U.S. Bureau of Land Management Promises Greater Protection for Greater Chaco

WildEarth Guardians Applauds Interim Report on Fracking Near Iconic Chaco Canyon

Santa Fe, NM:  WildEarth Guardians is applauding a new report by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs that gives new hope and promise for safeguarding the Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico from a surge in fracking.

“There is hope that Greater Chaco and its communities are on the path to receiving the protections deserved,” said Rebecca Sobel, Deputy Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “The Bureaus of Land Management and Indian Affairs are moving in the right direction by taking seriously their duty to protect the American public and American resources.”

In a final “Scoping Report” released yesterday, the agencies outlined their plan for addressing mounting controversy and impacts related to ramped up oil and gas fracking near Chaco Canyon.  The agencies are developing a new plan to protect the Greater Chaco region, the cultural heart of the American Southwest, and Indigenous communities in the area.  Their report presents a thorough accounting of the more than 15,000 comments received opposing more fracking in the Greater Chaco region. 

Among other things, the “Scoping Report” indicates the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs will address a number of issues as part of its new plan, including climate change, environmental justice, recreation and night sky impacts, and impacts to the “Chaco cultural landscape.”

The Bureau of Land Management has been under fire for approving fracking in the Greater Chaco region, mostly near Navajo communities in the area.  Over the last five years, hundreds of new wells have been drilled and fracked as industry has used horizontal drlling to tap the Mancos shale formation for the first time ever.

An interactive map prepared by WildEarth Guardians details the surge in oil and gas activity near Chaco Canyon.

Horizontal oil and gas wells have double the surface impact (5.2 acres) of vertical wells (2 acres) and emit over 250 percent more air pollution, require 5-10 times more water, and utilize a toxic cocktail known to include carcinogens and chemicals harmful to human health.

Earlier this year, the Navajo Nation and All Pueblo Council of Governors’ called for a moratorium on fracking-related activities in the Greater Chaco region.  This request came on the heels of demands from 15 Navajo Nation Chapters resolutions and dozens of letters from over one hundred organizations represented by the Protect Greater Chaco Coalition.

The Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs promise their new plan will finally analyze and address the breadth of social, economic, and cultural issues related to fracking in Greater Chaco, including providing mechanisms for addressing the highest area of public concern – landscape-wide cultural protection.

Concerns that will be addressed in more than 46 intended sections include analysis of fracking impacts related to air resources, climate change, noise, recreation and night sky, cultural resources, soil resources, water resources, socioeconomics, environmental justice, wildlife, special status species, hazardous materials, traffic and roads, Tribal interests and trust responsibilities, Chaco cultural landscape, Chaco Culture National Historic Park, public health and safety, visual resources, livestock grazing, geology and seismic activity.  

“The Bureau of Land Management finally seems to be listening to the public,” Sobel continued. “If the agencies uphold their promise to direct planning efforts as outlined, there’s a chance for justice to be restored in Greater Chaco.”

The next step for the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs is to prepare a draft analysis for its new plan, which the agencies expect to release in the fall of 2018.  The planning process for the Greater Chaco region is expected to be completed by 2020.


 

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildearth_guardians/albums/72157657041224524


 

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