Public Health and Toxics News

OGAP ASKS FOR FULL DISCLOSURE

The Oil & Gas Accountability Project and its partners are working to secure the full public disclosure of chemicals that the oil and gas industry is releasing into our air, water and soil.  In February, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc. released a new analysis of the chemicals used in the exploration and development of oil and gas in Montana.  The Montana analysis builds upon what we already know about oil and gas chemicals and their associated health effects in states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Washington.  Learn more about chemicals used in oil and gas development.

CLEARING THE AIR IN COLORADO OIL AND GAS COMMUNITIES 

In December, 2006, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission approved several new restrictions that limit oil and gas industry emissions. The changes were made in an effort to curb emissions of ozone-forming compounds, which are affecting air quality across the state and in the Denver region.  Read more about the 2006 Air Quality Rule Changes.

Victory for New Mexicans with New Rules on Pits!

New Mexico's Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) signed the final version of the oil and gas waste pit rule on May 9, 2008.  The new rules are some of the strongest in the country!  The OCC crafted a rule fit for the 21st Century that locks in better oil and gas practices. The new rule takes effect over the next several weeks.

The OCC's pit rule won broad support from suburban landowners, ranchers, and residents across New Mexico who have suffered water and soil contamination from unlined oil and gas waste pits and buried waste.  Between the mid-1980s and 2003, the New Mexico Environmental Bureau recorded nearly 7,000 cases of pits causing soil and water contamination.  The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division released data in 2005 showing that close to 400 incidents of groundwater contamination had been documented from oil and gas pits.

Most recently, as part of the Pit Rule Task Force process, state sampling showed
carcinogens in all pit samples and heavy metals in two-thirds of the pit samples.
Citizen groups, ranchers and landowners from throughout New Mexico are
understandably quite concerned about water quality, exposure to unknown levels of
toxic chemicals, stock and wildlife deaths, and a broad range of other issues facing
residents who live near oil and gas sites.  View report on substances found in NM. pits.

Pits under the new rule: lined, permitted, more respectful of water and property
The new pit rule bans unlined pits entirely and requires that all pits are permitted with the Oil Conservation Division (OCD). At long last, the public will finally have an inventory of pits in our state! The new rule also strengthens liner requirements and effectively requires the use of closed loop systems in close proximity to our water resources and homes.  For more information - click here!

Protections for Wild Places

VICTORY FOR THE VALLE VIDAL:  Landmark Valle Vidal Protection Act Becomes Law

New Mexico's Valle Vidal.   Photo credit:  Jim O'Donnell

President Bush signed the Valle Vidal Protection Act into law in mid-December. The new law will permanently protect the Valle Vidal, one of New Mexico's greatest natural treasures, by withdrawing the area from mineral leasing.

The Valle Vidal (Spanish for "Valley of Life") is a lush mountain basin in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. A majestic landscape of breathtaking vistas and abundant wildlife, it is often referred to as "New Mexico's Yellowstone."

Read the most recent news on the Valle Vidal.

OTHER WILD PLACES

OGAP and its partner organizations are working to protect other wild places such as Otero Mesa, the HDs Mountains and the Beartooth Front. 

Find out about these wild places and about oil and gas development on public lands.

Publications

OGAP has produced Oil and Gas at Your Door? A landowner's guide to oil and gas development.  This 200-page book has been written to help demystify oil and gas development, and educate landowners on their legal rights and the laws that pertain to oil and gas. 

Download or order a guide today!