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TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND
OUR WATER, OUR QUERENCIA, OUR LIFE

OPPOSE THE STRATEGIC WATER
SUPPLY ACT

HB 137 endangers our water because:

  • Scientists haven’t proved that produced water can be “treated” effectively to protect our health. They haven’t even figured out how to identify all the chemicals in the produced water.
     

  • Produced water has high levels of salt, and can contain many toxic chemicals, including high levels of radioactive metals like Radium. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer and birth defects, reduce crop yields, and pass to children through their mother’s milk. 
     

  • The bill gives $75 million per year for treatment and reuse projects that must comply with water quality standards that don't yet exist.

PROHIBIT PFAS IN OIL & GAS
DOWNHOLE OPERATIONS

PFAS in oil and gas operations endangers our water because:

  • PFAS, aka "forever chemicals," pose a significant and growing threat to our health, accumulating in water, soil and our bodies over time, and causing cancer, birth defects and endocrine disorders.
     

  • Physicians for Social Responsibility has documented the use of PFAS in hundreds of oil and gas wells drilled in NM.
     

  • Oil and gas industry operators hide under the cover of “trade secret” protections and claim that they are no longer using PFAS for drilling, but that claim does not have the force of law, and without disclosure requirements, cannot be verified or enforced.​

PROHIBIT FRACKING WASTE REUSE OUTSIDE OILFIELD

Amendments to the Water Quality Act are necessary because:

  • Efforts to fund fracking waste treatment and reuse projects without protective scientific treatment and quality standards endanger New Mexico’s water and public health. 
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  • Research into treatment and reuse of oil and gas waste can be conducted via permitted bench scale research conducted on the oil field or in accredited laboratories.

     

  • A $0.05 fee per barrel of produced water is necessary to fund the cost of plugging and remediation of thousands of abandoned wells. The State Land Office projected an $8.1 billion gap between funds collected and  actual remediation costs for these wells, a number that continues to increase.

PROTECT 95% OF NM WATERS FROM POLLUTION

After the Supreme Court's Sackett decision, up to 95% of New Mexico’s rivers and streams lost protection under the federal Clean Water Act. SB 21 and 22 will:  

  • Give the state authority to take over permitting for waters still federally protected (SB21) and authorize the state to take over permitting for waters no longer federally protected (SB22). New Mexico is one of only 3 states that currently leaves this up to the EPA.
     

  • Ensure industries and development cannot pollute or destroy wetlands and streams, risking contamination of drinking water and making New Mexico communities more vulnerable to severe drought and flooding.
     

Defend NM Water is calling for amendments to SB 22 to ensure that permitting for produced water treatment is not authorized under the act.​​

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THE STRATEGIC WATER SUPPLY IS BACK. HB 137, SPONSORED BY REP. SUSAN HERRERA, PROPOSES $75 MILLION ANNUALLY TO SUBSIDIZE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY WASTE REUSE

SIGN THE PETITION TO PROTECT OUR WATER FROM FRACKING WASTE

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The Strategic Water Supply is designed to help the oil and gas industry recycle their liquid waste, aka “produced water,” for “agriculture, irrigation, potable water supplies, aquifer recharge, industrial
processes, or environmental restoration." But scientists haven’t proved that toxic produced water can be treated effectively to protect our health. Tell the Governor and the Legislature: Don’t gamble with our water and our health. Protect our Water and our Land!

DOWNLOAD INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR ABOUT THE STRATEGIC WATER SUPPLY

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WE FOUGHT TO PROHIBIT PFAS IN DOWNHOLE OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS AND REQUIRE CHEMICAL DISCLOSURE. NOW WE CAN ENSHRINE THAT PROHIBITION INTO LAW.

EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR ABOUT PROHIBITING PFAS AND REQUIRING CHEMICAL DISCLOSURE

WHY IS PFAS USE IN DOWNHOLE OPERATIONS DANGEROUS? 

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In November the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission conducted a hearing to determine whether to adopt a rule prohibiting the use of PFAS in oil and gas operations, and further prohibiting the use of any undisclosed chemicals in fracking operations. We are still waiting for their decision, but a law codifying the prohibition would ensure our water is protected from PFAS used in oil and gas operations.

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Why do we need this prohibition?

In a study published in August 2024 in the Lancet, researchers from the American Cancer Society reported that cancer rates for 17 of the 34 most common cancers are increasing in progressively younger generations. The study notes:

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“Trends in cancer incidence in young generations or young adults (less than 50 years) largely reflect increased exposure to carcinogenic factors during early life or young adulthood compared with previous generations…”

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One such contaminant, PFAS poses a significant and growing threat to our

health, accumulating in water, soil and our bodies over time, and causing cancer, birth defects and endocrine disorders.

 

Oil and gas industry operators hide under the cover of “trade secret” protections and claim that they are no longer using PFAS or PFOA for oil and gas drilling, but that claim does not have the force of law, and without disclosure requirements, cannot be verified or enforced.​

DOWNLOAD INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

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PFAS in Oil and Gas Operations

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SUPPORT NM WATER PROTECTION AMENDMENTS TO PROHIBIT FRACKING WASTE REUSE OUTSIDE THE OIL FIELD AND ASSESS A PER BARREL FEE ON PRODUCED WATER TO FUND ABANDONED WELL REMEDIATION

SIGN THE PETITION TO PROHIBIT FRACKING WASTE REUSE OUTSIDE THE OILFIELD

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Efforts to permit industrial oilfield waste treatment and reuse projects without protective scientific treatment and quality standards will only further endanger New Mexico’s water and public health. The antidote to the Strategic Water Supply, this bill protects public health and the environment from the impacts of fracking waste and unremediated abandoned wells.

 

What do these proposed amendments accomplish?

 

  1. The bill amends the Water Quality Act to ensure that off oil-field research into treatment and reuse of oil and gas waste is conducted in a manner protective of existing water resources and human health while allowing for bona fide research via permitted bench scale research conducted in accredited laboratories.
     

  2. The bill amends the Tax Administration Act to establish a $0.05 fee per barrel of produced water generated in New Mexico to fund the cost of plugging and remediation of abandoned wells. The State Land Office projected an $8.1 billion gap between bonds and actual remediation costs, a number that continues to increase as financial assurances still do not meet the actual costs of remediation.

DOWNLOAD INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR ABOUT THE STRATEGIC WATER SUPPLY

JOIN US TO DEFEND NM WATER
AND STAY INFORMED

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©2024 by Defend NM Water

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