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Several months ago, New Mexico's two federal senators, Pete Domenici, an Albuquerque Republican, and Jeff Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, and Democratic Rep. Tom Udall of Santa Fe came to the defense of New Mexico's Otero Mesa.

They wrote letters to the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management requesting that the agencies halt all oil and gas leasing and drilling in Otero Mesa.

A drilling moratorium in America's wildest grassland would allow for a thorough study of the area's Salt Basin Aquifer to be completed.

Less than a month after this bipartisan call for common sense was made, the Interior Department and BLM rejected the delegation's request.

Preliminary studies by the U.S. Geological Survey, Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission have found that Otero Mesa's Salt Basin Aquifer potentially holds a 156-year water supply.

These studies also documented that recharge for the Salt Basin Aquifer comes in large part from surface water runoff in Otero Mesa and that recharge areas are generally vulnerable to contamination.

The basin also contains areas of rapid groundwater movement, which can make the entire system vulnerable to the rapid spread of pollution.

Safeguarding our precious water supplies in the Southwest is of the utmost importance. Approximately 90 percent of the population of New Mexico depends on groundwater for drinking water and nearly half of all water used in the state for any purpose is groundwater.

Yet the moratorium rejection by Interior and BLM signifies the agencies' failure to guarantee the safety of Otero Mesa's water resources and thus the quality of life for New Mexicans.

However, Republican Rep. Heather Wilson of Albuquerque is in a distinct position to ensure that New Mexico's largest, freshwater aquifer is preserved for future generations.

In April, Wilson introduced the New Mexico Aquifer Assessment Act of 2007. This bill, which calls on Interior to study several aquifers in New Mexico, including the Salt Basin Aquifer under Otero Mesa, seeks to study aquifer recharge rates, the relationship between surface and subsurface water flow, and the vulnerability of aquifers to contamination.

Domenici and Bingaman have introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Their version of the bill has already passed out of committee, whereas Wilson's bill has yet to be heard in the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. This situation gives Wilson a chance to make a real difference in preserving our valuable aquifers.

While the New Mexico Aquifer Assessment Act of 2007 recognizes the need to study our valuable groundwater, it does nothing to ensure that the BLM will halt oil and gas leasing and drilling in Otero Mesa while the study of the Salt Basin Aquifer moves forward.

It would be utterly foolish to begin studying the basin while allowing drilling at the same time, for industry could be contaminating the water just as we're starting to understand it.

In 2002, a leak was discovered in a 6-inch crude oil gathering line near Monument, just south of Hobbs. Approximately 2,100 barrels of oil leaked from the pipeline, contaminating five acres of soil and polluting groundwater. This pipeline was only two years old.

In 2005, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division compiled information regarding groundwater effects from leaks, spills and releases from oil and gas operations. There were close to 1,400 groundwater pollution instances that are attributed to oil and gas activities over the past decade.

Industry can wax poetic all it wants when it comes to "environmentally sound drilling," but the facts and data demonstrate their failure to protect our dwindling water resources.

Wilson could take a strong leadership role by adding an amendment to her version of the aquifer act, mandating a moratorium on drilling and leasing in Otero Mesa. Such an amendment will provide the assurance needed to study the Salt Basin Aquifer without risking the possibility of contamination.

We have a moral obligation to ourselves and future generations not to risk destroying Otero Mesa's water, land and wildlife for a few days' worth of oil and gas. A drilling moratorium amendment to the New Mexico Aquifer Assessment Act of 2007 is the best way to ensure the preservation of a wild landscape and its large, freshwater aquifer.