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The Bureau of Land Management has announced that it will hold a series of virtual meetings to discuss the controversial resource management plan that could open land near the Chaco Culture National Historic park in New Mexico to oil and gas development. However, native communities in the region have been devastated by the pandemic, and many lack the internet connectivity to participate in a virtual meeting.
House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva said, "Secretary Bernhardt and Acting Director Pendley are using this crisis to hand our public lands over to the oil and gas industry, and are silencing communities in the process."
The contested plan will guide oil and gas development around the park, which is a World Heritage Site, for at least the next decade. Tribes, environmentalists, and archaeologists have all warned that development could negatively impact sacred sites near, but outside, Chaco's boundaries. Due to these concerns, members of Congress have called for a 10-mile protective buffer around the sacred canyon, but the BLM's preferred plan falls short of Secretary David Bernhardt's one-year promise to adhere to the buffer.
Fed loan program expansion sparks oil bailout worries
After prodding by oil-state lawmakers and oil lobbyists, the Federal Reserve has announced that it will let bigger businesses take out emergency loans meant to help small to medium companies weather the current pandemic.
As market forces combine with the pandemic, oil prices have plummeted and petroleum companies, many of which are heavily indebted, are on the verge of bankruptcy. The central bank's changes appear to be a victory for the U.S. oil and gas sector, which has asked for better federal lending terms.
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By hook or by crook, Big Oil is going to try to get a bailout while small businesses shutter. It is deplorable to spend good money after bad and waste taxpayer dollars on an industry that has been struggling for years due to bad business decisions.”
