TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND
OUR WATER, OUR QUERENCIA, OUR LIFE
WE GOT PRODUCED WATER REUSE OUT OF HB 137, THE STRATEGIC WATER SUPPLY ACT. NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO REBRAND THEIR WASTE WITH HB 311, THE RECLAIMED WATER ACT.
PROTECT OUR WATER FROM FRACKING WASTE
We got fracking waste out of the Strategic Water Supply. Now proponents have moved on to HB 311, which makes an end run around the current water protection regulatory structure by rebranding treated fracking waste as "reclaimed water" so that the treated waste can be used for any nonpotable purposes that newly formed "Reclaimed Water Authorities" can dream of. This could include irrigation, aquifer recharge, fire suppression or industrial projects like hydrogen that could ultimately result in serious contamination of our water without Water Quality Control Commission oversight.
The bill creates these new authorities with boards populated primarily by industry insiders and transfers authority over water from the WQCC to these new authorities if it meets quality standards that do not yet exist. According to scientists, adequate standards cannot be established until fracking waste water is fully characterized, which has not yet been achieved. In other words, like the Strategic Water Supply, HB 311, the Reclaimed Water Act, attempts to put the cart before the horse and allow for fracking waste reuse before it has been proven safe! Tell the Governor and the Legislature: Don’t gamble with our water and our health. Protect our Water and our Land!
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EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR ABOUT FRACKING WASTE REUSE
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?
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.​
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PFAS in Oil and Gas Operations
NEW MEXICO FACES A 25% REDUCTION IN WATER RESOURCES BY 2050, LARGELY AS A RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE. WE NEED OUR BUDGET TO FUND REAL WATER SECURITY INITIATIVES, NOT DESAL AND FRACKING WASTE REUSE SCHEMES!
REAL WATER SOLUTIONS ARE GETTING SHORTCHANGED
Water priorities in the House Budget, HB 2, are heavy on the brackish water treatment private industry subsidies ($40 million) and light on the priorities that NM water advocates say are most necessary. The 2025 Legislature must fund implementation of three critically important laws.
Water Data Act Compliance Funding: $2.5 million
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Build new real-time water use data collection and automated reporting application
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Make water data publicly and internally available
Water Security Planning Act Implementation Funding: $2.4 million
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$250,000 block grant to each planning region to self-organize and prepare work plan
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Evidence-based local water projects & policies
Active Water Resource Management (AWRM) Funding: $2 million
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Implements court-approved water allocation rules
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Prevents a new SCOTUS lawsuit by Texas, which under this federal administration would be a particularly bad outcome
