failed to mention rig counts fluctuate weekly, and this week the rig count is 90, 15 rigs more than the 75 one year ago.

The editorial states that more public outreach is needed on the Pit Rule, but fails to mention the outreach already conducted. The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division conducted a Pit Rule Training in Artesia on June 25 and met with 125 industry representatives. Training was held on June 27 in Farmington where OCD met with 225 people.

At the request of the Director of Governmental Affairs for the IPANM — who offered to pay for the meeting expenses but then withdrew her offer — the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division conducted another Pit Rule Training in Hobbs on July 23, attended by 150 people. The Oil Conservation Division has and will continue to offer training to anyone who asks.

The new Pit Rule was created with the input of industry, the environmental community and many other stakeholders in a completely public process. It is designed to protect the state of New Mexico and its citizens from any future ground water or other environmental contamination from oil field waste pits, and also to protect the operators from the potentially crippling liability of major environmental impacts. It is the right thing to do.

The Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department recognizes the critical role the oil and gas industry plays in New Mexico and works hard to balance the requirements of industry with the need and the mandate to protect and preserve our natural resources. The citizens of this great state are better served when they get all of the facts and context of complex issues instead of incomplete analysis and an apparent pro-industry bias.

Cabinet Secretary Joanna Prukop is with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department."

Nearly 13,000 acres of Mora County land was leased today over the objection of Mora County citizens. The State Land Office auctioned State Trust Land

Nearly 13,000 acres of Mora County land was leased today over the objection of Mora County citizens. The State Land Office auctioned State Trust Land in pristine, agriculturally rich Mora County for oil and gas leases. KHL, Inc. of Albuquerque was the main lessee. The other was Daniel E. Gonzales of Santa Fe acquiring relatively few tracts to lease. Eyeballing the sales, it appears that the leases were obtained in the $28 to $50 per acre range. Cheap, especially when compared to the risk of public health, safety and well being, as well as the potential adverse impacts to water sources, to wildlife and to the land. A 640 acre tract leased for $3.13 for the low; a 40 acre tract leased for $375 for the high.

Some say that we need to "drill, baby, drill" to break the "addiction" to foreign oil and to stop exporting our "wealth" oversees. The proposition is that oil & gas drillers need to wildcat in frontier areas and drill in sensitive off shore zones. Such an argument has a hole in it so big that a semi-truck could drive through it, hopefully fueled by bio diesel.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Agency (EIA), "there is no empirical basis for believing that drilling in environmentally sensitive offshore zones would significantly affect gas prices. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency (EIA) projects that such drilling would add some 200,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production in about 20 years. This is about 0.2 percent of world production, and the EIA describes this as too small to have any significant effect on oil prices."


In addition, "Peak Oil" has become mainstream. The United States fossil fuels are in a state of depletion. The new, unconventional drilling methods can not change this fact. The EIA concluded that oil production in the lower 48 peaked in 1970; and in Alaska, production peaked in 1988.

As for natural gas, according to Local Energy News, "(n)ew gas wells just aren’t what they used to be. Even after drilling more than 300,000 new natural gas wells over the last 35 years, the U.S. produces less natural gas now than it did back in 1973. Putting more holes in the ground doesn’t make more gas – in fact, quite the opposite. Just ten years ago, the U.S. was drilling about 11,000 new wells per year to maintain a production rate of 20 Quads of gas per year – a rate that hasn’t changed in more than thirty years. Today, drillers must complete three times that many wells to produce the same amount of gas."

In any event, today was not a good day for Mora County, and we are not closer to solving our energy problems.

New York Plans to Consider Law Limiting Natural Gas Drilling

Assemblyman James Brennan, inset, plans to introduce a bill in the state's legislature that would permanently ban drilling in New York City's watershed. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)


"New York City officials seeking a moratorium on natural gas drilling in the city's watershed have found an ally in the state legislature.

