By OGJ editors
WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 10 -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Monday urged US officials to consider a less-aggressive oil and gas drilling plan that shields more federal grassland from development in the Otero Mesa region.
State officials have joined environmental groups in opposing a pending US Department of the Interior proposal that would be administered by DOI's Bureau of Land Management (BLM). New Mexico officials say BLM's latest plan, "Alternative A as modified," was never made available for public comment.
"BLM did a bait-and-switch. Their alternative is very different than their original draft. So, the earlier comments have become irrelevant because the latest version is so different," said New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Sec. Joanna Prukop.
BLM is reviewing the proposal but is not under any legal obligation to revise its plan, or offer more public hearings, as Richardson and Prukop are suggesting. The agency could finalize the leasing by spring; environmentalists have threatened to take the agency to court to stop the pending leasing plan from going forward.
Richardson has proposed his own alternative that he says will increase grassland and habitat protections. The state proposal limits oil and gas exploration and development by designating more than 600,000 acres closed to leasing and no surface occupancy. Another 900,000 acres are open to leasing with stipulations, allowing for 700,000 acres open to leasing with no restrictions.
State officials argued that the BLM plan does not adequately protect fragile ecosystems in the mesa's Chihuahuan Desert; New Mexico officials called it a unique "eco-region" that is one of the most biologically diverse arid regions in the world.
They also maintain that their plan does a better job in protecting New Mexico's water by identifying highly sensitive areas in need of more protection and by implementing stronger oil and gas activity restrictions.
State officials also want federal land managers to do a better job of encouraging alternate fuels and renewable energy source development in New Mexico. They also are concerned that the BLM proposal does not adequately protect New Mexico's cultural resources "so that the Native American communities are involved and the archeological sites identified, providing better information for the decision-making process."
If the BLM proposal moves forward, an estimated 140 new wells could be drilled in the region (OGJ, Jan. 26, 2004, p. 28). But if the New Mexico plan were to be adopted instead, only about half those wells might be drilled, according to producers.
