Big, transformative bills involving public safety and oil and gas regulation were up for debate during New Mexico’s legislative session at the start of the year. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham promoted both initiatives, and both died in the Democratic-led Legislature. Lujan Grisham has now called a controversial special legislative session starting Thursday to get more public safety laws passed in the face of rising violent crime and a booming homelessness problem. Oil and gas industry reform is not, however, on the agenda, despite the fact that, in spite of tougher rules, the state continues to uncover clean air violations by the oil and gas industry — violations that lead to health problems today and more climate problems for the future.
Before the July Fourth weekend, the New Mexico Environment Department — one of two agencies that monitor oilfield operations in the state — announced the results of a six-month inspection sweep conducted with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, looking at oil and gas facilities in New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin, the highest producing oil field in the nation. Of 124 facilities investigated, 75 were emitting volatile organic compounds, which contribute to the formation of ozone, possibly violating state rules and the federal Clean Air Act. Further investigation is required before civil or criminal proceedings can be launched, said Drew Goretzka, spokesperson for the New Mexico Environment Department.
