Peter Lorenz Chair-Elect Unirac, Inc. | Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce
Peter Lorenz, Chairman of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce (GACC) and CEO of Unirac Inc., alongside Terri Cole, GACC President and CEO, have expressed their support for amendments to water regulation. On July 3, they submitted a letter to the Water Control Commission addressing an oversight in regulations related to produced water—a byproduct of oil and gas production.
The legislation passed in 2019 was intended to allow the use of produced water not only for oil and gas operations but also for economic development projects. However, current regulations do not account for its use in economic development. The issue arose within the Department of Environment when businesses were denied access to produced water for such purposes.
The Water Control Commission addressed this matter on July 8, deciding to schedule another hearing to consider amending these regulations.
In their letter, Lorenz and Cole emphasized: “It seems very clear that when the Legislature enacted the Produced Water Act in 2019, that produced water use should extend beyond applications just in the oil and gas industry. The law states that the WQCC ‘shall adopt regulations to be administered by the department of environment for the discharge, handling, transport, storage, recycling or treatment for the disposition of treated produced water...’”
They further noted: “The current regulations, for whatever reason, failed to provide economic development uses... To fail to act will result in the loss of this resource to other states or reinjection – putting more stress on freshwater usage that otherwise can be avoided.”
Lorenz and Cole pointed out broad support exists for utilizing both produced and brackish water resources effectively.