Assemblyman James Brennan, who represents part of Brooklyn, announced Thursday that he will introduce a bill in next year's session that would permanently prohibit drilling in the city's watershed. Brennan's proposal is in line with that of city councilman James Gennaro, who called for such a moratorium in July and will hold a hearing on the issue Wednesday at City Hall. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection proposed its own conditions in a July letter (PDF) to the state, calling for a one-mile protective barrier around each of the city's reservoirs."...

A Comment Regarding Drilling in Mora County

My name is Kirsten Lear and I was raised in the rural town of Amalia, N.M. I have visited Mora and the land surrounding it for years. I believe it to be some of the most beautiful open land in New Mexico. I marvel at the colors of the grasses in the Fall and the pronghorn antelope and cattle disappearing as they walk through the tall swaying grass in the summer. The people of this area, through their traditions, know how to survive on their land. This is an understanding of community and respect for the land that we all could learn from. Few places are left where a meadowlark or hawk are the loudest things you hear or the smell of cut grass isn't overwhelmed with car exhaust. This area represents what this state is-farmers, ranchers, and wildlife coexisting under a huge sky where one can still see why the milky way got its name.

To destroy this area's water with toxic runoff, peace with the constant piercing whine of the oil wells and land with countless roadways would be a tragedy. Please keep me informed of the decisions to drill in this unique place.

"Mora Tries To Head Off Drilling" Albuquerque Journal North-- By Raam Wong

Nearly 13,000 acres in Mora County could soon be opened to oil and gas exploration.

The State Land Office is scheduled to auction off leases to land east of Ocate next week, a move opposed by some residents who say it could lead to large-scale energy development in an otherwise rural area.

“We're talking beautiful, untouched land that has never been exploited,” said drilling opponent Kathleen Dudley. “We don't want another Farmington.”

Meanwhile, county officials are hurrying to forestall any drilling until they can beef up their regulations.

The same day of the auction, Sept. 16, the Mora County Commission is expected to pass a moratorium on drilling for at least six months and as long as a year, according to county attorney John Grubesic.

Similar drilling bans have already been enacted in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, where, like Mora, operators are seeking to explore in largely untapped “frontier” areas.

Grubesic said Mora County will never be able to shut the door on energy exploration. But, he said, “we want to make sure we have as tough an ordinance as possible.”

To that end, residents recently sought an opinion from the New Mexico Environmental Law Center as to whether the county's Development Guidance System — Mora's planning code — can be applied to drilling.

The DGS is meant to “protect and improve the established rural character of Mora County and the social and economic stability of existing agricultural, residential and other existing land uses within the County.”

Law Center attorney Bruce Frederick said Tuesday an operator would likely need to complete an environmental impact report and a compatibility assessment before receiving a conditional use permit. But the county also hopes to strengthen the code to protect the environment and public health and safety, something Santa Fe County is already working on.

“This is a trend where counties are trying to assert more control over oil and gas,” Frederick said, “to make the oil and gas companies pay more attention to local concerns.”

The authority of local municipalities to regulate the industry has already been challenged in Rio Arriba, where a Texas-based company filed suit claiming that oil and gas regulations were the responsibility of the state, not the county.

But the suit was dropped after Gov. Bill Richardson intervened.

Dudley, who is part of the group Drilling Mora County, wants the Land Office to inform its lessees that they'll have to comply with local regulations.

Mora County state trust land for lease September 16th, 2008--2nd map

Click on title for map of state trust land for lease between Ocate and Wagon Mound

Mora County state trust land to be leased on September 16th, 2008-1st map

Click on title to view map of Ocate to Wagon Mound state trust land for leasing

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.

SOLAR POWER BREAKTHROUGH STORES ENERGY FOR LATER USE

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, August 2, 2008 (ENS) -
Within 10 years, homeowners could power their homes in daylight with solar photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen from water to power a household fuel cell. If the new process developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds acceptance in the marketplace, electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.

"This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, senior author of a paper describing the simple, inexpensive, and efficient process for storing solar energy in the July 31 issue of the journal "Science."

"Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon," Nocera said.