NEWS ROUNDUP

White House Puts the West on Fast Track for Oil, Gas Drilling Placing a heavy emphasis on energy production in the American West, the Bush administration has moved swiftly to open up broad areas of largely unspoiled federal land to oil and gas exploration. The administration has pressed for approval of new drilling permits across the Rocky Mountains and lifted protections on hundreds of thousands of acres with gas and oil reserves in Utah and Colorado. In the process, it has targeted a number of places prized for their scenery, abundant wildlife and clean water, natural assets increasingly valuable to the region's changing economy....
Energy Companies Don't Use Half of Federal Land They Lease In the Western states where oil and gas resources are most plentiful, the oil and gas developers are using less than half of the acreage they have under lease from the Interior Department, according to a new report and online database compiled by the Environmental Working Group. At the same time, the report shows, the volume of natural gas from the productive areas has increased for all but one of the last seven years. The information was compiled by the environmental group from files obtained from the Bureau of Land Management, a unit of the Interior Department....
Bureau to decide Otero land dispute Environmentalists and oil and gas developers are keeping their fingers crossed. The groups are hoping for opposite outcomes when the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico makes its decision soon about allowing oil and gas leasing in the Otero Mesa area northeast of El Paso....
Mercury in many lakes, rivers One third of the nation's lake waters and one-quarter of its riverways are contaminated with mercury and other pollutants that could cause health problems for children and pregnant women who eat too much fish, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. States issued warnings for mercury and other pollutants in 2003 for nearly 850,000 miles of U.S. rivers — a 65% increase over 2002 — and 14 million acres of lakes. The warning level is the highest ever reported by the EPA....
Valley water deals ripped Six House Democrats are accusing the Bush administration of brokering sweetheart water deals with certain Central Valley farm districts that could affect how much water is available to California's cities and environment over the next 25 years. In an Aug. 20 letter sent to the Interior Department, the six California representatives - led by Rep. George Miller of Martinez and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi - say they are "extremely concerned" about the ongoing contract renewals and suggest they are being rushed to precede the November elections....
Irrigation districts plan to sue Mexico Most Rio Grande Valley irrigation districts and a group of water-rights owners plan to sue Mexico, saying missed water payments have economically damaged the Valley. The lawsuit will list 17 irrigation districts and 29 water-rights owners as plaintiffs and Mexico as a defendant, said Nancie Marzulla, partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Marzulla & Marzulla, which is representing the Valley plaintiffs....
Law of the West 8/23: "Cowboys, Hats and Horses" During this summer, I have gone to a number of horse shows and fairs. There seems to be a slow but steady change happening in Western riding attire. It seems mostly centered on the younger folks, but you can see the trend in adults as well. It’s not only a fashion issue, but can be a legal and health issue as well. Equestrian helmets seem to be replacing our traditional Western hats. In January 1999, Plantation, Fla., became the first city in the United States to make the use of equestrian helmets mandatory for children. The city ordinance required children to use helmets when riding on public property and imposed a legal duty on the parents and horse owners to ensure the use of helmets. As is often the case, the law was enacted in response to a fatal accident involving a 15-year-old girl, a horse, and a medical examiner’s report claiming that a helmet may have prevented the young girl’s tragic death....