Pat Florence, a biochemist and attorney was one of about 50 public speakers at Tuesday's Water Quality Control Commission Meeting, urging the commission to not continue hearing a rule which would expand uses for oil and gas wastewater. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
The New Mexico board overseeing water regulations quashed robust public opposition Tuesday seeking to stop a proposal that would allow much wider use of oil and gas wastewater that environmental advocates say could contaminate the state’s limited supply of drinking water.
Dozens of people spoke during a three-hour public comment period that drew over 100 attendees to the Water Quality Control Commission Meeting at the Roundhouse. Most objected to the renewed effort to change rules about disposal of wastewater, a potentially toxic byproduct of oil and gas extraction. State law currently limits disposal to oilfields and recently extended disposal in concrete pits for pilot projects to test treatment technologies.
Opponents included conservation nonprofits such as Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, Amigos Bravos, Western Environmental Law Center, among others; members from acequias and several health care workers. Sen. Harold Pope presented a letter from 25 Democratic lawmakers, urging the commission to keep the current rule in place.
“Reopening this issue undermines the Democratic process and disrespects the public’s investment of time and trust,” said Pope, a Democrat from Albuquerque. “There has been no new, no new peer-reviewed, published scientific evidence presented.”
Proponents for the changes say allowing the byproduct – also known as produced water – to be used for more industrial, construction and agricultural purposes would mean less tapping into fresh sources used for drinking.
An industry group known as WATR, which stands for Water, Access, Treatment and Reuse (WATR) Alliance, with board members from oil and gas giants Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and other industry interests, put forward the new proposal in June, just a month after the state water commission adopted rules to allow for pilot projects, but no discharges into surface or groundwater.
WATR’s proposed rule would allow 13 counties to use the treated produced water for uses such as watering livestock, “non-food crops,” construction and release into the environment.
“I think that this commission should hear from the communities where the water’s being produced, from the communities who see the water being transported to Texas every day,” Jennifer Bradfute, an attorney for WATR Alliance told commissioners Tuesday. “They see and witness the missed opportunity for New Mexicans to treat and use that water in their own projects, for their own economic development.”
The 12-member board rejected three motions from environmental groups Tuesday to toss WATR’s proposal altogether or to request additional time to prepare for a future hearing. The board’s vote Tuesday means the proposal to expand use of oil and gas wastewater will be considered at a hearing tentatively scheduled for November.
Attorneys for New Mexico environment and conservation groups called Tuesday’s vote a “travesty” and “disappointment,” saying they’d seek further legal options.
“They completely shut the public out of the process today,” Mariel Nanasi, executive director and attorney at nonprofit New Energy Economy, told Source New Mexico after the hearing.
“As young people, we’re extremely disappointed that the Commission chose to side with polluters,” said Vittoria Judy with Youth United for Climate Crisis Action in a statement after the meeting. “The industry’s toxic waste crisis is not our problem to solve, and if regulators won’t protect us, we’ll keep fighting to defend our water and our future.”
It’s the latest development in a tense policy debate to address New Mexico’s water scarcity driven by climate change, clashing with oil and gas and the industry’s political influence in New Mexico.
The New Mexico oil and gas industry generates billions of gallons of wastewater. The mixture is extremely salty and poses challenges for treatment since it can contain radioactive materials, heavy metals, toxic chemicals and cancer-causing compounds from the oil and gas, such as benzene. Oil and gas companies can use compounds protected as trade secrets in the mixture, which do not have to be disclosed to regulators or the public.
Powerful proponents for treating the water include Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
“Setting standards for reusing treated wastewater would create the regulatory pathway to offset industrial demand for freshwater while protecting our families, farmers and communities,” Jodi McGinnis Porter, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a written statement. “The governor supports the Water Quality Control Commission considering the reuse petition and reaching a decision based on thorough review of all scientific data and expert testimony presented by the parties.”
Water Commissioner Bill Brancard, who said he opposed WATR’s proposal, warned their attorneys to limit the scope of the changes, saying that they’ll be “raked over the coals” in the upcoming public hearing for the broad proposed uses.
“It was never in the intent of the commission when we passed the last set of regulations to go from nothing to 60 in two seconds,” he said during Tuesday’ hearing. “The goal was incremental changes built on what the commission has built. Instead, you’re proposing to completely repeal the entire effort of the commission and do something that nobody considered from the beginning.”
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