Latest on Galisteo Basin Oil & Gas Drilling

If you want to stay current on the nitty gritty of environmental happenings, you should check in daily at High Desert Reports, written by blogger (and free-lance reporter) Laura Paskus. Today she points her readers to an in-depth Santa Fe Reporter article by David Alire Garcia and Dave Maass about proposed oil and gas drilling in Northern New Mexico's Galisteo Basin. This issue has been much in the news of late, with Santa Feans and environmentalists trying to stop what could be vastly increased drilling due to the rising price of oil and gas. Areas with characteristics that once made them economically prohibitive for drilling are now being viewed as viable by energy producers. Santa Fe County is probably the first of many locales in the state where new drilling projects may be on the way.

Meanwhile, the following message was issued by SantaFeNoToOil.org about a proposed resolution to be considered tonight by the Santa Fe City Council:

"The City of Santa Fe knows how destructive oil & gas drilling can be to Santa Fe and our future, Below is a landmark resolution, which Santa Fe City Councilor Patti Bushee will introduce Wednesday night, December 12, 2007, at the Santa Fe City Council meeting. There may be some further language from the City hydrologist about potential impact on City wells & water sources, but the important information is complete.

"Please call or email Santa Fe City Council members with your support for this important resolution. It shows that the future of Santa Fe is on the line and the City knows it! Councilor contact info:

• Patti Bushee, (505) 955-6813 E-mail: pjbushee@santafenm.gov
• Chris Calvert,  (505) 955-6812  E-mail: ccalvert@santafenm.gov
• Rebecca Wurzburger, (505) 955-6815  E-mail: rebeccawrz@comcast.net
• Karen Heldmeyer,  (505) 955-6818 E-mail: kheld@earthlink.net
• Miguel Chavez, (505) 955-6816 E-mail: miguelmchavez@msn.com
• Carmichael Dominguez (505) 955-6814 E-mail: cadominguez@santafenm.gov
• Matthew Ortiz, (505) 955-6817  E-mail: meortiz@santafenm.gov
• Ronald Trujillo,  (505) 955-6811 E-mail: rstrujillo@santafenm.gov

Proposed Resolution:

"Whereas, the Governing Body of the City of Santa Fe has learned that at least one oil and gas exploration concern has acquired more than 60,000 acres of mineral rights in Santa Fe County and indicated to the offices and citizens of Santa Fe County its intent to initiate large-scale drilling operations in the Galisteo Basin; and
   
Whereas, there are, in other US cities and counties, ample and highly disturbing examples of the catastrophic impact of oil and gas exploitation on the natural environment, on the purity of surface and subterranean water resources, on air quality, on municipal infrastructures including roadways and highways, and on the social fabric of the communities themselves as evidenced by increased illegal-drug use resulting in burgeoning crime rates; and
   
Whereas, the technologies announced by the oil and gas exploration concern for use in the Galisteo Basin include the practice of high-pressure injection of thousands of gallons of water, sand, and yet-to-be-determined chemicals into the wells to free the, as yet unknown quantities of oil and gas trapped in shale deposits (known as "fracking"), a procedure that both employs massive quantities of our most precious natural resource, water, and has a high probability of serious damage to the delicate ecological balance of the Galisteo Basin; and
   
Whereas, the City of Santa Fe prides itself on, and is economically dependent upon, the beauty and historical significance of the region both within and beyond its city limits, not just as an historical repository of known, and yet to be discovered, cultural and religious sites and treasures but also as a highly varied landscape of breathtaking beauty;
   
Be It Therefore Resolved by the Governing Body of the City of Santa Fe;
   
a. stands firmly opposed oil and gas exploitation in Santa Fe County;
   
b. urges the County of Santa Fe to take the steps necessary to protect and preserve our broader community from the environmental, social, and aesthetic damage concomitant with mineral exploitation;
   
c. calls upon the Governor and the State of New Mexico to protect this County's environmental and economic well-being by initiating a comprehensive study of the ecological and hydrological impact of  "fracking" in the Galisteo Basin and other areas of Santa Fe County;
   
d. instructs the City Attorney and Staff to promptly investigate, and report to the Governing Body, The City of Santa Fe's legal standing in this issue and to recommend ways in which our status and our resources can be most effectively employed to protect our Citizens, our environment and our economic well-being as a City from the impact of oil and gas exploitation in Santa Fe County."

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The grassroots activist group Drilling Santa Fe has been in the forefront for months on the Santa Fe County drilling issue, and their website is a storehouse of info on the controversy and recent actions taken by Santa Fe County Commissioners and others.