A coalition of citizens and environmental groups has sued the state of New Mexico, its state legislature, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state agencies for violating their state's constitutional duty to control pollution from the oil and gas industry.
“New Mexico’s failure to control oil and gas pollution violates our constitution and fundamental human rights to clean air, land and water,” Gail Evans, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute and lead counsel on the case, said in a release from the center. “If concern for our environment and public health won’t push New Mexico’s leaders to control the reckless oil and gas industry, we hope legal action will.”
The suit is based on the "pollution control clause" of the New Mexico Constitution, which states the Legislature “shall provide for control of pollution and control of despoilment of the air, water and other natural resources of this state," according to the release.
Evans likened the lawsuit to one filed in 2018, in which a judge found that New Mexico wasn’t doing enough to ensure at-risk students were receiving a sufficient education. In that lawsuit, Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico, the state was accused of violating a similar constitutional clause, which stated that the state must provide a sufficient system of education for all school-age children, according to a report by the New Mexico Business Coalition.
The lawsuit marked the first time anyone has challenged the state on the 1971 amendment to the constitution. The Center for Biological Diversity reported that Eddy and San Juan Counties received an “F” from the American Lung Association for high ozone days, and Lea and Sandoval Counties received a “D.” In addition, “indigenous, youth and frontline communities are disproportionately harmed by the state’s failure to control oil and gas pollution,” the report added.
Grisham's office has stated it is proud of its record on the environment and regulation of the state’s oil and gas industry and called this a “misguided lawsuit.” The gas and oil industries have grown significantly in New Mexico in recent years, as it has added $16 billion to New Mexico’s economy in 2021, the Carlsbad Current Argus reported. New Mexico’s crude oil production grew more than any state in 2022, the third consecutive year it had. New Mexico is the U.S.’ second highest oil-producing state, Fox News reported.
The Center for Biological Diversity also contended that the industries have caused pollution and used up New Mexico’s other natural resources. The suit alleges that the oil and gas operators spill toxic liquid waste an average of four times per day, and in 2019 the industry used approximately 14 billion gallons of New Mexico's freshwater resources, the equivalent usage of more than a quarter of a million people, the center stated.