Friday,
April 2, 2004
Interior Official Knocks
Gov.'s Otero Proposal
By Tania Soussan
Journal Staff Writer
Gov. Bill Richardson's proposed alternative plan for managing oil and gas development
on Otero Mesa would effectively block any drilling, a top Interior Department
official said Thursday.
"It is a no-drill plan," Rebecca W. Watson, assistant
secretary for lands and minerals management, said during a visit to Albuquerque.
The Bureau of Land Management released its plan for the Chihuahuan
Desert area in southern New Mexico in January. Richardson and others have said
it falls short of what is needed to protect Otero Mesa while oil and gas industry
representatives have said it's too restrictive.
Richardson last month submitted to the BLM a "consistency
review" that found the federal plan runs counter to several state policies.
The Interior Department is still reviewing the governor's
report, but Watson said, "We don't see anything in which we've been truly
inconsistent with state laws that he cites."
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said a broad coalition
of New Mexicans supports the governor's plan.
"Unfortunately, the BLM is forgoing its responsibility
to strike a balance between state and federal interests," Gallegos said.
"The BLM is only interested in drilling for oil regardless of the harm
to one of the most biologically diverse regions of the world."
Richardson proposed a significantly more restrictive way
of managing Otero Mesa than the BLM. But he has said the industry still could
access natural gas reserves and the area can still be developed.
Watson disagreed. She said Richardson's proposal to require
directional drilling to access about 333,000 acres is not workable.
"It's not feasible," she said. "We've looked
at that."
Watson said the U.S. must develop more domestic natural gas
supplies, and "Otero Mesa is going to be a small piece of it."
"Otero Mesa is just part of a whole scene," Watson
said. "This is a nationwide battle."
Conservation groups and the oil and gas industry have clashed
with federal land management agencies over drilling access across the West.
Many New Mexicans have said as part of the BLM review process
that they oppose plans for development on Otero Mesa and near Farmington.
"Environmental groups have turned it into a horse race
or election," Watson said, adding that the public comment process is designed
to catch issues federal planners might have missed. "You're asking for
information. You're not asking for a vote up or down."
Watson also said many who have spoken out against the BLM's
Otero Mesa plan are part of organized campaigns.
"These are voices that are being amplified through fund-raising,"
she said. "I question whether they represent the views of the majority
of the people."
Steve Capra, associate director of the New Mexico Wilderness
Alliance, called Watson's comments "incredible."
"It is part of a carefully choreographed spin from the
White House to take control of the issue," he said. "They're talking
about groups and numbers and we're talking about New Mexicans."
Capra said everyone from hunters and ranchers to environmentalists
to the bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces supports strong protections for Otero
Mesa.