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I am responsible for environmental issues respective of the SE corner of NM.

Here's a couple of things for you to chew on - anti-fracking bills submitted in the NM legislature:

Senate Bill 547 - BAN HORIZONTAL OIL & GAS FRACTURING
House Bill 136 - DISCLOSURE OF FRACTURING FLUID COMPOSITION
House Bill 335 - WATER RESOURCE TESTING & DAMAGE REMEDIES

(use this link to easily search bill content, info and progress)

These bills were submitted by legislators who have swallowed the enviro-radical Kool-aid that the sky is falling if we produce more fossil fuel energy. The state senate bill has as sponsor a school teacher from Las Cruces who was just elected last fall. He's just following the party line. The house bills are from a Santa Fe enviro-radical who believes everyone should take public transportation or ride a bicycle and live using solar energy for heat and windmills for electricity (Santa Fe is pretty much a fantasy world anyway).

All of these bills went down in flames and never made it out the committees they were assigned to. One reason is the fiscal impact reports (FIR) produced by the state agencies impacted by the legislation. They detail how much it would cost the state in either revenue or additional employees to implement the legislation. FIRs also give clues to the legislators as to agency thinking (agencies can't directly lobby for or against legislation - only the agency director can testify and answer questions from committee members). One FIR says in part the following:

ENMRD projects that impact from the bill [in] New Mexico on oil and gas development could be staggering. HB 335 would apply to all new wells in New Mexico that use hydraulic fracturing. A very high percentage of new wells incorporate the hydraulic fracturing process; last year, over 1600 new wells were completed. New wells are usually drilled at a depth between 5,000 and 15,000 feet, with many producing at 9,000 to 13,000 feetet. Many of the new wells also extend horizontally for thousands of feet. These wells often cost several million dollars to complete.

As I said, all never got beyond the starting gate but like the gun control legislation, lib/left radicals never give up and will be back again for another bite of the apple.

:: fossil fuel energy ::

Dave, just FYI.

That “fossil fuel” terminology is a 60s-liberal (AKA: Hippies) leftover that keeps showing up from the left. Beware when it is used.

The “super” majority of the O&G industry have since rejected the idea that we are producing the remains of pre-historical “carbon-based life”.

Rather we are near unanimous in regarding O&G as a natural product of a dynamic Earth.

That said, thanks for the links. As they appear on your ping-list, I’ll devour the comments.