Richardson To Protect Otero Mesa (NM, to prevent oil and gas drilling)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | February 1, 2004 | Tania Soussan

[CedarDave]

Sunday, February 1, 2004

Richardson To Protect Otero Mesa

Gov. Bill Richardson pledged Saturday that the state will do all it can to protect Otero Mesa from oil and gas development, including protesting a federal plan for the area and making life tougher for drillers.
    "The federal government just got a notice that if they want to drill in Otero Mesa, this governor and this state are going to fight them," Richardson told a cheering crowd of more than 600 people at the KiMo Theatre in Downtown Albuquerque.
    The U.S. Bureau of Land Management earlier this month released its plan to allow expanded oil and gas drilling on Otero Mesa in southern New Mexico.
    Conservationists and others believe the plan does not do enough to protect the area's fragile Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem. Oil and gas drillers say the plan presents too many barriers to exploration and development.
    Richardson signed an executive order Saturday that directs state agencies to protest the federal plan, work on an alternative plan to be submitted to the BLM next month and toughen regulations for oil and gas drillers.

<< snip>>

Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico spokesman Mark Mathis criticized Richardson's actions. "Our country is facing a natural gas crisis, and the oil and gas industry is being denied access to these critically important resources because some folks want to play Chicken Little," he said, adding that drilling has only minimal impact and does not damage the environment.

<< snip >>

The fight over Otero Mesa has attracted national attention as the area— about 1.2 million acres between Carlsbad and El Paso— has become a symbol of the national debate over oil and gas drilling versus environmental protection on public lands.
Richardson said his executive order— in "language the Department of Interior and the Bush administration cannot misunderstand or confuse"— makes it state policy to protect and conserve the resources of Otero Mesa and prevent oil and gas development there.
    He also directed the state engineer to use very strict criteria when considering water-well permit applications from oil and gas drillers on Otero Mesa. He told the state Forestry Division and Game and Fish Department to implement special protections for plants and animals on Otero Mesa. And he directed the Oil Conservation Division to put a moratorium on oil and gas pits there until it develops new rules to regulate them.
    The ban on pits means oil and gas companies would have to use a more expensive, closed system of trucks or tanks to hold water needed for drilling or water produced in the drilling process.

<< snip>>

Ned Farquhar, the governor's adviser on energy, environment and natural resources, said the state could sue the BLM if its other efforts are unsuccessful. Trisha London of Silver City encouraged the crowd to get involved. "Giving carte blanche to oil companies on our last unique places like Otero Mesa is like economic and environmental suicide," she said. "These places are the heart and soul of New Mexico. How much will you like New Mexico if it starts to look like Texas?"

Copyright 2004 Albuquerque Journal

[CedarDave]

This may be the real reason that Richardson fired the director of the NM oil and gas agency last week. This is NM's ANWR -- an area so desolate that it makes parts of Iraq look like a rain forest. The RATS really want to make US more dependent on foreign sources of oil for their expensive, foreign-made SUV's.

[CedarDave]

BUMP for what may be the real story behind last week's firing. Please ping to your lists.

[bigfootbob]

" The RATS really want to make US more dependent on foreign sources of oil"

True!

[CedarDave]

A little more on last weeks firing: The memo from a trade association that I saw said that the director was perceived as being too friendly to the industry for the likes of the Richardson administration. In light of today's story, that probably means that she was "fair and balanced" in applying rules and regulations to allow drilling and development, i.e. allow drilling to proceed while protecting the environment. However, this is not enough for the enviro-whackos -- no new drilling in areas not already drilled is their stand.

[fish hawk]

Just In: All oil drilling in the Arab states will come to a halt! It has been found that the rare desert asp and the very rare dune beetle are on the very edge of becoming extinct. Because of this and there can be no drilling what so ever on U.S. soil or off shore, gas prices are expected to soar to $27.00 a gallon in the very near future. Many of the sitting politicians are worried about getting reelected when their term is over.

(I just made all of this up, but am I way off base?)

[Missouri]

Ping.

Thought you might be interested.

[CedarDave]

Santa Fe New Mexican article here:

Richardson Orders Protection of Otero Mesa

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

soar to $27.00 a gallon in the very near future

Should be soar to $97.00 a gallon in the very near future

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Mecca of Environmental crackpots!!!!

I lived there for a while. Lovely place to visit. Awful to live there if conservative in any way!

Lots of money flowing around for those in the right crowd.

Heard some good music at the "Save the Horses " benefit at the old adobe church.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Ned Farquhar? Richardson was cartoonish enough without staff with silly names. Sheesh!

[NRA2BFree]

We can expect a lot more of this insanity from him. Didn't he appoint a huge number of environ_MENTAL wackos to his cabinet?

[oceanview]

Richardson is Hillary's VP in 2008, this is a good warmup for him. Let see if the administration has the guts to take him on, I doubt it.

[CedarDave]

We're not talking about just cabinet officers here. We're talking about non-civil service lower ranked department and division officals, and members of state oversight boards and commissions. He fired ("requested resignations" from) absolutely everyone he could legally fire after he took office (and made those he couldn't fire very uncomfortable), and replaced them with political appointees who were in complete agreement with him and his policies. So the answer to your question would be "yes".

[CedarDave]

PING

[Quix]

IDIOT.

COMMIE, SELFISH, GRANDSTANDING, SLIMY IDIOT.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Democrats are the problem and rabidly committed to preventing any solution.

[stands2reason]

I moved to the northern part of the state from Texas several years ago. Didn't even last a year. I was actually a "moderate" Dem voter when I got there. That was my first opportunity to be surrounded by leftists--- and my first exposure to complete government incompetency (a bridge taking 30 years to build, for one), modern-day voter fraud (I actually thought it was a thing of the past), professional protestors, people preferring illegals in their state to out-of-staters, and people still being pi$$ed off at things that happened 500 years ago.

I came back to Texas 11 months later a fire-breathing nail-spitting arch-conservative.

[NRA2BFree]

Richardson is Hillary's VP in 2008, this is a good warmup for him. Let see if the administration has the guts to take him on, I doubt it.

I'm afraid you're right. The (only) good news is IF they should win, NM would get rid of him. Unfortunately, I don't think this administration will take him on either.

[NRA2BFree]

We're not talking about just cabinet officers here. We're talking about non-civil service lower ranked department and division officals, and members of state oversight boards and commissions. He fired ("requested resignations" from) absolutely everyone he could legally fire after he took office (and made those he couldn't fire very uncomfortable), and replaced them with political appointees who were in complete agreement with him and his policies. So the answer to your question would be "yes".

I remember reading how he got rid of them all not long after he took office. I think the article said he appointed 39 environ_MENTAL wacko's after he got rid of the others.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!!!!