A coalition of environmental groups is urging the Bureau of Land Management to abandon plans to auction close to 900 acres of public lands in the Greater Chaco area in northwestern New Mexico for oil and gas drilling.
In formal comments addressing the environmental assessment for a proposed January lease sale, a dozen groups including the Western Environmental Law Center, Diné CARE and the San Juan Citizens Alliance say the BLM has failed to take a hard look at issues such as impacts to water quality and human health. The conservationists also note that several recent occurrences have highlighted the impacts of drilling. Those include a July explosion at a fracking site in northern New Mexico that forced 55 residents to evacuate; a recent report linking drilling to a methane hot spot over the Four Corners; and a 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma believed to be linked to practices such as the injection of wastewater into the ground. In separate comments, WildEarth Guardians argues that the BLM has long prioritized coal, oil, and gas leasing over protecting wildlife, watersheds, and public recreation. The group argues that the result has been a glut of already existing federal coal, oil, and gas leases that, if fully developed, “would result in climate emissions that far exceed a safe and livable global temperature rise.”
