Reversing oil and gas rules threatens the health of Permian families



Kayley Shoup
Thu, August 18, 2022 a

New Mexico’s groundbreaking rules to improve air quality by limiting air pollution from the oil and gas industry just took effect this month and already the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) has launched a legal attack against them.

Make no mistake – this legal wrangling and foot dragging from IPANM is not only bad for our air, it also wastes time and money that producers should be using to cut pollution. It is also a direct threat to the health of families in the Permian Basin because it could allow oil and gas operators to walk away from their responsibility to clean up after themselves and reduce the impacts on their workers, neighboring communities and all New Mexicans.

When the American Lung Association’s 2021 State of the Air Report gave failing grades for ozone pollution to New Mexico’s Eddy, Lea and San Juan Counties, it was a wake-up call about the need for strong state regulations to tackle air pollution from the oil and gas industry. With the leadership of Governor Lujan Grisham, the state Environment Department responded by developing nation-leading ozone precursor rules with the input of the oil and gas industry and New Mexicans from across the state. Major operators, including Occidental Petroleum support the state’s approach, again highlighting how far out of the mainstream IPANM is on this issue.

Air pollution is especially concerning in a state like New Mexico with high rates of respiratory illness. Ozone acts like a sunburn to the lungs, and can cause breathing issues, asthma attacks, respiratory and cardiovascular attacks.

Oil and gas operations are a significant source of ozone-forming VOCs as well as methane emissions from venting, flaring and leaks. Well site toxins can worsen respiratory diseases and trigger asthma attacks, and smog can also worsen emphysema and impact the cardiovascular system. Methane is one of the key drivers of climate change – a powerful greenhouse gas that is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.

Eddy County is one of only two rural counties among the top 25 most polluted for ozone in the nation, underscoring the critical need for strong oil and gas rules. New Mexico took an important step forward last year to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for its waste and pollution when the state instituted a ban on routine venting and flaring, and then followed up that action by requiring all operators to find and fix leaks – without exceptions.

Governor Lujan Grisham understood the public health imperative of reducing oil and gas emissions when she committed to enacting air and methane pollution rules. The final rules allow no exemptions to leak detection and repair requirements and protect those living closest to development with requirements for more frequent inspections to find and fix leaks. IPANM’s lawsuit attempts to reverse those protections and would impact air quality and the health of New Mexicans.

More than 130,000 New Mexicans live within a half-mile of oil and gas development, including communities of color that face disproportionate impacts from climate change and pollution. Across the state rural communities, tribal communities, children and the elderly are especially at risk for adverse health impacts of oil and gas pollution.

IPANM’s legal maneuvers show an insulting disregard for communities like ours that are closest to oil and gas well sites where families experience the greatest impacts of operations. New Mexicans should not accept failing grades when it comes to protecting the state’s air, and the courts should reject this blatant attempt by the industry to dodge accountability for its waste and pollution.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Reversing oil and gas rules threatens the health of Permian families