Rep. Stansbury Stands for Decades Long Effort to Protect Chaco Canyon from Oil and Gas Leasing

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) spoke out against the Energy Opportunities for All Act (H.R. 4374). The proposed legislation would nullify Public Land Order No. 7923, which imposes a mineral withdrawal on public lands surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park for a period of 20 years.  

Rep. Stansbury highlighted the spiritual and cultural significance of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park for the Pueblo, Hopi, and Navajo nation, saying, “you can stand on the mesa overlooking Pueblo Bonito on a cold morning and see the ancient city walls, the Kivas and the sacred sites that stretch out as far as the eye can see. It's a place that is the ancestral home of the Pueblo people. The Pueblo people are tied to this place through their lineage, through their songs, through their prayers, through their continued practice of culture and religion that continues today.” 

She also called out the oil and gas industry for their lack of action when oil spilled on the land in 2019. 

"One of the star witnesses of the majority is of course, the oil and gas company that has drilling interests in this site,” Rep. Stansbury said. “In fact, as it's already been established here today, the very same company that spilled hundreds, thousands, we're not even sure how much crude oil in the Chaco area in 2019. And after their well exploded a few days later, didn't even bother to call the families who were impacted by it. Not only did they not call them, they did not provide any sort of financial support or pay any kind of fines for the aftermath of what occurred.” 

The following unresolved environmental disasters have been caused by oil and gas companies, directly impacting the health of New Mexican communities: 

• Enduring Resources caused a 59,000-gallon spill in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. 

• DJR Energy is responsible for 161 oil and gas incidents in New Mexico since 2018, including 22 on Native land. 

• EOG Resources caused nearly 3,000 flaring instances in New Mexico in just two years. 

• Research conducted by Environmental Defense Fund, finds that oil and gas companies operating on the Navajo Nation waste about 5.2 percent of the natural gas they produce - a rate 65 percent higher than the national average.  

• Smog flares heavily impact the animals, vegetation, and communities surrounding the region.  

• Lastly, Hilcorp was fined over 1.62 million for failing to report spills or fix problems at facilities throughout the San Juan Basin. 

Congresswoman Stansbury ended her statement by standing with generations of Indigenous Peoples, referencing the many letters of support “that we provided today about this false choice of unkept promises, not just today by the current administration or previous administration, but the false promises and the unkept promises by the United States government to the Navajo people to the Pueblo people since the very beginning.” 

Rep. Stansbury’s full remarks as delivered are below. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. President Nygren and council members, tribal leaders and many, many New Mexicans and members of the Navajo Nation that I see in our audience and watching from home. I want to say welcome. Thank you for joining us today. I am Melanie Stansbury, and I represent New Mexico's First Congressional District. And I'm honored to be able to represent the people of our state and the many indigenous peoples who have walked this land since time immemorial. 

Chaco Canyon is a sacred place. For those of you who have never been there before, you can stand on the mesa overlooking Pueblo Bonito on a cold morning and see the ancient city walls, the Kivas and the sacred sites that stretch out as far as the eye can see. It's a place that is the ancestral home of the Pueblo people. The Pueblo people are tied to this place through their lineage, through their songs, through their prayers, through their continued practice of culture and religion that continues today.  

The Diné people, many of whom are here today, this is also their homeland. The people who live in this area, the people who have traversed that land, who have worked on that land and who have prayed on that land since time immemorial. And as President Nygren himself said today, who have protected the sacred sites of Chaco Canyon for generation after generation and support the continued protection of this sacred place.  

So, it has been strange to me this morning to listen to this hearing, to listen to folks who have probably never even visited this place talk about a sacred site that has such deep historical, cultural, and religious meaning to the people of New Mexico, and to the indigenous people for whom this is their homeland.  

Beyond these spaces, the protection of Chaco Canyon is supported by the vast majority of New Mexicans. In fact, over 75% of our state, and of course, tribes across the nation have weighed in in support of the protection of this land. And that is why, Mr. Chairman, I have right here in my hand 61 letters and statements in support of protecting Chaco Canyon that I asked unanimous consent to submit to the record. This includes 30 letters of support from Navajo allottees, who live in the greater Chaco area, testimony from Navajo Nation vice president Lizer in 2019, stating that we cannot go through another environmental disaster in the area from Navajo Nation, President Begaye in 2017 about his concerns about drilling in the area and its impacts to the daily lives of the Navajo people from an allottee from the area who speaks to these impacts, and the ways in which withdrawal supports Pueblo and Diné solidarity from the El Pueblo Council of Governors supporting withdrawal and affirming its sacred significance to both the Pueblo and the Navajo Nations, and from our very own colleague, Congressman and Republican Ryan Zinky, who as interior secretary, deferred oil and gas leasing on these lands because, quote, “I have always said there are places where it is appropriate to develop, and where it is not,” as it was evident, even to Secretary Zinky, that this was one of the places it was not.  

You'll excuse my cynicism about this hearing called by our Republican colleagues to introduce a resolution that would strip away the authority of the administration to protect these sacred lands. And as somebody who personally was born in San Juan County, just up the road from Nageezi, who has personally grown up visiting these places and hearing these stories and working with the people of New Mexico, I have to ask myself, why are we even holding this hearing? Why are we holding this hearing?  

I think it's evident that one of the star witnesses of the majority is of course, the oil and gas company that has drilling interests in this site. And in fact, as it's already been established here today, the very same company that spilled hundreds, thousands, we're not even sure how much crude oil in the Chaco area in 2019. And after their well exploded a few days later, didn't even bother to call the families who were impacted by it. Not only did they not call them, they did not provide any sort of financial support or pay any kind of fines for the aftermath of what occurred.  

And those who are saying that this will somehow lock up development in the area do not understand that this landscape already has over 40,000 oil and gas wells in operation in it. So why are we having this hearing? 

President Nygren, I am honored and grateful that you are here with us today and I had the opportunity to speak with you yesterday. And I appreciate your comments of support and protecting Chaco Canyon and finding a path forward to ensure that we not only protect these lands. Ms. Hesuse, I do appreciate you so much coming to share. I do appreciate that. And I know that many of the allottees, who are not able to have their voices spoken and heard here today share many of the sentiments that have been heard today in this hearing.  

But I also think it's important to establish, as Director Culver has stated, and which has not been stated in this room I think sufficiently, that there has been years of tribal consultation that has preceded this administration withdrawal, and the legislative work that led to the introduction that all five members of the New Mexico delegation did have a legislative withdrawal of the 10-mile buffer.  

In fact, it dates back over decades. And it's not just a few activists. This is the Navajo Nation itself, who has been engaged in these consultations, including both chapter leadership and previous administrations, and as well as notification to the current administration. It does include consultation with allottees, it does include consultation with indigenous groups, and it does include extensive consultation with the 20 Pueblo Nations who are represented by the El Pueblo Council of Governors. There has been extensive work and consultation and representation and appreciation for tribal sovereignty.  

Finally, Mr. Atencio, I want to lift up your testimony today, because I think that it speaks to many of the voices that were not heard in this hearing today, and which are represented by folks who are sitting behind you, and by the voices that are in this packet of support letters that we provided today about this false choice of unkept promises, not just today by the current administration or previous administration, but the false promises and the unkept promises by the United States government to the Navajo people to the Pueblo people since the very beginning.  

So, let's protect Chaco Canyon. Let's find a path forward. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 

###