KSFR Local
(2008-07-14)
Before long, state regulators will announce their decision on another set of wells - these in Rio Arriba County. A Fort Worth company named Approach resources has several well permits and is asking for a number more.
Unlike the western part of that county, where there are already thousands of wells, the sites for the new ones are in a sensitive ecological area - a watershed for downstream communities.
Some landowners testified when the hearing officer took testimony from county officials about the issues they saw with drilling in that area. For its part, the developer says they're equipped to handle things in the safest most efficient way.
But the landowners said they felt at a disadvantage when they were first visited by surveyers for the drilling company, and later by other officials. It turns out that a newly enacted state law is the most advanced in the nation when it comes to the rights of surface owners when faced with drilling for the mineral rights below their lands.
The problem is that owners have been unaware of the Surface Owners Protection Act.
We talk with one of those landowners and also with State Sen. Cisco McSorley (D-Bernalillo County). © Copyright 2009, KSFR
