Public Health and Toxics

From Earthworks: "There are a variety of chemicals used during the drilling and production phases of oil and gas; and different types of wastes are produced throughout the development process.

The purpose of the Oil & Gas Accountability Project's Public Health and Toxics Program is to help communities and citizens better understand and protect themselves from the health and environmental impacts associated with toxic oil and gas chemicals and wastes."

Link to Earthworks

Earthworks O&G Factsheet

O-Piñon SPECIAL EDITION - August 27, 2007

O-Piñon SPECIAL EDITION - August 27, 2007 (click here) (disclaimer: the views expressed in this link are the views of Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition and do not necessarily reflect the views of Drilling Santa Fe)

Link to Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition Website

Atrisco Oil & Gas, LLC agreement with Tecton Energy, LLC

The deal to sell Westland Development Co. last year may become more lucrative for former shareholders.
Atrisco Oil & Gas LLC announced Monday it has made an agreement with Tecton Energy of Houston to search for natural gas on 50,000 acres that once were part of the Atrisco Land Grant.

Albuquerque Journal article -- subscription required

Atrisco Oi & Gas, LLC article

Featured Web Site & Recent News Articles

The Oil Drum -- Featured Site

‘Split estates’ may pit surface-rights owners against mineral-rights owners

Air study delays drilling plan

MINING NEWS: Mining and the Law: Federal mine claim holders to face new challenges

Residents, DOT battle over bridges

Actions to Deny Public Input

BLM Exempts Oil and Gas Exploration from Environmental Review

NRC Seeks to Undercut Public Process

and for something different,

Social Effects of Peak Oil

Fracing and Water

Originally, Drilling Santa Fe began, "Drilling in Santa Fe County?" with a picture of a fracing crew along the Galisteo Creek. About fracing, from a editorial in the WCMessenger.com, "Depletion: Barnett Shale wells require fracturing of the limestone formation to release the oil and gas trapped within. Water, sand, and hazardous chemicals are injected under high pressure down the drilling hole to fracture the limestone. Each fracing uses between 1.5 and 6 million gallons of fresh water. According to Halliburton at the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, each well is fraced an average of 17 times." (see related article, "How Halliburton Technology is Wrecking the Rockies" & "EPA to citizens: Frack you" & "The Costs of Fracking")

Consequently, Texas legislation, "Written by Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Arlington, SB 714 would require drillers to report groundwater use for drilling and fracing. This process of forcing sand and water into wells in order to release the gas can use up to 5 million gallons per frac, and as many as 17 fracs for certain kinds of wells. SB 715, also written by Fraser, would require better public notification of proposed injection wells so that the public can participate in the permitting process." DentonRC.com

Other concerns from the Telluride Daily Planet, "Amos said that in 2001 EnCana had a fracking accident less than 100 yards from her home, which blew up her water well 'like a geyser at Yellowstone.' For a time, the company paid for drinking water for her family, then assured her that the well water was fine. Later she became ill and was diagnosed with a rare adrenal gland tumor, which is linked to 2BE, a benzene derivative, and a chemical used by EnCana for fracking."

From a subscriber, "According to the article, a frac can use 5,000,000 gallons of water -- that is more than 15.3 acre feet. Also according to the article, some wells are fraced as many as 17 times, for a total of 260 acre feet of water. Using the County's figure of 0.25 acre feet of use for a normal household/year, fracing one well could use as much water as 1,040 households would use in an entire year!"

*Click on the bold, underlined above to link to articles.

KSFR "Journey Home" with Diego Mulligan Interview

Please tune in to “The Journey Home” with Diego Mulligan for an interview with Drilling Santa Fe at 4:00pm, Tuesday, August 21, 2007.
Also, to get some background of oil & gas exploration in Santa Fe County, please listen to "Living on the Edge" with David Bacon and Zubi Wilson forty minute interview with Drilling Santa Fe originally aired on July 22, 2007. For the direct link to the interview, go to R3 Productions.

Link list:
http://www.ksfr.org/
http://www.r3productions.net/local.htm

Have the Drillers Leased the Minerals Under Your Land?

Most land in Santa Fe county is split-estate. Most residents only own the surface of their land. The sub-surface rights belong to previous owners or the State or Federal government, and legally, the mineral rights take precedent over your surface rights. Oil & gas interests can lease those mineral rights without your knowledge. As of August 1st, Drilling Santa Fe has documented more than 80,000 acres of mineral rights in the Galisteo Basin and the Ortiz Mountains leased to oil and gas drillers.

Mineral owners should require stringent environmental restrictions in their leases. However, enforcement is difficult and seldom occurs with absentee mineral owners. The surface owners and neighbors are left with the damages.

The new Surface Owners Protection Act became law on July 1st, but it offers little protection for the environment, the water, or the neighbors.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of Drilling Santa Fe.

Article about the Colfax County experience and why Santa Fe County needs strong regulations, monitoring and enforcement: "The Real New West: Colfax County, New Mexico Successfully Beaten Into Place."

"Essentially, the people of Colfax County are throwing away their land, water, air, health and economic future for....well, nada mucho."

Statistics for Thought

Who Owns The West?
"Oil produced in New Mexico from 1989-2003 totals 329.2 million barrels, an average of 1.2 day(s) of U.S. consumption per year."
The article has some statistics to ponder when considering the adverse impacts of oil and gas drilling to water, environmental, and cultural resources. There are also adverse economic impacts.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of Drilling Santa Fe.

Coal Bed Methane Drilling in Sugarite Canyon

"Sweet Sugarite: Time to speak up to protect treasured wild areas" - The Raton Range

"CBM (coal bed methane) drilling allegedly can pollute and deplete groundwater, trigger erosion, impact wildlife, and create noise and light pollution."

Save Our Sugarite (SOS)

Gas Well Blowout

"Groups call for halt to drilling for remediation"- Billings Gazette
"That well suffered a blowout in August 2006. The incident released contaminants underground and into nearby springs and forced gas condensate and drilling fluid to the surface."

Commentary: Fluid response to Otero Mesa

Nathan Newcomer - Albuquerque Tribune
"In 2002, a leak was discovered in a 6-inch crude oil gathering line near Monument, just south of Hobbs. Approximately 2,100 barrels of oil leaked from the pipeline, contaminating five acres of soil and polluting groundwater. This pipeline was only two years old.

In 2005, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division compiled information regarding groundwater effects from leaks, spills and releases from oil and gas operations. There were close to 1,400 groundwater pollution instances that are attributed to oil and gas activities over the past decade.

Industry can wax poetic all it wants when it comes to "environmentally sound drilling," but the facts and data demonstrate their failure to protect our dwindling water resources."