New Pit Rule Proposed, Thousands of New Mexico Jobs and Millions of Dollars at Stake

Santa Fe, New Mexico, September 30, 2011 - The New Mexico Oil & Gas Association today filed proposed changes to Rule 19.15.17 of the New Mexico Administration Code, commonly referred to as the “pit rule.” The changes are designed to make the oil and gas industry in New Mexico competitive with surrounding states for new drilling and development while maintaining groundwater and environmental protections. The changes, if approved, will encourage additional drilling by allowing lined production pits and on-site burial of drilling cuttings where the distance to groundwater is sufficient for these activities to be performed in a manner that is protective of the environment. In addition, the proposed changes provide for updates to the rules governing siting criteria, construction and closure of below-grade tanks and other facilities.
“By allowing for the use of lined drilling pits and in-place burial of drilling cuttings when they can be used safely, New Mexico’s oil and gas industry will be drilling more wells, adding more employees and paying more taxes,” said Jason Sandel, Chairman of the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association. The proposed changes to the highly technical rule were developed with input by a wide range of New Mexico oil and gas companies under a set of criteria for the changes including: changes must be based on sound science, changes must maintain environmental safeguards, and changes must encourage environmentally responsible energy development and the resulting jobs and tax revenues.
“The oil and gas industry worked extremely hard on this rule over several months,” said Steve Henke, President of the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association. “The team knows how important changing the rule is to help New Mexico secure project funding that has been going to other states.”
A hearing on the proposed changes before the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission is expected to begin in late 2011 or early 2012. A copy of the proposed rule is available at http://www.nmoga.org/pit-rule.

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Belcher Has Indigestion

Jim Spence
President Obama's pollster and political strategist Cornell Belcher is actually a paid contributor at CNN. In itself, that fact presents an astonishing conflict of interest worthy of a separate column on a different day. Following up on yesterday's discussion of who Herman Cain is, and why he is Barrack Obama's worst nightmare, I submit the behavior of Cornell Belcher. The level of Belcher's irritation with the floundering Obama poll numbers reached new heights this week on CNN's John King show. And clearly the ascension of Herman Cain in the Florida straw poll last week has sent shock waves up and down the spine of the White House strategist and CNN staffer, giving him an acute case of indigestion.
Cornell Belcher
The source of the heightened sense of Belcher discomfort? The idea that there is even the possibility that there might be TWO African-American candidates to choose from in the upcoming 2012 election. That is not a scenario for which there is a Belcher strategy. Why? Because an integral part of traditional Democratic Party tactics in national elections is to play the "race card." It doesn't matter who the candidate on the GOP side is, there will be inferences of overt or covert racism. These tactics are woven into the very fabric of the Dems plans for creating brain conditioning imagery. Do these tactics work? No other group large or small, can be counted on to deliver 90+ percent to Democrats. So, IF the GOP primary voters narrow their field down to one candidate, and that candidate is Herman Cain, Obama strategists are going to have to come up with a brand new game plan. And that is why we saw Cornell Belcher go berserk on CNN this week. He knows that he and nobody else in the Obama camp has a backup plan. And so it is that we can suddenly see just how useless the race card is with an accomplished American like Herman Cain in the presidential race against Obama. And it is almost comical to see how valuable it is to people like Cornell Belcher to know that Herman Cain would be out of the presidential race. It is no wonder Mr. Belcher became a tad uncomfortable after the Florida Straw Poll. He's afraid Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO, might provide the voters with an offer they can't refuse.

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"Hope He Fails"


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