Sen. Pete Campos Senate District 8 | Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter
The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) has implemented a new rule that bans the discharge of "produced water" into the state's ground and surface waters. Produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas operations, contains numerous chemicals that pose risks to human health and the environment. The decision came after Amigos Bravos and the Sierra Club, with legal representation from the Western Environmental Law Center, urged WQCC to eliminate a previously proposed exemption for "pilot projects" that would have allowed limited discharge under certain conditions.
This ruling follows a petition by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in December 2023 advocating for a total ban on produced water discharges. NMED's petition was based on scientific evidence highlighting the hazardous nature of these chemicals and current technological limitations in effectively treating such waste at scale. Expert testimony from five NMED scientists supported this initiative.
Amigos Bravos and Sierra Club also provided expert testimony underscoring gaps in knowledge about all chemicals present in produced water. They highlighted that there are no state standards for at least 180 potentially toxic substances found within this wastewater.
Despite opposition from the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, an industry representative acknowledged that large-scale treatment of produced water remains premature. Tannis Fox, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, praised the decision: “We are proud, pleased, and relieved... adopted a rule that will protect clean water.”
Rachel Conn of Amigos Bravos expressed satisfaction with WQCC's decision: “Our groups... prepared an extensive record on the harms and toxicity of this wastewater... This decision could not be more prudent.” Dale Doremus from Sierra Club commended WQCC's science-based approach: “For more than 50 years... At this time, a ban... is what the science supports.”
The ban is set to last five years before it sunsets unless renewed or revised.
