The unexpected arrival of oil and gas developers in Santa Fe County last summer sparked a spasm of activity. Worried citizens flocked to anti-drilling meetings and formed activist groups. Santa Fe County government officials and staff hurried to evaluate existing mining regulations and consider new ones.

In January, Gov. Bill Richardson issued a six-month ban on drilling in the Galisteo Basin area. Santa Fe County followed with a yearlong moratorium aimed at giving the county time to prepare for the unfamiliar type of development.

Both actions gave the community time to regroup.

Now, as Richardson's six-month ban nears its end, Santa Fe County is beginning a more methodical approach to preparing for hydrocarbon extraction. It has hired a team of land-use attorneys and planners to help write new oil and gas regulations as well as a plan for the Galisteo area, which has been targeted for oil development by the Houston-based drilling company Tecton Energy.

County Attorney Steven Ross said the county might also hire hydrology experts to assist its own hydrologists in examining how the county's water should be managed in the face of hydrocarbon extraction and other development.

Ross said the team will get together with groups of stakeholders — including the Sierra Club, Common Ground United and Drilling Santa Fe — June 9 and 10 to "meet folks and get a personal flavor for the issues."

On June 10, the planners will update the Board of County Commissioners on their progress, according to county spokesman Stephen Ulibarri.

The County Development Review Committee will review the team's proposals and make recommendations to the commission.

Kathy Holian, a member of the review committee, said it has historically played a role in the development of existing mining ordinances, and "I think it's entirely appropriate to extend that now to the oil and gas issue."

Ross said the planners will likely have draft versions of the various plans in front of the committee this fall. The goal, Ross said, is to finish the new regulations and development plans by February.

Anti-drilling activists have also been anticipating the end of the state moratorium and potential energy development.

Johnny Micou, founder of the grass-roots group Drilling Santa Fe, said he's been preparing for his group's meeting with the planners by reading books by Robert Freilich, a land-use attorney and planner from Los Angeles. Micou said Freilich seems to be coming from a big-picture perspective that examines development and land-use planning as pieces of an overall vision for a community. "I think from the community's viewpoint, that's good," Micou said.

"Our biggest concern is the process," said Micou. "How is it going to work? Will it be effective? How will the county staff and the public be pulled in to work with the planners to have a transparent and complete process?"

Micou said Drilling Santa Fe will review the studies state agencies were ordered to complete during Richardson's ban and those the county's moratorium mandated as well. "If those studies come up short ... we'll be calling on the governor to extend the moratorium," Micou said.

Micou is also chairman of the board of a new group, Common Ground United, which he said acts a sort of educational hub for regional activist groups such as Drilling Santa Fe. "Not to tell them what to do but to give them information and a way to come to their own decisions," he said.

One of Common Ground's goals will be to educate the community about how to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, Micou said.

Neighboring counties react to advances from oil companies

Santa Fe County isn't alone in being touched by the energy boom that is sweeping across the Rocky Mountain west. Counties to the north, south and east are also fending off (and in some cases welcoming) the advances of oil and gas developers.

Rio Arriba County — which borders San Juan County, where much of New Mexico's energy development is located — passed a four-month moratorium on new oil and gas developments in April. It has since been challenged by an oil developer.

Mora County, whose residents have been approached by at least one landman seeking to lease mineral rights in the area, passed an indefinite ban on oil and gas drilling May 20, which will remain in effect until the county finishes a rewrite of the document that governs development in the rural county northeast of Santa Fe. The Mora County Commission chairman said the moratorium will stay in effect until the Development Guidance System is "revised and fitted to the county's needs, whether it takes two months, three months, a year."

Drilling Mora County, an activist group similar to Drilling Santa Fe, has sprung up in Mora. "We are working to help educate people to understand what happens to an agricultural area when an industry like oil and gas comes in," said organizer Kathleen Dudley. "We want people to understand if they choose to have oil and gas come into the county, their way of life will be changed. (But) as long as they are actually choosing it in a democratic process, then it's legitimate."

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.

COUNTY'S TEAM OF PROFESSIONAL PLANNERS

Robert Freilich: A land-use attorney and planner from Los Angeles who has written several books on growth and planning, including From Sprawl to Smart Growth and The 21st Century Land Development Cod.

Planning Works: A Kansas City-based firm that, according to it's Web site, focuses on "integrating land use planning with land use law"

Bruce Kramer: A Houston-based attorney specializing in local government regulation of oil and gas production


COUNTY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE

Jon Paul Romero, chairman: A civil engineer who owns SouthWest Designs, a planning and land development business

Jim Salazar: Director of the Storm Water Management Division of the city of Santa Fe

Charlie Gonzales: Coordinator with the city's Technical Review Division

J.J. Gonzales: A plumber and activist involved in land-use and water-rights issues

Kathy Holian: A retired physicist currently campaigning for the open District 4 County Commission seat

Ernestine Hagman: A retired teacher

Don Dayton: A retired National Park Service ranger