Data show steady increase in Colorado, Wyoming spills, spike in New Mexico methane releases
** Drillers report 8 spills a day in West's top three oil and gas states
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Friday, February 28, 2020
Wyoming’s Jonah Oil Field | EcoFlight ([link removed])
A new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) finds that oil and gas companies reported 2,811 spills in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico in 2019, nearly eight per day. Across the three states ([link removed]) , drillers reported spilling 23,600 barrels of oil and 170,223 barrels of produced water—salty wastewater often laced with toxic chemicals.
The number of reported spills has increased steadily ([link removed]) in Wyoming and Colorado over the past few years, rising 31 percent in Wyoming since 2015, and 58 percent in Colorado since 2012. Companies in New Mexico reported 1,352 spills, by far the most of the three states. While this represents an 11 percent decrease from the year prior, companies reported releasing 812 million cubic feet of methane—more than three times the amount reported the year before.
Quick hits
** Judge voids 1 million acres of oil and gas leases in sage-grouse habitat, ruling public was shut out
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
** Draft public land management plan puts drilling near Chaco Canyon back in the spotlight
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Oil and gas spills on the rise in Colorado's Piceance Basin
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
** Bipartisan Senate bill would modernize badly outdated royalties, bids on public lands oil and gas
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])
** Tribes ask Arizona senator to support ban on new uranium mining claims near the Grand Canyon
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KNAU ([link removed])
** New Mexico county strives to chart a new future, swap coal for renewables
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New Mexico Political Report ([link removed])
** Trump administration to restart coal leasing on public lands, but don't expect a boom
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KUER ([link removed])
** National park visitation reaches all-time high in 2019
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CNN ([link removed]) | Denver Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Public lands and their natural resources belong to the American people, and it’s only fair to ask those who profit from them to return a fair share to taxpayers.”
—U.S. Senator for New Mexico Tom Udall, Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
Everyone loves our national parks! In 2019, over 327 million people visited our natural & cultural treasures. That’s the 3rd highest since record keeping began in 1904.
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