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Appeals Board to Decide Whether New Mexico Illegally Approving Air Permits for Oil and Gas Industry
“New Mexico’s health and environmental regulators are sadly turning their backs on their duty to protect people and uphold the law,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “Contrary to their own rules, they keep rubberstamping more fracking pollution even in the face of mounting air quality violations. We can’t afford to let this dereliction of duty continue.”
In a virtual meeting, the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board will hear arguments in appeals that WildEarth Guardians filed challenging several permits issued to oil and gas companies allowing them to release more air pollution in southeast New Mexico.
This region of New Mexico, which encompasses the western Permian Basin, is currently violating health limits for ground-level ozone. Ozone is the key ingredient of smog and forms when pollution from smokestacks, tailpipes, and oil and gas extraction activities reacts with sunlight.
Southeast New Mexico is violating ozone standards due to a massive increase in oil and gas extraction in the region, which has unleashed unprecedented amounts of ozone forming pollution.
By law, the New Mexico Environment Department is prohibited from issuing air pollution permits that cause or contribute to violations of air quality standards. In spite of this, the Department continues to permit more air pollution from oil and gas facilities in southeast New Mexico, even as ozone levels remain above health standards.
“Appeasing the oil and gas industry seems more important to the New Mexico Environment Department than protecting people,” said Nichols. “With obvious air quality violations, now, more than ever, the Department needs to put the brakes on more permitting and more pollution.”
In May and June, WildEarth Guardians filed appeals of several permits for new oil and gas facilities, calling on the Environmental Improvement Board to hold that they were illegally approved. After a series of written briefing, the appeals are being considered in a virtual formal hearing September 23 and 24.
The hearing is open to the public, anyone can join via WebEx. The Environmental Improvement Board will also hold a public comment session starting at 4 PM on September 23 and also at 9 AM on September 24. WildEarth Guardians is encouraging members of the public to participate and urge the Board to uphold the law and the protection of air quality.
The Board is not expected to issue a decision for at least 30 days.
