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

At an April meeting the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) deliberated whether to authorize treatment and reuse projects for liquid oil and gas waste and whether and how such projects should be allowed to discharge to surface or groundwater. The deliberations over proposed rule No. WQCC 23-84 (R) followed

extensive hearings, expert testimony and public comment, during which evidence and testimony clearly and unequivocally demonstrated that there is no credible scientific data proving that this fracking waste, also called “produced water,” can be safely and effectively treated at the scale contemplated.

 

While the oil and gas industry is desperately seeking a solution to the oceans of toxic waste it is producing - 266,160 acre feet in 2022 - the science is clear about only one thing - that liquid fracking waste contains extremely high levels of salt, metals, radioactive nuclides, and toxic organic compounds, many of which have

not yet even been positively identified. Until treatment processes and scientific research have progressed further, safe standards for treatment and quality cannot even be defined by regulators.

 

At the April meeting the WQCC Commissioners decided to allow pilot projects to discharge up to 2000 barrels of treated waste to groundwater even though no standards for quality are yet existent or possible. They also decided to allow so-called “closed loop” pilot projects to proceed under a flimsy “Notice of Intent” procedure that does not allow for any public input or hearing, despite evidence that these projects can spill untreated or treated waste during operations, potentially poisoning land and water.

 

ON MAY 13TH THE WQCC PLANS TO RECONVENE FOR A FINAL VOTE TO ADOPT THE RULE. WE NEED YOU, THE PEOPLE OF NEW MEXICO, TO SHOW UP TO PROTECT OUR WATER.

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It’s not too late! To protect the safety and sanctity of our precious water the WQCC must:

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1. Adopt a rule that prohibits discharge of any treated oil and gas waste until scientifically based standards specific to treated oil and gas waste can be developed to protect human health and the environment. Water quality standards for other treated wastewaters are not sufficient.

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 2. Adopt a rule that requires a permit for any pilot treatment project for produced water treatment and reuse. The rule must comply with the Produced Water Act, which states that ANY use of produced, treated produced water or byproducts of the waste outside the oilfield requires a permit from the NM Environment Department. The public, especially those whose health, water or land may be impacted by

potential accidental discharge from a proposed pilot treatment project, must be allowed to formally object and their concerns considered before any permit can be issued. A Notice of Intent procedure is undemocratic and illegal and fails to protect human health and the environment.