On Tuesday, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission took the first step toward allowing oil and gas wastewater, or "produced water," to be used in agriculture and discharged into the state's waters. A bill in the last state legislative session proposed reusing produced water, but it was shot down in committee due to concerns about safety from Democratic legislators.
A statement from the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter said the move was spurred by a rulemaking petition filed by an oil and gas industry-led organization. The WQCC ruled less than a year ago that produced water could not be treated to levels safe to discharge into the state’s waters.
"Before the ink even has dried on that rule this industry-aligned organization is pushing for a 180 from that produced water ban that's protective of our rivers and our groundwater,” Rachel Conn, deputy director of Amigos Bravos, told KSFR.
She said a primary concern is the fact that the contents of produced water are often trade secrets.
"We don't have the proper structure and regulations in place to make sure that those discharges are going to be protective of New Mexico's water bodies and water resources,” Conn said
Together with the Sierra Club and Western Environmental Law Center, Amigos Bravos will present testimony regarding produced water at a multi-day Water Quality Control Commission hearing to be scheduled at a later date.
