Hijacked from ClearMedia

Original posted on January 16, 2015

EXLUSIVE ~ SHARE WIDELY ~ One of several Saddle Butte executives in attendance at the BLM’s Santa Fe public scoping meeting on the proposed 140-mile Pinon Pipeline veered wildly off message after the meeting in candid, off-the-cuff remarks to Clear Air Media correspondent Jeff Green.

The as-of-yet unidentified Saddle Butte employee agreed with one of the central points made by many among dozens of citizen protestants against the pipeline who provided testimony demanding that analysis of pipeline impacts in the federal government’s Environmental Assessment and potentially forthcoming Environmental Impact Statement must address not only the impacts of the pipeline itself but also all of the related fracking and development expansion that would enter the Chaco Canyon region and tribal Navajo lands as the pipeline’s direct consequence.

The CAM reporter mentioned violence against women and water pollution as issues of concern to the opposition beyond just “endangered species,” which the Saddle Butte executive had cited as “misinformation.” The executive responded: “Yeah, yeah, I realize that. Yeah. Right. And that’s the larger picture. So that is the whole fracking and oil development. I can see how they can be linked. Initially I didn’t see the connection, honestly, but I understand it now. And I’m not exactly a giant proponent of any of the processes that are used now. But if I were in your shoes, that’s where I might be looking. Maybe you can look at it as this is a hydra with many heads. And you can cut off a head and it’s a victory, but that hydra is alive. You have to go to the body. If I say any more I’ll get fired.” He went on to say that “the body is the leasing process,” and he argued that because “truck traffic is treacherous,” the pipeline looks “pretty good” by comparison.

The conversation began spontaneously with the Saddle Butte executive approaching the CAM reporter, Jeff Green, and chatting with him about video technology. One of six CAM volunteers in attendance and working in multimedia collaboration, Green had been recording audio with his smartphone from the final hour of the public meeting. Before conversing with the executive, Green had placed the phone in his shirt pocket without turning off the recorder.

One of several Saddle Butte San Juan Midstream executives in attendance at BLM’s Santa Fe public scoping meeting on the proposed 140-mile Pinon Pipeline veered wildly off message after the event in candid, off-the-cuff remarks to Clear Air Media correspondent Jeff Green.

The as-of-yet unidentified Saddle Butte employee agreed with one of the central points made by many among the dozens of citizen protestants against the pipeline, who provided testimony demanding that analysis of pipeline impacts in the federal government’s Environmental Assessment and potentially forthcoming Environmental Impact Statement must address not only the impacts of the pipeline itself but also all of the related fracking and development expansion that would enter the Chaco Canyon region and tribal Navajo lands as the pipeline’s direct consequence.

The CAM reporter mentioned violence against women and water pollution as issues of concern to the grassroots opposition against the pipeline, beyond just “endangered species,” which the Saddle Butte executive had cited as an example of “misinformation.”

The executive responded:
“Yeah, yeah, I realize that. Yeah. Right. And that’s the larger picture. So that is the whole fracking and oil development. I can see how they can be linked. Initially I didn’t see the connection, honestly, but I understand it now. And I’m not exactly a giant proponent of any of the processes that are used now. But if I were in your shoes, that’s where I might be looking. Maybe you can look at it as this is a hydra with many heads. And you can cut off a head and it’s a victory, but that hydra is alive. You have to go to the body. If I say any more I’ll get fired.”

He went on to say that “the body is the leasing process,” and he argued that because “truck traffic is treacherous,” the pipeline looks “pretty good” by comparison.

The verbal exchange ended with CAM pointing out this argument might be a rational consideration if the oil and gas drilling level would stay the same, but if it’s going to increase five or ten times (as some predict) due to the increased market access facilitated by pipeline infrastructure, then we’re not really getting any environmental benefit by replacing trucks with pipeline. The dialogue was then interrupted by a woman asking CAM how to access the video recorded from the meeting. (Video will be made available on CAM’s YouTube channel, https://s.coop/clearairmedia)

The conversation began spontaneously with the Saddle Butte executive approaching the CAM reporter, Jeff Green, and chatting with him about video technology. One of six CAM volunteers in attendance and working in multimedia collaboration, Green had been recording audio with his smartphone during the final hour of the public meeting. Before conversing with the executive, Green had placed the phone in his shirt pocket without turning off the recorder.

Founded in January 2015 by Jeff Green and Ash Haywood, Clear Air Media uses the power of Internet livestream technology, social media, and digital multimedia to produce “citizen journalism for New Mexico’s clean energy future.” CAM recorded video from throughout the Santa Fe meeting that will be made publicly available on the group’s YouTube page.

Clear Air Media co-founder and reporter Jeff Green films video of testimony at the Jan. 15 BLM public scoping meeting in Santa Fe on the Pinon Pipeline, before running out of video storage on his phone and switching to audio.

Photo by Luis Sanchez Saturno/The Santa Fe New Mexican

[RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS – AUDIO TO COME]

[Conversation begins with Saddle Butte executive (SBE) chatting with Clear Air Media (CAM) cameraman about video technology and the challenge of holding a camera for long periods of time. CAM takes the opportunity to start asking questions]

CAM: So are you canceling the pipeline yet? [pause] How much opposition does there need to be before you stop the pipeline?

SBE: Ah, you know [inaudible] is significant. And as, you know, people have pointed out numerous times, that’s a gray area, but I think momentum is building.
CAM: Against it?

SBE: You know, I think, uh, I shouldn’t be saying this, but one of the chief things I see is, uh, some certain amount of misinformation.
CAM: What kind of misinformation?

SBE: Well, uh, a lot of times, you know, people are talking about how they’re very concerned about endangered species, flora, fauna, and so forth, and what we’re going through right now in the preliminary stages out there is intense. We’re examining every square inch of that right of way [inaudible] and we’re constantly rerouting.

CAM: But there were also a lot of different concerns that were brought up tonight – violence against women, water pollution.

SBE: Yeah, yeah, I realize that. Yeah. Right. And that’s the larger picture. So that is the whole fracking and oil development. I can see how they can be linked. Initially I didn’t see the connection, honestly, but I understand it now. And I’m not exactly a giant proponent of any of the processes that are used now. But if I were in your shoes, that’s where I might be looking. Maybe you can look at it as this is a hydra with many heads. And you can cut off a head and it’s a victory, but that hydra is alive. You have to go to the body. If I say any more I’ll get fired. [laughs]

CAM: What’s the body? What do you consider the body?

SBE: I think the body is the leasing process. As long as the leases are sold, they become valid instruments, and you try to go up against Exxon out there … You know, someone who’s got a valid lease, they’re going to drill it, then they’re going to put it in a truck, then they’re gonna drive that truck, then one day that truck is gonna hit something or turn over or something like that, and it makes the pipeline look pretty good. I’ve spent years in North Dakota. Truck traffic is treacherous. I’ve never seen anything like it, 24-7. So when I came down and I started doing this project, that was my focus. All I thought about was the most dangerous road in America I traveled every day to go to work in North Dakota, and it was nothing but giant tanker trucks, and I don’t want to see that happen.

CAM: I can see that might be a rational consideration if the oil and gas drilling level stayed the same, but if it’s increasing five or ten times, then we’re not getting any environmental benefit by replacing trucks with pipeline.

CONVERSATION CONCLUDES WITH INTERRUPTION

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