Albuquerque Journal

Editorial

June 17th, 2004

Otero Water Concerns  Should Be Allayed

Southeastern New Mexico 's Otero Mesa is slated for oil and gas development. The federal Bureau of Land Management has been pushing to get wells in place so that underground reserves on BLM land can be tapped -- just as wells on nearby state land are already in service.

But before the feds can act, state officials are pressing their jurisdiction and pitching for additional safeguards.

In part, that's because this is a political battle. Gov. Bill Richardson is opposed to BLM's plans for Otero Mesa and has proposed his own more limited alternative, while the Bush administration has consistently favored expanded drilling with fewer roadblocks.

But science should play the leading role.

In that vein, a new report authored by a respected water resource consultant concludes that the current BLM plan threatens Otero Mesa's underground water supply -- an aquifer large enough to supply as many as 800,000 people someday.

According to the report, commissioned by a coalition opposed to the BLM plan for Otero Mesa, drilling could introduce harmful contaminants. The report points to documented cases of contamination as a result of oil and gas drilling in Texas , as well as in Artesia and Jal.

In Jal, a water well field was contaminated in the mid-1970s -- and has since been abandoned.

As the state Oil Conservation Commission meets today to evaluate, among other things, proper handling of drilling waste at Otero Mesa, more attention should also be paid to groundwater impacts.

New Mexico 's aquifers are too precious for policy-makers to slight concerns about contamination.