Governor Extends State Ban on Oil & Gas Drilling in Santa Fe County
Governor Richardson has extended a state ban on new crude oil and gas drilling in Santa Fe County and the Galisteo Basin through January 24, 2009. The moratorium will allow more time for government agencies to gather information and begin rulemakings to protect water aquifers, archaeological and cultural resources, and wildlife in this ecologically fragile area.
“I am committed to protecting ground water, archaeological, cultural, and wildlife areas in the Galisteo Basin,” said Governor Bill Richardson. “I remain gravely concerned that oil and gas drilling activities could negatively affect those resources, so I have extended the temporary moratorium to allow further information gathering and protections to be put in place.”
Once again, Santa Fe County residents get a reprieve from crude oil and gas exploration and extraction in the Galisteo Basin. Hopefully this will give the state agencies involved the proper time to develop a unified plan for dealing with the issues of crude oil and gas drilling in ecologically and culturally sensitive lands. We'll keep our fingers crossed and reduce our use of increasingly expensive fossil fuels in the meantime.
More Info:
S.Fe New Mexican: Richardson extends ban on oil, gas drilling
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No Oil Drilling in Santa Fe for One Year
