Farmington Daily Times (Dec. 24, 2019) – The fiscal year 2020 federal spending package will prevent any oil and gas leasing activities on federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.  However, the 1-Year Moratorium on new leasing around Chaco Canyon is still scheduled to expire in September 2020.

The spending package, which includes a dozen bills, passed the U.S. Senate last week and was signed by President Donald Trump. The buffer zone is included in the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

IPANM continues to monitor this important issue and supports safe drilling of horizontal wells within the arbitrary “buffer zone”, as drilling and associated oil & gas activities have NO effect on the perseveration of Chaco Canyon National Historic Monument.

Farmington News: Federal Spending Plan Included Buffer Zone at Chaco