White House energy task force sought faster Valle Vidal drilling study

11:11 am: White House energy task force sought faster Valle Vidal drilling study



Associated Press
August 12, 2004

TAOS, N.M. - A White House energy task force asked the Carson National Forest for an "expedited response" on developing natural gas in the Valle Vidal of northern New Mexico, but forest officials said they have not speeded up their review as a result.

The Valle Vidal unit, which features mountain peaks, streams and meadows and is home to New Mexico's largest elk herd, became part of the Carson in 1982 after it was donated by an oil company, Pennzoil Corp.There currently are no oil and gas leases or producing wells on the unit. Environmentalists have said the natural beauty and pristine land could be lost forever if drilling is allowed.

Houston-based El Paso Corporation two years ago asked the Carson to open about half the 100,000-acre Valle Vidal for oil and gas leasing. The Forest Service said at the time it didn't have staff or money to study potential energy development until 2005.

In late June 2003, El Paso Corp. executives met with the White House Task Force on Energy Project Streamlining, created by the Bush administration in 2001 to work with federal agencies to expedite energy-related permits.Shortly afterward, El Paso Corp.'s former director of government affairs wrote task force director Robert W. Middleton, saying the Valle Vidal "could be a vital new source" of natural gas and he would appreciate anything Middleton could do "to help move the process forward in a timely manner."
(snip/...)

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/2948.html
(Free registration required)



Poster from http://www.spectrumz.com/z/pr_posters_2.html