12/18: EARTHWORKS Meeting on Galisteo Basin Oil and Gas Drilling Rules

From Gwen Lachelt, Project Director, Oil & Gas Accountability Project at EARTHWORKS: The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (OCD) has developed special rules (pdf) to protect the Galisteo Basin in Santa Fe, Sandoval and San Miguel counties from oil and gas development impacts. The Galisteo Basin, an area rich in archaeological and cultural treasures and a critical wildlife corridor, is targeted for oil and gas exploration. Please come and show your support for these precedent-setting protections:

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 8:15 AM
Porter Hall, 1220 South St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe

Governor Bill Richardson issued an Executive Order directing the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) to work with other agencies to draft "Special Provisions for Santa Fe County and Galisteo Basin." The OCD's draft rules are fiercely opposed by the oil and gas industry.

If approved, these protections will require companies to submit exploration and development plans for all wells planned - not simply individual well by individual well - which is today's standard operating procedure in most oil and gas producing areas.

In addition to the development plan, companies will be required to submit detailed information about the area's surface and groundwater hydrology to enable the OCD to evaluate the potential effects of proposed drilling on soils, surface and groundwater.

The operator must notify all affected mineral and surface owners, governmental entities, tribes, pueblos, the state historic preservation officer and the game and fish department. The plan then must go to public hearing. If approved, companies must use closed-loop drilling systems. No onsite disposal of oil and gas waste will be allowed.