The first of two public hearings on Santa Fe County's new oil and gas regulations was canceled Monday after Santa Fe Community College, where it was to take place, closed because of the snow. A new date for the hearing has not been set.

County Attorney Steve Ross spoke to The New Mexican on Monday about the new regulations the county is in the process of drafting:

Q: What in this document provides the strongest protection against ground water contamination?

A: Ross said there are "dozens of things" that provide for groundwater protection in the regulations. He pointed to a section that requires three water monitoring wells that must be tested to create a baseline of water-quality data for an area before drilling begins.

The wells would be tested "at least annually thereafter" according to the current draft of the amendment. Other sections put controls on the plugging and abandonment of wells, the disposal of waste and the use of chemicals in the fracturing process in which high-pressures fluids are injected underground to break up rock formations, Ross said.

Q: How was the county able to write the oil and gas regulations in about three months when the existing ordinance took three years to write?

A: Ross said he couldn't comment on the process that was used to write the existing ordinance, but in his opinion, "it shouldn't take that long." After looking at regulations in other counties and states, he said, he thinks the one he's written is "far and away the toughest one right now."

Q: In what areas did you feel your ability to establish local law was limited by state laws?

A: Ross said it's the nature of his job that he is constantly analyzing the relationships between state and county laws in every word he writes. He said some of the legal jurisdiction issues surrounding oil and gas are "not well settled in this state, because the Oil and Gas Act and the Water Quality Act give broad powers to the (Oil Conservation Division)."

Q: How do the new regulations change the status quo? What is visionary about them?
A: Ross said the way the oil and gas code was written — piecing together ordinances from other jurisdictions — was something new. He said requiring drilling islands and banning the use of chemicals in the fracturing process might also be new at the county level.

"It's hard for me to say this is a visionary ordinance," Ross said. "We're trying to write a document that applies to our situation. We're not trying to write anything visionary. We're trying to address the problem we have in front of us."

Q: What were your main sources of information? Which experts including staff members did you use in writing the regulations?

A: "We relied on our own expertise and that of zoning staff," Ross said. "I have a lot of expertise in oil and gas. I have enough background in this area to understand the technical aspects."

Ross said the county also relied on the expertise of the Oil Conservation Division and looked to see what other counties and municipalities had done across the nation.

Santa Fe County began writing new oil and gas regulations in the fall after Houston-based Tecton Energy announced plans to drill for oil in the Galisteo Basin.

The latest draft of the county's oil and gas regulations are posted on the county's Web site at www.santafecounty.org. Written comments are being accepted through Jan. 23.

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.