Environmentalists who had praised the approval of rules adopted by New Mexico nearly two years ago to crack down on oilfield spills have alleged the state isn’t doing enough to enforce the provisions.
They criticized the Oil Conservation Division during a meeting Thursday, pointing to a 16% increase in spills of wastewater from the drilling process and other contaminants in 2022. They said the division issued only eight notices of violations of its water rules last year.
The increase in spills comes amid an oil and gas boom in the Permian Basin, which spans parts of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas.