Democracy for New Mexico

1/11/08: Join Peaceful March Against Santa Fe County Drilling

12/8/07 march. Photo credit: Tony Bonanno

From Drilling Santa Fe:
On Friday, January 11th, a twilight march to protest oil and gas drilling and exploration in Santa Fe County will begin at 5:30 PM from the park by the U.S. Courthouse at Washington and Federal Place, then proceed to the Santa Fe Plaza. Dr. Jerry Held has obtained a permit and suggests bringing torches, flashlights and candles. For more information email drillingsantafe@earthlink.net.

Dr. Held, who is concerned about the long term health effects upon our Santa Fe County citizens from the possibility of oil and gas activity in the County, also organized a peaceful march to the Plaza on December 8th. Tony Bonanno Photography has photographs of the December 8th march. (Tony has given permission for free downloading and use of the pictures.) Related sites: Our Stolen Future and NRDC Endocrine Disruptors.

Public Invited to Meeting on Santa Fe River Trail and Restoration Project

From the City of Santa Fe:
The public is invited to attend a public meeting regarding the Santa Fe River Trail and Restoration Project planned from Frenchy’s Field east to Camino Alire. The meeting will be held Tuesday, January 15 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at Gonzales Elementary School, 851 West Alameda, Santa Fe.

Since the 1990s, the community has had a vision of a restored Santa Fe River that is alive hydrologically, biologically and ecologically while simultaneously alive culturally in the hearts of our entire community and embedded within a healthy and functioning watershed. The Santa Fe River Trail is currently being developed as a continuous corridor including the riverbed and both sides of the River, between Camino Alire within the City to the point in the County where the river passes under NM 599.

This trail is considered one of three primary urban trail spines (the others are the Rail Trail and Arroyo Chamisos Trail) that serve the Santa Fe Metropolitan Area. Through a connecting trail and a series of parks, the trail project will provide open space corridors, multi-modal transportation opportunities and recreational amenities to local residents and visitors.

This project is a joint effort between the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. Click for more information on the project.

Cancelled: Tonight's Public Meeting on Oil & Gas Drilling Ordinance

Due to a winter storm on the way, the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners has cancelled the public meeting scheduled for tonight on the proposed oil and gas drilling ordinance. Drilling Santa Fe has the news.

(Updated) 1/7/08: Public Hearing on Santa Fe County Oil & Gas Drilling Ordinance

UPDATE Noon, 1/7/08: The meeting has been cancelled due to an approaching winter storm.
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From Santa Fe NOT Oil: 1st PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED OIL & GAS DRILLING ORDINANCE ON JAN. 7TH: Santa Fe – January 2, 2008 – The Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners will be holding the first of two public hearings on the proposed new oil and gas drilling ordinance on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:00 PM at the Santa Fe Community College Gymnasium, 6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87508-4887. For more information contact: Stephen Ulibarri, Santa Fe County Public Information Officer (505) 986-6353/795-0828.

See our other recent posts on this issue:

• Tecton Says 'Frack You': Denies Request to Withdraw Drilling Applications in Santa Fe County
• Latest on Galisteo Basin Oil & Gas Drilling
• Next Santa Fe County Public Meeting on Oil & Gas Drilling Set for 12.6.07
• NM State Rep. Wirth Requests Galisteo Basin Drilling Moratorium (contains links to previous posts)

Another excellent source of info about proposed drilling in the Galisteo Basin can be found at the DrillingSantaFe.com. A coalition has formed to protect the resources of Santa Fe County from the possibility of oil and gas extraction and will offer positive alternative solutions:

• Commonweal Conservancy
• Drilling Santa Fe
• Earthworks Institute
• IATSE Local 480
• New Mexico Environmental Law Center
• Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP)
• Santa Fe Conservation Trust
• Wildlife Federation

Tecton Says 'Frack You': Denies Request to Withdraw Drilling Applications in Santa Fe County

On December 24, 2007, Forest Guardians, Drilling Santa Fe and Santa Fe Not Oil released the following statement:

Santa Fe, NM – Tecton Energy, a Houston, Texas based oil and gas company, has denied a request from various conservation groups and individuals to withdraw three applications for permits to drill in Santa Fe County that it recently submitted to the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. On December 22nd three organizations—Forest Guardians, Drilling Santa Fe and Santa Fe Not Oil—and four individuals sent a letter to Tecton asking them to withdraw their applications. 

The letter was signed by the majority of participants in the Santa Fe County oil and gas ordinance working group that Commissioner Paul Campos convened for its first meeting on December 13th—the same day that Tecton submitted its three applications. The letter requested that Tecton Energy withdraw the applications because doing so would “demonstrate [Tecton’s] good faith participation in the County’s oil and gas working group.”  Further the letter said filing the applications on the same day that the working group convened “show(s) disrespect for the County Commissioners who are trying to responsibly gather relevant community and expert input to inform their decisions.”

In denying the request just two days after it was sent to them, Tecton asserted that it “has an obligation to [mineral] lessors to make a best-efforts attempt to develop the minerals. Filing applications with the State was a necessary step 1 in a multi-stage process required to pursue that goal.”

“Their denial of our request shows that Tecton couldn’t care less about what the people of Santa Fe County think about the real threat of oil and gas development,” said John Horning, Executive Director at Forest Guardians. “They’re putting their corporate profits above the will of the people of Santa Fe County who don’t want to see our landscape transformed into an industrial sacrifice zone,” Horning added.

The groups and individuals that attended the meeting convened by Commissioner Campos on December 13th believe that Tecton’s denial of the request to withdraw the drilling permits is another example of the company’s belief that Santa Fe County has no authority to regulate oil and gas development.

“Tecton’s submission of those permit applications on the same day that they met with us and the County is a symbolic denial of the county’s authority to regulate oil and gas,” said Johnny Micou, a leader of Drilling Santa Fe. “Tecton just keeps thumbing their nose at the majority of the citizens by steamrolling along with their development plans.”

Steve Sugarman, a Galisteo Basin resident and local environmental attorney, who has been a vocal opponent of Tecton’s development plans argues that it is the Commissioners and not just the citizens who should feel snubbed. “Tecton threw sand in the commissioners’ faces when it filed its applications for permits to drill on the morning that the working group first convened,” said Sugarman. “Tecton added insult to injury when it stated at the work group’s first meeting that it is not legally bound to abide by the terms of the County’s moratorium.  Clearly, Tecton has no respect for our Commissioners’ authority to regulate land use in the County.”

In light of Tecton’s denial, the groups and individuals that participated in the working group are re-evaluating their next steps. Regardless of the next steps the groups that sent the request to Tecton say they will be participating in Santa Fe county hearings in early January on the proposed ordinance as well as state Oil Conservation Division hearings in early February on the three applications for permit to drill that were the subject of the letter.

Saturday Night: North Valley Acequia of Lights

This post on Duke City Fix explains this cool event. Click for an event flyer (pdf) with more info. Bottom line on the Second Annual North Valley Acequia of Lights:

• Saturday, December 15, 2007, 5:00 to 8:00 PM
• Griegos Drain Lined with Luminaria Through Los Poblanos Open Space (Go west along Solar Road from 4th Street, or south along the Griegos Drain from Chavez Road)
• The Open Space is amazing this time of year, with cranes and geese and more
• Sierra Club Lights the Night Light Bulb Exchange
• Refreshments, Music, Community, Bonfires, Hot Drinks for Chilly Strollers
• Sponsored by Ditches with Trails Project, North Valley Coalition, Rio Grande Community Farms, Alvarado Elementary School

• Call Ellen at 890-2937 for more info or to volunteer

Marty Chavez: If It Quacks Like a Duck ....

You know you have to check it out. (Be sure to listen to their smashing mp3.)

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.

Stop the TIDDs: Call Your County Commissioner Now

Mayor Marty Chavez vetoed the Albuquerque City Council's critical amendments of TIDD financing that would preclude their use for "green field" developments on the edges of Albuquerque. Tonight the Bernalillo County Commission has a chance to stop them. SWOPblogger has the story. Make a call now.

To read our previous coverage on this issue, visit our archive.

Speech: Al Gore Accepts Nobel Peace Prize

Al Gore, who should be ending his second term as President of the United States, yesterday accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize that he shares with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway. The video above shows his entire acceptance speech. You can read the text version at his website, AlGore.com.

Gore opened his speech with a reference to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that denied him the presidency. "Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken - if not premature. But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose. Unexpectedly that quest has brought me here."

Some highlights from the speech:

We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency – a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst – though not all – of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.

However, despite a growing number of honorable exceptions, too many of the world’s leaders are still best described in the words Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler’s threat: “They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent.”

Gore and Dr. R. K. Pachauri, who accepted the award on behalf of the UNIPCC

... So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun.

As a result, the earth has a fever. And the fever is rising. The experts have told us it is not a passing affliction that will heal by itself. We asked for a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. And the consistent conclusion, restated with increasing alarm, is that something basic is wrong. We are what is wrong, and we must make it right.

... Indeed, without realizing it, we have begun to wage war on the earth itself. Now, we and the earth's climate are locked in a relationship familiar to war planners: "Mutually assured destruction."

... As the American poet Robert Frost wrote, “Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice.” Either, he notes, “would suffice.” But neither need be our fate. It is time to make peace with the planet. We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war. These prior struggles for survival were won when leaders found words at the 11th hour that released a mighty surge of courage, hope and readiness to sacrifice for a protracted and mortal challenge.

... Now comes the threat of climate crisis – a threat that is real, rising, imminent, and universal. Once again, it is the 11th hour. The penalties for ignoring this challenge are immense and growing, and at some near point would be unsustainable and unrecoverable. For now we still have the power to choose our fate, and the remaining question is only this: Have we the will to act vigorously and in time, or will we remain imprisoned by a dangerous illusion?

... We must understand the connections between the climate crisis and the afflictions of poverty, hunger, HIV-Aids and other pandemics. As these problems are linked, so too must be their solutions. We must begin by making the common rescue of the global environment the central organizing principle of the world community.

... But the outcome will be decisively influenced by two nations that are now failing to do enough: the United States and China. While India is also growing fast in importance, it should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters — most of all, my own country –– that will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act. Both countries should stop using the other’s behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment.

... The future is knocking at our door right now. Make no mistake, the next generation will ask us one of two questions. Either they will ask: “What were you thinking; why didn’t you act?” Or they will ask instead: “How did you find the moral courage to rise and successfully resolve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?”

We have everything we need to get started, save perhaps political will, but political will is a renewable resource. So let us renew it, and say together: “We have a purpose. We are many. For this purpose we will rise, and we will act.”