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Going Big

The Permian Basin Memorandum of Agreement as a Fundamental Shift in Section 106 Compliance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Sarah Schlanger
Affiliation:
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 669 South Highway 89A, Kanab, UT 84741
George MacDonell
Affiliation:
Carlsbad Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 620 E. Greene St., Carlsbad, NM 88220
Signa Larralde
Affiliation:
New Mexico State Office, Bureau of Land Management, PO Box 27115, Santa Fe, NM 87508
Martin Stein
Affiliation:
Carlsbad Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 620 E. Greene St., Carlsbad, NM 88220

Abstract

In 2008, the Carlsbad Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made a fundamental change in how they work with the energy industry in the Permian Basin of southeastern New Mexico, one of the nation's busiest “oil patches.” Through a collaborative effort that involved the Bureau of Land Management, the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, and industry representatives, they developed and implemented the Permian Basin Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). This agreement allows energy development proponents to contribute funds to archaeological research in lieu of spending an equivalent amount of money on traditional archaeological field survey. The mitigation program governs how BLM addresses long-term damage and cumulative impacts to archaeological resources as new development proceeds in the Permian Basin MOA area. Now in its fifth year, the program has succeeded in key ways: industry has gained control over schedules and time, while archaeologists have gained control over where and how they do archaeology. Key lessons have been learned along the way: The funding mechanisms of the program work well, but doing archaeology through a collaborative working group takes a lot of time and energy.

En 2008, la oficina Carlsbad Field Office del Bureau of Land Management (BLM) realizó un cambio fundamental en la forma en la que había venido trabajando con la industria energética en la Cuenca del Pérmico, localizada en el sureste de Nuevo México, y considerada como una de las principales zonas de extracción de petróleo crudo y gas natural de los Estado Unidos. Como resultado de un esfuerzo de colaboración conjunta, en el que participaron la BLM, el New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer, el Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, la Mescalero Apache Tribe y representantes de la industria, se elaboró e implementó el Permian Basin Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Este acuerdo permite a los promotores de la industria energética aportar fondos a la investigación arqueológica, en lugar de invertir una cantidad económica equivalente en el tradicional recorrido de superficie. El plan de mitigación regula como la BLM tiene que administrar el daño a largo plazo y los impactos acumulados a los recursos arqueológicos, mientras se desarrolla la zona delimitada por el Permian Basin MOA. Desde su implementación hace cinco años, el programa ha tenido logros importantes que han permitido a la industria tener un mayor control sobre la programación y el tiempo de realización de los proyectos y a los arqueólogos tener un mayor control sobre cómo y dónde ejercer la arqueología. El tiempo nos ha dado lecciones importantes: los mecanismos de financiamiento del programa funcionan bien, pero, el ejercer la arqueología en colaboración con un grupo de trabajo demanda una gran cantidad de tiempo y energía.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2013

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