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The data is clear: The village of Loving in the Permian Basin has been hit hard by waves of pollutants from Big Oil, yet the EPA hasn’t acted to force a cleanup.
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With the EPA hamstrung by the Supreme Court and shaky state funding, New Mexico could face a future with reduced protections.
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A state Environment Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspection of oil and gas facilities in New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin found more than half may be violating air quality rules. Environment Secretary James Kenney said the results are “cause for alarm.”
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In the last legislative session, no reforms were made to oil and gas regulations despite bills to impose fines for oil spills, limit fresh water use and create buffers around schools. Looking forward to next year's session, the Legislative Finance Committee met in oil-rich southeastern New Mexico Tuesday to discuss reintroducing one of those failed proposals — setbacks for wells.
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New Mexico's landmark 2021 Methane Rule banned routine venting and flaring of natural gas. But some 15 exceptions for pipeline operators allow such venting and flaring in certain circumstances, including when gas is so far out of pipeline specifications that it constitutes an “emergency,” which is what the company claimed 10 times in the first two months of the year, each time releasing millions of cubic feet of the potent greenhouse gas.
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The recently approved state budget sent to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham increases funds for environmental conservation efforts, but some say it’s not enough.
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On Dec. 22, the federal Bureau of Land Management’s field office in Farmington publicly announced (quietly, via a webpage update) that work on an update and amendment to the district’s Resource Management Plans had been scrapped, with no replacement or path forward announced.
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New Mexico is once again seeing record revenues as lawmakers meet in Santa Fe to create a budget. That’s in large part due to booming oil and gas production. The state is the second-largest oil producer in the country and among the top 10 in natural gas production. But a number of bills in the legislative session would make big changes if they pass.
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New bills could curb industry excesses; enforcement agencies offered small increases.
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This week the legislature opened the 2024 session and at least one lawmaker is hoping to put tighter regulations on the state’s oil and gas industry.