Tonight Tecton Energy held a public forum at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center in Santa Fe's South Side. The turnout was amazing, and the crowd was decidedly (and deservedly) anti-drilling.
The issue is whether Tecton should be allowed to commence drilling for oil in the Galisteo Basin south of Santa Fe. Many of the landowners in the affected area do not own the mineral rights beneath their lands, and they are therefore subject to drilling when Tecton leases the mineral rights from the mineral rights owners. Thus, Tecton may be able to enter land without the consent of the surface owner to drill for oil.
The evening consisted of a brief presentation from Tecton and numerous comments from the community.
I spoke about the deep concerns I have regarding the inability of Tecton to ensure that they will not irreversibly damage the aquifer in the area. To me, the issue is about whether my kids will be growing up in a community that is safe, clean, and sustainable. I am also deeply concerned by the inability of Tecton to address serious questions regarding the source of the water they will need to operate and the inability of Tecton to ensure the community that the effects of their operations will be mitigated in the short-term and eliminated in the long-term.
Right now there are many more questions unanswered than answered. One this is for sure, however: this is not a good development for the Santa Fe area, and the community needs to continue to be mobilized to protect our land and water.
More photographs can be found here: PHOTOS.
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