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New Otero Mesa Report Reveals: ''Hollow Promises in Our Land of Enchantment--Why the Bureau of Land Management Can't be Trusted to Protect Otero Mesa'' The state secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources and a group of environmentalists say the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's own records prove the agency can't protect Otero Mesa grasslands and its wildlife under a controversial plan to allow oil and gas drilling there. Environmental groups Wednesday issued a report, "Hollow Promises from the Land of Enchantment," saying a comprehensive review of BLM's process for leasing oil and gas permits shows a consistent failure to protect wildlife and mitigate damage from drilling operations. Santa Fe-based WildEarth Guardians, The Wilderness Society in Colorado and the Southwest Environmental Center published the report. "BLM can't be trusted to protect special places like Otero Mesa," said Nicole Rosmarino, the conservation director for WildEarth Guardians. Linda Rundell, director of BLM's New Mexico office, said the report rehashes old arguments against drilling in Otero Mesa. "I believe we've demonstrated time and time again we are good stewards of the land," Rundell said from her Santa Fe office. "We're going to continue to have our critics from groups who have an agenda that doesn't include multiple use." Proposed oil and gas drilling on Southern New Mexico's Otero Mesa -- home to what some scientists say is the last unfragmented piece of Chihuahuan Desert grassland in the U.S. and Mexico -- is as contentious as proposed drilling in Northern New Mexico's Valle Vidal. Otero Mesa's black gramma grassland hosts agave, yucca and more than 345 of the world's 1,500 cacti species. Its habitat hosts a large pronghorn herd, aplomado falcons, mule deer and prairie dogs, a keystone indicator of grassland health, according to Chihuahuan Desert biologist Walt Whitford. Hunters, scientists and environmentalists fought drilling on the mesa's 2.1 million acres. But in 2005, BLM issued its resource management plan to allow oil and gas drilling on 1.8 million acres in Otero Mesa. BLM documents say only 5 percent of any drilling site can be disturbed and a total of 1,589 acres will be impacted by well pads, roads and pipelines. BLM says at most 141 exploratory wells could be drilled. The plan permanently protects 35,000 acres as aplomado falcon habitat. New Mexico Energy and Minerals secretary Joanna Prukop said Wednesday that the federal agency failed to consider the state's "very reasonable recommendations" for protecting Otero Mesa while allowing limited gas development. She spoke during a teleconference regarding the "Hollow Promises" report. BLM's Otero Mesa management plan is vague and "simply doesn't outline what the final impacts (of drilling) will be," Prukop said. The state sued BLM in federal district court over Otero Mesa, and she said a decision is expected in the case any day. The "Hollow Promises" report claims BLM has conducted behind-closed-door negotiations in areas like Farmington and allowed oil and gas companies to sidestep environmental protection standards. It also claims oil and gas operations have contaminated 1,400 groundwater sites across New Mexico. Prukop said the BLMs' record raises concerns for the Salt Basin aquifer around Otero Mesa, estimated to contain 8 million acre-feet of potable water. Steve Henke, BLM's Farmington district manager, said limited exceptions to some drilling requirements have been granted under guidelines developed with local environmental groups and the state Game and Fish Department. BLM's Rundell said she believes only two instances of actual groundwater contamination have occurred. Most instances are surface leaks from pipes or tanks that are cleaned up quickly, she said. Rundell said during the delays over drilling in Otero Mesa, many oil and gas leases have expired. "There's limited interests from the companies right now," she said. "Everyone is waiting to see what happens in the court decision." Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com. Copyright 2006 Santa Fe New Mexican - Reprinted with permission |
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