Blog: HECHO launches oil and gas accountability radio campaign
Just like everyone, Hispanic communities deserve to spend time on public lands and enjoy the outdoors – but too often, harmful oil and gas development prevents this from happening. Now, oil and gas companies are taking advantage of the record-high fuel prices at the pump, which are already hurting so many of us, to push for even more access to these public lands. There has never been a more important time for President Biden, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and Congress to reform our broken federal oil and gas leasing system, in order to ensure that the leasing program puts people above polluters.
We’ve just released a new series of digital and radio ads in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada calling on Secretary Haaland and Congress to fix the outdated federal leasing system so that our Hispanic communities, and all communities, can make memories camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking with our families. But under the broken federal oil and gas leasing system, oil and gas CEOs block the public’s access to these lands for recreation when they lease our public lands for cut-rate prices, some with low energy potential that are never developed and abandon wells after drilling, polluting the landscape and footing taxpayers with the bill to clean up their mess.
Our communities want the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Congress to fix the broken and antiquated federal oil and gas leasing system now. According to recent polling from Colorado College, 86 percent of Latino voters in Western states want companies to be responsible for paying clean-up costs after they’re finished drilling, and 75 percent say drilling on public lands should be strictly limited or even stopped altogether. It’s clear we’re ready for change.
While oil and gas CEOs are trying to exploit geopolitical conflict and unaffordably high gas prices to further pad their portfolios and line the pockets of shareholders, we do have leaders who are working to make a positive difference. Bills supported by Senators Michael Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Heinrich and Representatives Lowenthal and Leger Fernández would help ensure that these CEOs, and not everyday taxpayers, pay the costs for cleaning up drilling sites on public lands. And Senators Hickenlooper, Heinrich, and Rosen, along with Rep. Levin, have sponsored bills to end the federal government’s wasteful noncompetitive leasing program.
There are solutions within reach that would protect our public lands and put people before polluters. Our community must throw our support behind these efforts and continue to call on Secretary Deb Haaland and Congress to fix a broken system we’ve put up with for too long. Our public lands are precious to us and they deserve protections that will allow our children, grandchildren, and beyond to enjoy them the way that we do. It’s time our federal leasing system works for everyone.
