Mora County, northeast of Santa Fe on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, has a population of only 5,000. It became the first county in the US to ban drilling and fracking back in April of 2013, and upheld the ban in a hearing last October. Quietly, the county commission repealed the ordinance after a court ruling overturning it. What happened? Big Oil showed up.
SWEPI, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, sued the county, and Western Energy Alliance filed an amicus brief. Their argument was that counties cannot pass laws contrary to state law, and New Mexico state law already allows oil drilling and fracking. And they're right - to give you an idea of priorities, the state parks division is part of the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resouces Department.
And the judge agreed.
