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Santa Fe County now has an ordinance aimed specifically at regulating the activities of the oil and gas industry. After more than a year of planning and countless public hearings, the County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an ordinance that appears to have soothed county residents anxious about energy-development impacts and excited the ire of the regulation-phobic oil and gas industry. Santa Fe County began writing new oil and gas regulations in 2007 after a company called Tecton Energy announced plans to explore for oil in the Galisteo Basin area of Santa Fe County. Since then, the rules have gone through dozens of revisions and had several authors, including county attorney Steve Ross, who set out to write the rules himself in three months. The draft approved Tuesday is a massive document that takes a multipronged approach to balancing the rights of oil and gas developers with environmental concerns and capital infrastructure needs. It requires potential oil and gas operators to submit numerous studies on animal habitats and proximity to water sources and to be financially responsible for such needs as new roads and increased emergency medical services....
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