{"id":627886,"date":"2018-09-21T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=627886"},"modified":"2018-09-22T11:45:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T17:45:07","slug":"the-countrys-busiest-oil-and-gas-office-has-a-plan-for-more-drilling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/09\/the-countrys-busiest-oil-and-gas-office-has-a-plan-for-more-drilling\/","title":{"rendered":"The country\u2019s busiest oil and gas office has a plan for more drilling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If there is one swath of land that holds the most promise for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke\u2019s vision for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/pressreleases\/they-said-it-couldnt-be-done-trump-admin-dominates-billion-dollar-oil-and-gas-sale\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/pressreleases\/they-said-it-couldnt-be-done-trump-admin-dominates-billion-dollar-oil-and-gas-sale\">energy dominance<\/a>, it might be southeast New Mexico. The 6-million acre region includes part of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/petroleum\/drilling\/pdf\/permian.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/petroleum\/drilling\/pdf\/permian.pdf\">Permian Basin<\/a>, which\u00a0stretches into west Texas and is expected to produce more than any other nation except Saudi Arabia by 2023. In August, the Bureau of Land Management released a 1,500-page\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/eplanning\/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&amp;currentPageId=90928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/eplanning\/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&amp;currentPageId=90928\">draft of a new management plan\u00a0<\/a>for the New Mexico side of the basin that will determine how its resources will be used for the next 20 years and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>The BLM\u2019s Carlsbad field office, which oversees this three-county region, is the busiest in the nation for oil and gas drilling. It\u2019s also a landscape of deserts, grasslands, small mountain ranges and spectacular underground caves. One of the first major resource management plans in the country to be released under the Trump administration, it paves the way for more drilling.<\/p>\n<p>The plan was eight years in the making and originally expected for release under the Obama administration but was delayed after President Donald Trump was elected. According to documents obtained by\u00a0<em>High Country News<\/em>, the Carlsbad field office originally intended to protect certain areas for wildlife, scenic or cultural values that are not included in the new version. For instance, maps drafted in 2016 show that BLM\u2019s preferred alternative included more extensive protection for grasslands west of the 12,000-person town of Artesia. According to multiple sources close to the planning process, who spoke to\u00a0<em>HCN<\/em>\u00a0on condition of anonymity, the BLM pivoted to change \u201cno-surface occupancy\u201d restrictions on drilling \u2014 which prohibit companies from disturbing the surface of a sensitive area \u2014 to be less restrictive in several locations that were part of the draft plan before Trump was elected.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article originally appeared on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcn.org\/articles\/energy-the-countrys-busiest-oil-and-gas-office-has-a-plan-for-more-drilling?utm_source=nmpolitics.net&amp;utm_medium=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">High\u200b \u200bCountry\u200b \u200bNews<\/a>\u200b,\u200b \u200ba\u200b \u200bnonprofit\u200b \u200bnews\u200b \u200borganization\u200b \u200bthat\u200b \u200bcovers\u200b \u200bthe\u200b \u200bimportant\u200b \u200bissues\u200b \u200bthat define\u200b \u200bthe\u200b \u200bAmerican\u200b \u200bWest.\u200b \u200b\u200b<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hcn.org\/subscribe?src=header\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Subscribe<\/a>\u200b,\u200b \u200bget\u200b \u200bthe\u200b\u200b \u200b<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hcn.org\/enewsletter\/commons-email-signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">enewsletter<\/a>\u200b,\u200b \u200band\u200b \u200bfollow\u200b \u200bHCN\u200b \u200bon\u200b\u200b \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/highcountrynews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a>\u200b\u200b \u200band\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/highcountrynews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>\u200b.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In response to the new administration\u2019s priorities, \u201cthe BLM performed a review of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/presidential-executive-order-promoting-agriculture-rural-prosperity-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/presidential-executive-order-promoting-agriculture-rural-prosperity-america\/\">Executive Orders<\/a>, Secretarial\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/sites\/doi.gov\/files\/uploads\/signed_so_3356.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/sites\/doi.gov\/files\/uploads\/signed_so_3356.pdf\">Orders<\/a>, and Secretarial Memos,\u201d James Stovall, the BLM manager of Pecos Field District, which includes the Carlsbad field office, wrote to\u00a0<em>HCN<\/em>\u00a0in an email. \u201cThe team then reviewed, and revised as necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jim Goodbar, a cave and karst specialist employed by the BLM in New Mexico for 38 years before retiring in January, worked on the resource plan under the new presidential administration. During that time, he noticed priorities shift in line with Trump\u2019s energy-first vision. \u201cThere was definitely a sense that everybody was thinking, we wished we\u2019d gotten it approved prior to the change of the guard,\u201d Goodbar said. The former employee also told\u00a0<em>HCN<\/em>\u00a0he\u2019s concerned the draft RMP uses 2014 data about water and mineral resources. \u201cSince then, there have been major (oil) discoveries, and the numbers of wells and sizes of the pads have changed quite dramatically,\u201d Goodbar said. \u201cSo that could be a lot more environmental impact than they would actually be reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Southeast New Mexico has been drilled for 90 years already, and activity has ramped up drastically in the past several. Seventy-one percent of BLM\u2019s acreage here is leased for drilling, which means it\u2019s either slated for development or already in use. \u201cI think there\u2019s a real danger that Carlsbad is going to become a single-use field office,\u201d said Judy Calman, an environmental attorney with New Mexico Wild, a statewide conservation nonprofit. \u201cMore than other field offices, Carlsbad faces more pressure to do more for conservation because it\u2019s so on the verge of becoming just an oil and gas field office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The BLM wrote its\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/projects\/lup\/64444\/97039\/117201\/PDO_-_CFO_-_1988_-_Carlsbad_RMP.