The Department of the Interior has granted a 15-day extension of the public comment period for the draft Secretarial Order to promote orderly and safe development of oil and gas and potash resources in southeast New Mexico. The request for additional time was made by Senators Udall and Bingaman to allow the State of New Mexico, affected counties, affected companies, and citizens to consider the implications of the proposed secretarial guidance and to formulate substantive and meaningful comments for the Secretary to consider in a final rule. The public comment period will now close on Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 and no further extensions will be granted. The draft secretarial Order and original 30-day comment period was announced by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on July 12, 2012. Public comment on the draft order is encouraged so that all comments can be considered in the final rule, which is expected to be completed later this year. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: E-mail: therrell@blm.gov; Fax: 505-954-2115; or Mail: Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office 301 Dinosaur Trail Santa Fe, NM 87508 For further information, please contact Tony Herrell, Deputy State Director, Mineral Resources; telephone 505-954-2222; address 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508; e-mail: therrell@blm.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
