On January 10th, there will be a day-long meeting before the SAN MIGUEL County Commission regarding their proposed oil and gas ordinance. The meeting will be held from 10am to 7pm at the County Commission room at 500 National Street, Las Vegas NM.
San Miguel has hired Bob Freilich, the drafter of the Santa Fe Oil and Gas Ordinance, as their consultant, attorney and drafter. In addition, the Mora County Commission has stated they will adopt the San Miguel Ordinance when it is completed. If Mr. Freilich simply adopts the Santa Fe ordinance, which is what is expected, then Santa Fe, San Miguel and Mora County will be ‘no drill zones. The other counties surrounding San Miguel and Mora, specifically Guadalupe, Quay, Harding, Colfax and Union will be impacted by San Miguel’s adoption of a very bad oil and gas ordinance.
This will be the third public comment Session the Commission will hold on whether to have an ordinance. After two years of work on the Oil and Gas Taskforce and several rounds of legal comments, the Commission has decided to throw out our work in favor of whatever Mr. Frielich decides to propose. The environmental community has had very strong grass roots messaging throughout this process. Their concerns relate to hydraulic fracturing and water quality issues. They are adamant about their positions, which we believe poses significant concern from the Commission. In addition, the presentations by industry have consisted of IPANM on each day and one or two other land owners. We need ranchers, business people and employees of the Behavior Health Hospital in Las Vegas to speak. (The Behavioral health hospital will be receiving $1.9 million this year from the Land Grant Permanent Fund which is 94% supported by the oil and gas industry. ) The Commission needs to hear that oil and gas operations can be conducted in an environmentally safe manner and will assist the County economically.
