New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission voted Tuesday to prohibit the discharge of produced water from oil and gas operations into the state’s waterways and groundwater, according to a report in the Santa Fe New Mexican. The provision was included among regulations the commission approved for projects that reuse wastewater from hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and natural gas. Commissioners adopted a ban on discharging produced water – treated or not – outside an oilfield.
Bill Brancard, commissioner, adjunct professor at NMSU School of Law, and former general counsel for New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, told Source NM, “At this point, I believe it’s premature for us to authorize discharge permits even for pilot projects.” The vote was unanimous, according to reports, after several hours of deliberations, although two commissioners abstained from voting.
Attorneys for New Mexico Oil and Gas Association declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing, but association president Missi Currier said the action will “stifle innovation” and set back the state’s water conservation efforts. She added, “Unfortunately, the rule passed by the commission … rejects that reasonable approach and adopts the most severe and limiting regulations for the reuse of treated produced water… The rule provides no meaningful path forward for the reuse of treated produced water in New Mexico and does not allow for increased conservation efforts….
“In reaching this conclusion, the commission ignored the work, research and data collected by New Mexico State University researchers involved in the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium. The commission’s rule also ignores the position of the New Mexico Environment Department’s leadership that a ban was unnecessary because the existing regulatory process is protective of human health and the environment.”
Mike Hightower of research group Produced Water Consortium said the restrictions on discharges will push produced water treatment to Texas. Several environmental groups “declared victory” Tuesday in the ongoing rulemaking process. New Mexico Sun said the ban will last five years before it “sunsets” unless renewed or revised.
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