National Geographic: Drilling Threatens NM Water, Caves

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A National Geographic investigation has found that Permian Basin energy exploration could taint residential aquifers with pollutants—as well as Carlsbad Caverns and other cave systems.

Here are excerpts of an article by Jennifer Oldham (February 3, 20201)

“A National Geographic investigation found that the Trump Administration’s push to open these public lands for energy exploration puts Carlsbad Caverns, scores of other caves in New Mexico, and aquifers that supply drinking water to tens of thousands of homeowners at risk of contamination.

What’s more, the threat to the region’s unique cave ecosystems and aquifers isn’t likely to recede during President Joe Biden’s administration.

As he promised during his campaign, Biden on January 27 paused new oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands, in order to undertake a ‘comprehensive review’ of the nation’s fossil fuels program. The pause only affects new development, however. It does not stop companies from drilling on existing leases, and it allows agencies to continue to approve permits for additional drilling there.”

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Green Amendment Founder Visits New Mexico (Part 1)

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Join Maya van Rossum, Founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, in her journey across New Mexico to meet with impacted communities and environmental, legislative and sustainable business leaders to explore their stories and the power of a #NMGreenAmendment.

Check out Maya’s exploration of NM’s biggest environmental and environmental justice issues and the role a NM Green Amendment could play with: Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, sponsor of the New Mexico Green Amendment; Emma Rose Cohen, CEO/Founder of Final; Beata Tsosie-Peña, Environmental Health and Justice Program Coordinator for Tewa Women United; Artemisio Romero y Carver, founding member of Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA); and Dee George and Penny Aucoin, impacted residents of Otis, NM

Article Illustrates Plight of Residents of ‘Waste Zone’ in Permian Basin

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An article in the news site Capital and Main on Jan. 28 (reprinted by the New Mexico Political Report) illustrates the challenges facing residents of a stretch of southeastern New Mexico dotted with  dotted with drilling pads and tank batteries that hold and pump oil and natural gas.

“About 129,000 people live amid more than 20,000 wells actively churning out oil and gas in this panthecake-flat stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert. Despite state regulations that require operators to report accidents, what triggered them, and how much oil, gas and water were lost or spilled, it’s not clear operators always file those reports,” said the article

Here are more excerpts

“Oilfield work is inherently dangerous. Extraction, heavy construction and transportation all play integral parts in the oil and gas industry, and all rank among the country’s most dangerous jobs according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In March 2020, two men were electrocuted and died while working with a forklift in the rain on a pad site south of Malaga. COG, a subsidiary of Concho Resources – which was recently purchased by ConocoPhillips for $13.3 billion – operates the site.

But the dangers don’t end at the edge of the drilling pad.

Throughout the Permian Basin, there are many families like the Gonzaleses, whose homes and ranches are surrounded by drilling operations. Sometimes the pipes carrying gas and oil and contaminated water run right through people’s yards.”

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