I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
It hasn’t been a good year for energy companies looking to develop new oil and gas fields in northern New Mexico. Three months ago, the Santa Fe County Commission voted unanimously to prohibit drilling in the Galisteo Basin for at least a year. And the Rio Arriba County Commission did the same thing last month — unanimously approving a four-month ban on new oil and gas drilling in the county.
Now, at least one of the affected energy companies is taking the fight to court. Texas-based Approach Resources has filed a federal suit challenging Rio Arriba County’s moratorium, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting this morning.
Approach Resources, which wanted to begin exploring for oil east of Tierra Amarilla next month, argues that the moratorium violates its property rights and could cost the company tens of millions of dollars, according to the Journal.
Energy producers in San Juan County, Rio Arriba’s neighbor, would provides many of the workers who would drill the wells and have said the moratorium will "cripple the local economy," the Farmington Daily Times reported last month.
But the Rio Arriba County Commission wanted some time to mull environmental concerns:
Despite industry comment about the financial effects it would suffer from a moratorium, Rio Arriba County Manager Lorenzo J. Valdez said pain is not the point, that it’s all about protecting Rio Arriba County’s prime feature — its land, the Daily Times reported.
The same kind of concerns lead to the ban in Santa Fe County, where Tecton Energy wants to drill for oil and gas in the Galisteo Basin south of Santa Fe. Now the question is whether Tecton will follow in Approach Resources’ footsteps. Tecton has previously threatened legal action, but so far has not filed suit.
