Editorial: Landowners need warning of gas and oil drilling leases

Bill Waters | The New Mexican

2/11/2008 - 2/11/08

As word of a Galisteo Basin oil boom echoed from family to family in that rural area south of Santa Fe last year, folks found an additional concern: They might've expected county-government leaders to place bureaucratic barriers between the scenic countryside and Tecton Energy, the outfit owning 65,000 acres of mineral rights and talking as many as 100 million barrels of light sweet crude below ground.

What they saw instead called to mind a jackrabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming 18-wheeler; one our bewhiskered políticos saw hauling bucketfuls of bucks to the county treasury, whatever it might wreak in roadkill.

Just think of all the revenue, giggled appointed and elected officials alike. Just think of what the oil rigs can do to the environment, especially the water supply, came the response from nearby residents and environmental activists from near and far.

After initial lethargy toward drafting what few ordinances the county can apply to Tecton, the Board of Santa Fe County Commissioners in late November declared a three-month moratorium on oil-drilling permits. It would have run out by the end of this month — but in mid-January, Gov. Bill Richardson stepped in and issued a six-month drilling ban.

Now, it appears, county leaders are getting active on the drilling scene even as

they work on an ordinance that might regulate oil-well distances from homes and water wells; reclamation of damage done, and financial guarantees that they will reclaim the land. There'll also likely be processes for obtaining, or fighting, permits.

And now the county has resolved to ask federal and state land officials to give residents more notice of oil-lease applications.

This, for many of the folks in the Galisteo area, is closing the barn door a tad too late: Tecton already has bought federal blessings to drill more than 100 square miles. The affected NIMBYs should have secured their own mineral rights.

Also, we doubt that either the state or the feds will voluntarily behave more transparently just because one county's politicians plead on their constituents' behalf. But our commissioners might be onto something just the same:

Our congressional delegation should pick up on this notion — and demand earlier, clearer notification to people affected by the gas-and-old guys. So should the state Legislature.

When other kinds of land-use changes are about to land on neighbors, local governments are good about posting big yellow signs, with indications as to what might happen. There's no good reason why, in addition to legal ads, plenty such signs can't go up well in advance of the transaction date, in places where neighbors and other affected fellow citizens can't fail to see them.

It would mean a lot of work. It would be a drag on oil-company operations. But it also would mean our governments, which are supposed to serve the people, would in this case be doing so. And that should have great appeal to Northern New Mexico's Rep. Tom Udall and to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

How 'bout it, gentlemen?