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/projects\/lup\/64444\/97039\/117201\/PDO_-_CFO_-_1988_-_Carlsbad_RMP.pdf\">last Carlsbad plan<\/a>\u00a0in 1988, which left all but 11,600 subsurface acres, of 2.6 million, open for leasing. A lot has changed since then, including new innovations in fracking methods and technology that means oil-and-gas development can move faster than ever before. Climate change has also increased the importance of riparian areas for threatened or endangered species like the Texas hornshell mussel and the Pecos gambusia.<\/p>\n<p>The BLM\u2019s preferred alternative would close three percent of the management area to new drilling, or 88,500 acres, and the agency estimates it would add more than 11,000 oil-and-gas jobs in the next 20 years.\u00a0 As with all federal land plans, the draft presents four \u201calternatives\u201d with varying priorities. The more conservation-oriented option would close 40 percent of the land to new leases and could create more than 9,000 industry jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Environmentalists pushed for higher protections for 550,900 acres of desert riparian zones, Great Blue Heron habitat, unique salt playas, and grasslands with one of the nation\u2019s highest diversity of bird species. BLM\u2019s preferred alternative within the new draft doesn\u2019t include those four nominations for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, though the agency did write its own proposals for new ACEC designations.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_627891\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/amaphoto\/508703099\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-627891\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/image-771x513.jpg\" alt=\"Carlsbad Caverns National Park\" width=\"771\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/image-771x513.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/image-336x224.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/image-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/image-1170x779.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/image.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Aric Brown \/ Flickr<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an expansive network of caves that has yet to be completely explored. The caves near the park could be affected by proposed drilling in the area.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Tension between conservationists and industry in the Carlsbad region also extends deep underground. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, first designated in 1923 as a monument, protects over 100 miles of caves that formed millions years ago and have yet to be fully explored. \u201cThe cave and karst resources ripple out far beyond the boundary of the park,\u201d said Jerry Otero of the National Park Conservation Association. The cave networks are connected to aquifers, which could be contaminated if drilled into for oil and gas, Otero said. &#8220;It\u2019s very likely groundwater would be impacted and there is a possibility that caves and underground structures connected to the cave systems within the park could be penetrated and contaminated,\u201d if certain areas near the park are leased,\u00a0added Ernie Atencio, NPCA\u2019s New Mexico senior program manager.<\/p>\n<p>Advocates of the park also want the new BLM plan to reflect the fact it is an international tourist attraction. \u201cIf you\u2019re standing at the park, at the visitors center and you look out and see and industrial landscape, your experience is not the same,\u201d Otero said.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Many locals to southeast New Mexico are advocating for fewer restrictions on the oil and gas industry. Dan Girand, former director of legislative and regulatory affairs at Mack Energy Corporation, an oil and gas producer based in Artesia, is concerned the plan will close certain lands to drilling and put restrictions on others. \u201cOnce they lease it to us, they\u2019re going to have conditions to it, which could cost us a whole bunch of money,\u201d said Girand, who is also chairman of Chaves County Lands Council. Oil and gas is an important economic driver for communities in the area and county commissioners would like to see even more focus on drilling and greater local input in the process. Fifteen percent of jobs in the area are in mining or the oil-and-gas industry. The per capita income of this three-county region was $39,500 in 2016, according to Headwaters Economics data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy preference in this whole deal would be for this draft to be thrown in the trashcan and the BLM to actually come coordinate with the counties putting this resource management plan together,\u201d Chaves County Commissioner Will Cavin said of the draft, invoking the legal requirement federal agencies have to work alongside locals. Using the provision known as \u201ccoordination\u201d has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcn.org\/issues\/47.8\/counties-use-a-coordination-clause-to-fight-the-feds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/www.hcn.org\/issues\/47.8\/counties-use-a-coordination-clause-to-fight-the-feds\">become a strategy<\/a>\u00a0in recent years for conservatives in many pockets of the West, seeking more influence in the federal planning process. Groups like the nonprofit American Stewards of Liberty, based in Texas,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/990s.foundationcenter.org\/990_pdf_archive\/541\/541934032\/541934032_201512_990.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"http:\/\/990s.foundationcenter.org\/990_pdf_archive\/541\/541934032\/541934032_201512_990.pdf\">once funded<\/a>\u00a0by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, put on local trainings, including in southeast New Mexico, to teach counties to leverage federal law to gain more influence.<\/p>\n<p>While Cavin called for more coordination between regional federal employees and locals, he also said he and other county commissioners met with BLM brass on multiple occasions earlier this year to voice their opinions about the new RMP, including with BLM Deputy Director Brian Steed and Deputy Director of the Office of External Affairs Tim Williams.<\/p>\n<p>The BLM will hold eight\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/eplanning\/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&amp;currentPageId=90934\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/eplanning\/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&amp;currentPageId=90934\">public meetings<\/a>\u00a0about the RMP between Sept. 17 and 27, in New Mexico towns and cities of Carlsbad, Artesia, Roswell, Hope, Albuquerque, Jal, Hobbs, and in Midland, Texas. Public comments can be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/eplanning\/comments\/commentSubmission.do?commentPeriodId=69752\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-linktype=\"external\" data-val=\"https:\/\/eplanning.blm.gov\/epl-front-office\/eplanning\/comments\/commentSubmission.do?commentPeriodId=69752\">submitted online<\/a>\u00a0through Nov. 5.<\/p>\n<p><em>Tay Wiles is a correspondent for\u00a0<\/em>High Country News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Southern New Mexico offers a testing ground for Trump\u2019s vision for energy dominance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":627891,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3307,119,147,116],"class_list":["post-627886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-donald-trump","tag-energy-policy","tag-environment","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}