Susan Herrera House District 41 | Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter
Members of the Greater Chaco Coalition delivered nearly two million comments opposing federal fossil fuel leasing to the Bureau of Land Management's state headquarters in Santa Fe on October 1. This action was taken as part of a deadline for scoping comments regarding the proposed auction of over 740,000 acres of public and ancestral tribal lands across ten states, including parcels in New Mexico's Permian Basin.
The coalition has consistently opposed new and ongoing fracking activities, spanning three administrations. The Biden administration initially paused new lease sales in January but has since moved forward with plans for an oil and gas lease sale scheduled for February 2022.
Mario Atencio from Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment stated, "With the agency moving forward to lease more lands for fracking, Biden is following in his predecessor’s footsteps, and once again, we are faced with more broken promises." Julia Bernal from Pueblo Action Alliance emphasized the environmental impact, saying, "Federal fossil fuel leasing on public lands and waters alone accounts for more than one-quarter of the United States’ climate change pollution."
Kayley Shoup from Citizens Caring For the Future highlighted health concerns in affected communities: "Frontline communities continue to experience dangerous levels of air quality." Rebecca Sobel from WildEarth Guardians criticized the current administration's actions: "President Biden campaigned on a promise to ban new oil and gas drilling, but this massive lease sale is just more of the same."
Miya King Flaherty from Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter pointed out that fundamental reform is needed: "By moving forward with this lease sale, the Biden administration is proving that it is no different from the Trump administration." Margaret Wadworth from Food & Water Watch discussed health impacts on local communities: "NM oil and gas communities...suffer from some of the highest rates of asthma."
Raena Garcia from Friends of the Earth called for an end to new leases: "Biden must uphold his promise to address the nearly 25% of U.S. emissions that come from...fossil fuels by ending new lease sales."
