Trump Targets Petrified Forest, along Navajo Nation Border, for Fracking

Update:

ALONG NAVAJO NATION BORDER -- Canadian company leased land along Navajo Nation border, between Sanders and Holbrook, south of Wide Ruins, for dangerous helium fracking, endangering water and all forms of life. "Desert Mountain Energy Corp. of Vancouver purchased two oil and gas leases auctioned by the Bureau of Land Management late last week, paying $2 an acre." More:

https://www.paysonroundup.com/news/environment/helium-producer-leases-land-near-petrified-forest-environmentalists-worry-about/article_3e0edae2-b87b-11e8-be69-7bc26a377784.html


PHOENIX— The Bureau of Land Management today plans to auction off 4,200 acres of public land for oil and gas leases in northern Arizona near Petrified Forest National Park and two rivers. Parcels that do not receive bids today will be available for noncompetitive leasing for two years.

The sale will put the land at risk of chemical spills and water contamination that could harm the Little Colorado River and Silver Creek, threatening endangered species and water users.


“It’s appalling that the Trump administration would consider this reckless plan that puts Arizonans and wildlife at risk,” said Taylor McKinnon, a public lands campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Public health, precious water and wild places shouldn’t be sacrificed for corporate profits.”

“Accidents are inevitable, and if these leases go through, water could be contaminated and local communities could be harmed,” said Lisa Test with NoFrackingAZ. “As children, we are taught to look both ways before we cross the street. Why then is BLM pushing these leases without first assessing the dangers ahead?”

The sale today is a part of a Trump administration policy issued in January that requires the BLM — the agency in charge of oil and gas leasing — to offer industry-nominated parcels for lease.

Additionally, under this new policy, the BLM is foregoing legally required analysis of any potential harm to land and water, skipping tribal consultations, and deferring all environmental analysis until the drilling stage, after development rights are sold to industry. Groups sued to block the policy in July.

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2018/09/trump-targets-petrified-forest-along.html