(Updated) Richardson Issues 6-Month Moratorium on Drilling Permits in Galisteo Basin

Bob Gallagher of the NM Oil and Gas Association and activist David Bacon discuss drilling in Santa Fe County on KNME's NM In Focus Friday

The plot thickens. On January 11, 2008, Gov. Bill Richardson announced at a press conference that he will issue an executive order that delays consideration of Galisteo basin oil and gas drilling permits by the State for six months:

"I feel that there shouldn't be drilling in the Galisteo Basin," said Richardson. He described it as a "very fragile ecosystem" and said there were concerns that drilling could affect the area's groundwater and archaeological sites.

In November 2007, a three-month moratorium on the issuance of drilling leases was enacted by the Santa Fe County Commission in response to a growing uprising by citizens and environment groups against drilling proposed by Tecton Energy of Houston. The County Commission is currently drafting a revised oil and gas drilling ordinance prompted by renewed interest in drilling in the County. The first public meeting on the proposed new law is currently scheduled for January 22, 2008, but it's unclear whether the County will now postpone the meeting due to the Governor's moratorium.

Also late last week, Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman called upon Santa Fe County to hold off on issuing drilling leases until an archaeological management plan mandated by legislation they cosponsored, and which was enacted into law in March 2004, is funded and completed. They also urged the Bush adminstration's Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle, to provide the funding for the Secretary of Interior to undertake the comprehensive study of the archeological assets of the basin and to determine what actions are needed to protect them. (See my previous post.)

In response to these actions, Santa Fe County issued the following statement late Friday:

NO OIL & GAS DRILLING PERMITS CONSIDERED FOR 6 MONTHS
Santa Fe, NM – January 11, 2008 – Effective today and continuing for the next 6 months, no oil and gas drilling applications will be considered by the State. The 6 month moratorium, announced today by Gov. Bill Richardson, is put in place to allow time to ensure the protection of water, archaeological resources, and fragile ecosystems in the Galisteo Basin. 

Santa Fe County will be working closely with the State Oil Conservation Division during this time as it continues to work on an oil and gas drilling ordinance. County officials are currently considering the ramifications of the announcement. More information regarding next steps, possible hearing cancellations, and a new ordinance schedule will be available next week.

For more background on this issue, visit the websites of Drilling Santa Fe and Santa Fe Not Oil. Also check out the video at the top of this post of Friday's New Mexico In Focus show (episode 119) on KNME that featured a spirited discussion about oil and gas drilling in Santa Fe County with activist David Bacon and Bob Gallagher, President of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, moderated by host David Alire Garcia. Don't miss it.