LAT: WH Intercedes for Gas Project in (NM) Natl. Forest ("Valley of Life")

[DeepModem Mom]

:mad: :mad: :mad:

White House Intercedes for Gas Project in National Forest

By Julie Cart, Times Staff Writer


CARSON NATIONAL FOREST, N.M. — Overriding the opposition of the U.S. Forest Service and New Mexico state officials, a White House energy task force has interceded on behalf of Houston-based El Paso Corp. in its two-year effort to explore for natural gas in a remote part of a national forest next door to America's largest Boy Scout camp.

Forest Service officials discouraged efforts to drill in the Valle Vidal at least three times since the agency acquired the land in 1982, citing concerns about water pollution, wildlife and recreation if a large-scale energy project were approved.

But last week, the agency took the first step toward approving the giant energy company's proposal to tap into 40,000 acres of alpine meadows in the Carson National Forest. The agency released a report that forecast a high probability of recovering gas from the area and laid out a scenario in which 500 wells could be drilled on the forest's east side.

The Forest Service's action has sparked angry opposition from many groups and officials, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat who was U.S. secretary of Energy during the Clinton administration. Such disputes are increasingly commonplace in Rocky Mountain states as critics of Bush administration energy policies accuse the White House of repeatedly targeting some of the most cherished wild places for development.

Home to 200 species of birds and 60 types of mammals, including one of the state's largest elk herds, the "Valley of Life," as it was named by Latino pioneers, has been a proving ground for generations of young men and women in a wilderness training program run by the Boy Scouts of America....

(The article adds these two observations: 1. "Joanna Prokup, New Mexico's secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, said the task force's message to the Forest Service left little room for interpretation. 'El Paso called...D.C., D.C. called the Forest Service. They've put it on the fast track.'" 2. "A global energy company founded in 1928, El Paso has the largest network of natural gas pipelines in the United States. Over the last five years, the company has contributed $2.3 million to Republican candidates and political action committees.")


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gas9aug09,1,3864281.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Dover]

1. ....and El Paso knows their time is short for getting a return on their

hefty contributions. Hopefully Kerry will reverse what will likely be a flood of similar wealthy lobbiests/corporations who will be rushing to cash in before the election.

[Algomas]

2. BFEE: Vanquish them, we will...(insert evil laugh)

Really, this bunch is greasier than the skid marks on Nixon's underpants.
Unbelievable shocking news reported here daily. No living creature is safe from their cold grasping hooks. I hope, in November we make their whole house of cards come crashing down on their heads.
It is a testimony to the power of advertising (propaganda), that supposedly half of all Americans are pro Bu$h. And to the laziness of Americans. The truth is not all that hard to find, you just have to look for it.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. "Greasier than the skid marks on Nixon's underpants" -- LOL, Algomas!

n/t

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Also posted early, and kicking -- this story breaks my heart -- I love NM

More:

....The Valle Vidal is an oasis of wild country within the much larger Raton Basin, where more than 6 million acres are being explored or drilled for natural gas. El Paso already operates just outside the Valle Vidal, in the 600,000-acre Vermejo Park Ranch, owned by media tycoon Ted Turner. The energy company had acquired the right to drill the land before Turner, a noted conservationist, bought it in 1996.

Encompassing about 100,000 acres, the Valle Vidal was donated to the Forest Service in 1982 by Pennzoil Corp. Pennzoil requested that the land be managed for the benefit of wildlife and recreation.

Ranging in elevation from 7,700 to 12,584 feet, the Valle Vidal's high meadows abut the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the southern Rocky Mountains. Elk, deer, black bears, mountain lions and bobcats inhabit the area, and the Valle Vidal's streams are home to Rio Grande cutthroat trout, prized by anglers....

[Tempest]

5. El Paso Contributed $996,000 to the GOP and Bush since 2000

And only $40,000 to Democrats.

http://tinyurl.com/5kfam

[cally]

6. Remember what El Paso Energy did to California?

El Paso Corp. withheld gas during crisis, judge rules





By Joe Cantlupe
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

September 24, 2002

WASHINGTON – El Paso Corp. illegally manipulated California's natural gas market during the height of the state's energy crisis and should be penalized, a regulatory judge ruled yesterday.

Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. issued a finding that El Paso subsidiaries "withheld extremely large amounts of capacity that could have flowed to its California delivery points" from November 2000 to March 2001.

Wagner, the chief judge for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said El Paso's actions resulted in soaring prices while California was reeling from an energy crisis and rolling blackouts. It was the first ruling by a federal regulatory official that widespread energy manipulation had taken place.

California officials praised Wagner's decision and said it reflected their long-standing view that corporate market abuses contributed to the state's electricity crisis. Natural gas is used to fuel many power generating plants in California.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/reports/power/20020924-9999_1n24elpaso.html

[DeepModem Mom]

7. They were involved in that, too? Great find, and Holy Cow!!! nt

[Beetwasher]

8. Say Bye Bye to NM EV Votes Chimpy!

Buh bye!

He probably never really had a chance there anyway, but it's nice to know that they're probably really safe bets for Kerry now...

[struggle4progress]

9. kick for corrupt SOBs everywhere

:kick: