Current:Home > ScamsBid to overhaul New Mexico oil and gas regulations clears first hurdle amid litigation-InfoLens
Bid to overhaul New Mexico oil and gas regulations clears first hurdle amid litigation
View Date:2025-01-11 16:56:26
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An effort to modernize state oversight of a thriving petroleum industry in the nation’s No. 2 state for oil production advanced past its first committee vetting Thursday at the New Mexico Legislature.
The bill would rewrite portions of the state’s 1930s-era Oil and Gas Act in order to help regulators keep pace with the industry’s meteoric growth in recent years — as well as increasingly assertive calls to hold the sector accountable for air pollution, spills and the costly cleanup of equipment and abandoned wells.
It advanced on 6-5 vote of the lead House committee on natural resources, over the objections of small and moderate sized oil producers but with the public endorsements of industry heavyweights Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources.
The initiative would increase financial assurances for well plugging and cleanups, while ratcheting up administrative fees and penalties for regulatory violations. The bill also would give regulators greater authority over applications to transfer ownership of wells that often change hands when oil and natural gas output declines.
Bill cosponsor Rep. Matthew McQueen of Galisteo urged colleagues to rally behind the bill, warning that a downturn in the industry could saddle the state with immense liabilities for orphaned wells.
“If we can’t put appropriate safeguards in place during record (oil) production then we’re never going to have those safeguards in place,” he said. “We’ve had boom industries in New Mexico before. We had uranium mining — they went bust. We’re still dealing with that legacy that was not cleaned up.”
Initial provisions were dropped from the bill that would have established no-drilling buffer zones around schools, residences, surface waters and critical habitats across New Mexico, to the dismay of environmentalists and community advocates who vowed to press legislators to reinstate setback requirements. The State Land Office recently imposed its own buffer around schools.
The Democratic-led Legislature and governor are being sued over alleged failures to meet constitutional provisions for protecting against oil and gas pollution, as fed-up residents living near oil wells and environmental groups turn to the judiciary for relief. The lawsuit filed in May 2023 seeks compliance with a “pollution control clause” of the New Mexico Constitution.
“This bill utterly fails to impose any real restrictions on the oil industry and does nothing to protect frontline communities from the toxic pollution they’re exposed to every single day,” said Gail Evans, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity and lead counsel in the lawsuit to plaintiffs including Indigenous Lifeways, Pueblo Action Alliance, Youth United for Climate Crisis Action.
Democratic state Rep. Nathan Small of Las Cruces — the lead House budget negotiator — warned that deleted provisions from the bill “would make it extremely difficult and unlikely for these important fiscal protections to move forward.” He voted to advance the bill toward a second vetting before a possible House floor vote.
Ahtza Chavez, executive director of the Native American environmental and social justice group NM Native Vote, participated in working groups on the bill organized by Gov. Lujan Grisham over the past six months, alongside state oil-field regulators and industry representatives.
She called the elimination of setback requirements “devastating” but pledged support for the amended bill.
“They’ve had 90 years to do better and they have not protected our communities,” said Chavez, an Albuquerque resident who is Diné, tracing her ancestry to the Navajo as well as Kewa Pueblo.
The committee-endorsed bill would increase a common financial assurance to remediate multiple wells from a maximum of $250,000 to $10 million. The cap on daily penalties for regulatory violations would increase from $2,500 to as much as $25,000, with no cumulative limit.
Voting against the bill, Republican state Rep. Larry Scott of Hobbs, said the initiative represents an existential threat to small-scale oil and natural gas producers, echoing concerns raised by several businesses.
“The concern is that, with the stroke of a pen, financial assurances and penalties can put these small operators completely out of business,” said Scott, also a petroleum-industry engineer.
The bill would also expand the state’s regulatory authority over other types of well activity in anticipation of a gradual transition away from fossil fuel production — including geothermal projects that harness underground heat to produce electricity, or emerging underground systems of kinetic energy storage.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
- CEO of hospital operator facing Senate scrutiny will step down following contempt resolution
- Gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson treated for burns received at appearance, campaign says
- What time is Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon fight? Walk-in time for main event
- Diddy's ex-bodyguard sues rape accuser for defamation over claims of 2001 assault
- Cowboys find much-needed 'joy' in win over Giants after gut check of two losses
- Former 'Survivor' player, Louisiana headmaster convicted of taping students' mouths shut
- Un parque infantil ayuda a controlar las inundaciones en una histórica ciudad de Nueva Jersey
- Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman Donald Trump picked to serve as attorney general?
- Johnny Depp Reprises Pirates of the Caribbean Role as Captain Jack Sparrow for This Reason
Ranking
- Insurance magnate pleads guilty as government describes $2B scheme
- House explosion that killed 2 linked to propane system, authorities say
- Shawn Johnson Reveals the Milestone 9-Month-Old Son Bear Hit That Nearly Gave Her a Heart Attack
- Playoff clinching scenarios for MLS games Saturday; Concacaf Champions Cup spots secured
- Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Are All Smiles In Rare Public Outing
- The 26 Most Shopped Celebrity Product Recommendations This Month: Kyle Richards, Kandi Burruss & More
- The final 3 anti-abortion activists have been sentenced in a Tennessee clinic blockade
- The final 3 anti-abortion activists have been sentenced in a Tennessee clinic blockade
Recommendation
-
Tom Brady Shares How He's Preparing for Son Jack to Be a Stud
-
Daughter finds ‘earth angel’ in woman who made her dad laugh before Colorado supermarket shooting
-
Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz Hit Paris Fashion Week in Head-Turning Outfits
-
The Special Reason Hoda Kotb Wore an M Necklace While Announcing Today Show Exit
-
Birth control and abortion pill requests have surged since Trump won the election
-
Massachusetts governor says a hospital was seized through eminent domain to keep it open
-
Trees down: Augusta National 'assessing the effects' of Hurricane Helene
-
How Lady Gaga Really Feels About Her Accidental Engagement Reveal at the Olympics