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Mario Atencio is no stranger to fighting oil and gas development. He's an organizer for the Greater Chaco Coalition, which campaigns to end new oil and gas drilling near Chaco Canyon. Now, he's fighting to stop an oil company from injecting toxic drilling water into a well within half a mile of his father's house.
The well sits on a square mile piece of state land surrounded by Tribal and Bureau of Land Management land near Chaco Canyon, in an area of New Mexico known as the "checkerboard" region due to fragmented land ownership. Atencio says the company did not notify his family of the waste well proposal. The company did notify the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as is required by law, but the message was not passed on to Atencio's family.
In 2019, the company applying for the well permit, Enduring Resources, spilled 1,400 barrels of oil mixed with produced water at a well site, sending a toxic slurry into a dry streambed that runs past Atencio’s family home. Atencio brought up the spill in a congressional hearing related to drilling around Chaco Canyon, facing off with a representative for the company.
In February, the Western Environmental Law Center and the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned New Mexico's Oil Conservation Division to deny the well permit due to the company's inadequate notification of nearby residents, but the state refused. Now, the state is reversing its position and says it plans to deny an easement Enduring Resources needs for the injection well. If the company protests or takes the state to court over the issue, Atencio says, “You gotta face very harsh words from me.”
Idaho public lands legislative roundup
Idaho’s 2024 state legislative session had mixed results for conservation issues. Lawmakers made encouraging appropriations to a number of conservation priorities, managed to steer clear of the session’s most concerning proposals, and avoided the temptation to take up some of the ideas currently popular with anti-conservation extremists in neighboring Western states. In a new blog post, Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby summarizes key highlights from the session.
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With challenges ahead, a careful, planned approach to managing public lands, one that recognizes the importance of delivering conservation, is now more essential. We will all be well served to avoid the misinformation and conspiracy theories, and to focus on the land stewardship we want for present and future generations. The new Public Lands Rule puts California, our nation and future generations on the right path forward.”
