BLM INVITES PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON DRAFT SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO MANAGEMENT PLAN

[cyndi]

[font=Roboto, sans-serif]BLM INVITES PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON DRAFT SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO MANAGEMENT PLAN[/font]
[font=Roboto, sans-serif]You have until November 5, 2018[/font]
[font=Roboto, sans-serif]https://www.blm.gov/press-release/b...tern-new-mexico-management-plan[/font][/SIZE]

 

[QinReno]

Wow, from the page:
"The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The agency's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America's public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $75 billion in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2016 - more than any other agency in the Department of the Interior. These activities supported more than 372,000 jobs".

 

[DLTooley]

I like to focus on one area for these sorts of things. I follow sw Colorado and se Utah pretty closely.

It’s also a good idea not to get obsessive about it.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I didn't see what they want to change....I guess you have to go the meetings.

Maybe they just want more land to bury even more nuclear waste undergound....possibly to expand the WIPP project just east of Carlsbad...

.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Well, sure enough, I found some articles around the net that they want to expand the WIPP to include high-level nuclear waste...I guess the low-level stuff there now is not bad enough....

:dodgy:

 

[DLTooley]

Those Federal documents are very hard to read. Thanks for summarizing.

 

[tx2sturgis]

There are also references to the use of the land by the oil companies. The permian basin area is full of oil, and anyone passing thru will see all the pumpjacks operating 24/7....and then you have all the ranchers who want access also.

Even with all of this use of resources by the powerful interests, there is still plenty of land out there that remains mostly un-touched...at least, so far. I have friends who 4-wheel out there, and I used to pass thru the area regularly.

Most of it is not exactly what you would call 'scenic'...but there are areas where campers and 4-wheelers gather to enjoy the remote areas. Still, anyone who chooses to stay in the area should know there is an active low-level nuclear waste storage facility underground (called WIPP) about 25 miles or so east of Carlsbad.

It made news a few years back when they had a fire underground and a nuclear material leak. Keep in mind that ALL of that material is shipped by road, using trucks that carry what are called Trupacts. I had an acquaintance who was a driver of one of these trucks.

No, he didn't glow in the dark, but he said when the fire broke out underground in one of the huge salt chambers, it scared the crap out of him and everyone else. Many areas nearby were evacuated.

Years later, there is still some residual readings of radioactivity above ground. Not enough to be a serious health problem, but still....not where I would want to live or work.

I think is it ironic, that the address for the WIPP HQ is:




More info here:

http://wipp.energy.gov/

http://wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/TRUwastecontainers.pdf