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SANTA FE (2008-09-09) -- KSFR News has learned that more than half of the meetings Santa Fe County officials call Oil and Gas "Outreach" meetings have actually been among county employees, commission members and other insiders, including the Sheriff's Department.
Santa Fe County residents are waiting to see what the next step will be on the question of oil and gas drilling in the Galisteo Basin. Word from the county administration building is that some sort of draft ordinance will be released this month. The lead county consultant was hired back in February to work at the rate of nearly $500 an hour on a plan to re-zone for all sorts of development, not just oil and gas. That consultant is lawyer Bob Freilich. He's based in California.
What's happened since? The county is saying a great deal has happened. Others are saying, they don't see evidence of much. And anecdotally, stakeholders in the county say they don't understand the plan being used to develop the new county re-zoning, oil and gas ordinance.
A list of "Outreach" meetings on the county's website indicates that more than half of the 50 meetings claiming to be outreach actually were internal meetings among county employee staff members and other insiders.
Among those outside groups identified as having had an outreach meeting with the consultants and planners is the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, the primary industry group. KSFR's Marion Cox asked Bob Gallagher, president of the oil and gas association, about that meeting the county claims to have had with him. He says there was no such meeting.
Cox also spoke with several county residents about their experience with the outreach planning process. Listen.
KSFR has also reported on the county's overall planning process, compared with work being done in other states.
Santa Fe County residents are waiting to see what the next step will be on the question of oil and gas drilling in the Galisteo Basin. Word from the county administration building is that some sort of draft ordinance will be released this month. The lead county consultant was hired back in February to work at the rate of nearly $500 an hour on a plan to re-zone for all sorts of development, not just oil and gas. That consultant is lawyer Bob Freilich. He's based in California.
What's happened since? The county is saying a great deal has happened. Others are saying, they don't see evidence of much. And anecdotally, stakeholders in the county say they don't understand the plan being used to develop the new county re-zoning, oil and gas ordinance.
A list of "Outreach" meetings on the county's website indicates that more than half of the 50 meetings claiming to be outreach actually were internal meetings among county employee staff members and other insiders.
Among those outside groups identified as having had an outreach meeting with the consultants and planners is the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, the primary industry group. KSFR's Marion Cox asked Bob Gallagher, president of the oil and gas association, about that meeting the county claims to have had with him. He says there was no such meeting.
Cox also spoke with several county residents about their experience with the outreach planning process. Listen.
KSFR has also reported on the county's overall planning process, compared with work being done in other states.
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Today, Gwen Lachelt of the Oil & Gas Accountability Project and Johnny Micou of Drilling Santa Fe and Common Ground United met with Steve Ulibarri, Santa Fe County Information Officer. We discussed the issues of communication between the county and the public, especially in regards to the oil & gas ordinance. In addition, Gwen discussed fracturing fluids and the toxic implications. For example, an emergency room nurse, Cathy Behr, had become gravely ill shortly after exposure to fracturing fluid chemicals on an oil field workers clothing while he was being treated at Mercy Regional Medical Center, as reported in Newsweek. Gwen also left information for protections of adjacent landowners to drilling sites and about the Laplata County, Colorado oil & ordinance updates.
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