New Mexico is facing many environmental challenges at present, but nothing concerns me more than what’s happening with our water. With climate change fueled flood disasters all across the state and our water supply projected to dwindle by up to 25% over the coming 50 years, water ought to be on all of our minds. What many may not know is how much of our water is used in oil and gas operations, or how much of that water is irrevocably poisoned. That's right, I said poisoned. I want to talk about PFAS, those “forever chemicals” that have snuck into our precious water supply through the proliferation of fracking, spills and injection wells, and potentially new proposed boondoggles such as "produced water" treatment and reuse.
These per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances don’t go away—they stick around in our water, soil, and even our bodies. They’ve been linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health problems. The EPA says just a tiny amount in our drinking water is dangerous. One tablespoon of PFAS could render all of Elephant Butte Reservoir undrinkable!
In November, the Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) had hearings about banning PFAS in oil and gas operations and making companies come clean about the secret fracking chemicals they use. You’d think everyone would agree that protecting our water is important, right? But no. The oil and gas folks—NMOGA—brought in expensive experts from a company called GCI, paying them $350 an hour, to argue that most PFAS probably aren't that bad. Those experts don’t live here. They don’t drink our water or worry about their grandkids coming into contact with the oceans of toxic waste that the industry generates. They’re paid to say what the industry wants to hear.
Meanwhile, WildEarth Guardians and New Energy Economy are fighting for us. They pushed for a strong rule from the Oil Conservation Commission to ban PFAS and make companies tell us exactly what is in their fracking chemicals. It’s not too much to ask! Two other states already do this, and their oil and gas industries are doing just fine. So, the argument that disclosing the protected trade secrets behind these fracking chemicals will somehow inhibit the lucrative business of oil and gas production is completely bogus. NMOGA wants to keep hiding behind trade secrets while our health and the viability of our water resources is on the line.
We also have some politicians like Senator Pope standing up for us. He said it perfectly during his public comment at the OCC hearing: ignoring the dangers of newer PFAS is like ignoring new COVID variants just because we don’t know everything about them yet. Waiting around won’t make the problem go away. If we don’t act now, more people will get sick, and our beautiful New Mexico will suffer.
The OCC has the power to fix this. They can ban PFAS and require full chemical disclosure. We heard talk during the PFAS hearing about compromises—disclosure rules that only kick in after something goes wrong. That’s too little, too late. We’ve already had over 16,000 oil and gas spills in New Mexico since 2010. Do we really want to keep letting this happen?
We can't just hold our breath, hoping that the OCC does the right thing. Even though the hearing is over, the final decision on the rule hasn't been made. We can make sure the Commissioners know the public is watching by writing Letters to the Editor at our local paper to ask the OCC to make sure all PFAS are banned from fracking fluids, and that companies have to disclose what chemicals they are putting into the ground.
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