Sandoval County rejects drilling proposal – Santa Fe New Mexican, 12.16.17

By Rebecca Moss | The New Mexican

The Sandoval County Commission voted down a controversial oil and gas ordinance early Friday morning, following an outcry of opposition from residents and tribal representatives who said the proposed regulations would fail to protect water sources and the environment and would limit public input on future development projects.

Instead, the commission will consider asking the county’s planning commission to overhaul the measure next month.

While federal and state regulations govern oil and gas operations in New Mexico, Sandoval County does not have its own drilling rules, an issue that drew concern in 2015, when a company sought a permit to drill in Rio Rancho. Residents at the time opposed the project and called for an ordinance to regulate oil and gas operations, and county officials began the process shortly after.

The 10-page document they drafted, however, created a firestorm of debate.

The County Commission delayed a vote on the measure last month.

During an hourslong meeting that began Thursday evening, the commission had intended to discuss the proposed ordinance and determine whether to publish possible amendments. But after listening to opponents speak about potential harms the ordinance could cause if it were passed, commissioners voted 4-1 at about 1 a.m. Friday to dissolve both the original proposal and an amended version.

It was a sweeping change from previous meetings in which the commissioners were criticized for limiting public comment and failing to include residents and tribal representatives in the process of developing the ordinance.

District 3 Commission Chairman Don Chapman was the only commissioner to vote in support of both versions of the ordinance Friday morning.

“I want you to understand the county has no level of accountability on the industry without an ordinance,” Chapman said. “… I would rather have something rather than nothing.”

But members of the public said they wanted more aggressive regulations and said an ordinance should not move forward until technical studies on the issue have been completed.

Commissioner F. Kenneth Eichwald of District 5 agreed that Sandoval County needs a tougher ordinance. He voted against the measure, saying, “We have not consulted everybody that needs to be consulted, and our tribal entities have not had a voice in this, and we need to listen to everybody.”

In January, the commission will discuss sending the ordinance back to the Planning and Zoning Commission to be redrafted.

The original ordinance called for a 750-foot buffer zone between a drilling site and any homes, schools, churches, cemeteries, hospitals and water supplies. It also required companies to submit road and emergency response plans to the county, and it included guidelines on light and sound generated by a project. But opponents said the measure failed to protect water from contamination, preserve historical communities from industry development, mitigate accidents or prevent lasting environmental degradation.

Existing oil and gas development in Sandoval County is concentrated around Counselor, where wells taps into the San Juan Basin.

Former Sandoval County Commissioner Orlando Lucero told commissioners that when he worked as a teacher in the village of Cuba, the children from the nearby community of Counselor used to sleep in the classrooms because the land around their homes was being drilled.

“The noise was so bad that the kids didn’t sleep,” Lucero said. The roads were so torn up by oil and gas traffic that the school buses couldn’t get to many homes when it rained, he added.

“You got a mouthful tonight from your constituents. They are angry, they are concerned,” Lucero said. “Thank you for listening to the people.”

By |2017-12-16T20:43:20-07:00December 16th, 2017|News|0 Comments

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