FARMINGTON – The U.S. Senate has passed a package of bills signed by President Donald Trump that includes enacting a buffer zone around a national park in New Mexico to protect it from oil and gas leasing activities.
The 2020 federal spending package was passed last week and gives the Chaco Culture National Historical Park a 10-mile buffer zone, Farmington Daily Times reported this week.
No federal money can be used to accept a nomination for oil and gas leasing in the zone until a cultural resources investigation is completed, officials said.
The buffer protects ancient roads and significant cultural resources pending needed studies and consultation with tribal communities, advocates said.
The bill also includes $4 million for continued water quality monitoring in areas affected by the Gold King Mine spill and allocates $8 million in funding for tribal law enforcement, officials said.
It is a bipartisan Interior funding bill that makes major investments in public lands and environmental protection, some senators said.
