Albuquerque Jounral

June 16th, 2004

Otero Mesa Drilling Would Endanger Ground Water, Report Says

By Tania Soussan
Journal Staff Writer

The federal plan for expanded oil and gas development on southern New Mexico 's Otero Mesa puts ground water in the area at risk of contamination, according to a report issued Tuesday.

The Bureau of Land Management has proposed a plan to guide development of the area, which holds potentially large natural gas reserves but also contains one of the last remnants of healthy Chihuahuan Desert grassland in the state.

The plan is opposed by environmentalists and Gov. Bill Richardson, who proposed an alternate plan with more stringent environmental protections.

Steve Finch, vice president, senior geochemist and hydrologist at John Shomaker & Associates Inc. in Albuquerque , wrote the study. It was commissioned by the Otero Mesa Coalition and the Campaign to Protect America 's Lands.

"The water supply beneath Otero Mesa is potentially vulnerable to contamination from the proposed oil and gas development the BLM plan would permit," Finch said in a telephone news conference.

He concluded the danger is high because the aquifer below Otero Mesa is fractured and porous and because existing water supply wells are near areas in which the BLM plans to allow drilling.

"This is not just a hypothetical concern," Finch said, adding that there have been problems of water pollution from oil and gas development in other parts of New Mexico .

BLM spokesman Hans Stuart said the agency's plan does includes water protection measures.

"We certainly agree that ground water must be protected in Otero Mesa and throughout New Mexico wherever drilling occurs," he said. "We do not anticipate impacts to ground water quality."

Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, agreed, saying, "New technology has provided the industry with more than enough ability to adequately protect the ground water."

Stephen Capra, executive director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, said more study is needed along with a ban on injection wells and better protections against surface spills such as berms and liners around all tanks.

"This report demonstrates that once again the BLM is failing to use facts and science in making decisions," Capra said. "Water is far more important to New Mexicans' future than the very modest amount of gas that lies beneath Otero Mesa."

Although the water in the region is used now mainly for livestock and agriculture, the aquifer could someday supply up to 800,000 people, and pressure to put the water to use is growing.

The report was released just two days before a state Oil Conservation Commission public hearing on proposed new rules to restrict oil and gas pits on Otero Mesa.

The hearing will be 9 a.m. Thursday in Porter Hall at the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, 1220 South St. Francis Drive in Santa Fe .