Key protection for Greater Chaco passes U.S. House

Contact: Miya King-Flaherty, 505-301-0863, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter organizing representative

Washington, DC — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act (H.R. 2181), which would ban new leasing and drilling on federal lands within a 10-mile buffer zone surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. 

Industrialized fracking in Greater Chaco, within the 10-mile buffer zone and beyond, is a threat not only to treasured sacred and archaeological sites, but also to the health and safety of communities throughout the Greater Chaco region. 

The bill also acknowledges the need for additional health studies and protective measures against fracking that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) still has not addressed. The BLM  continues to ...

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