27 New Mexico Lawmakers Urge Water Quality Control Commission to Halt Produced Water Discharge Without Safety Standards
New Mexico State Senators and Representatives write “to express our alarm that the WQCC intends to adopt a rule that allows pilot projects to discharge treated produced water to groundwater prior to the development of scientifically based standards against which such projects can be evaluated.“
State Agency Press Release – From New Mexico State Legislators
SANTA FE, NM – On Thursday, May 8, 2025, twenty-seven New Mexico State legislators delivered a letter to the Water Quality Control Commission asking the Commissioners to reconsider their plan to authorize pilot treatment projects to discharge 2000 barrels per day of treated produced water to groundwater prior to the development of scientifically based quality standards specific to oil and gas waste, and to ensure that any pilot projects authorized be issued a permit as per the requirements of the Produced Water Act.
Senator Harold Pope Jr., (left) stated in the press release, “New Mexicans understand that water is the source of all life.Where water flows, life follows.
“And we are watching in alarm as our water dwindles,under threat from increased extraction, forever chemicals and a changing climate.
“The Water Quality Control Commission must adopt a reuse rule that protects our precious water from the toxic radioactive contaminants found in oil and gas waste.
To permit the contamination of our water is not only reckless—it’s a betrayal of the people we serve, the land we depend on, and the generations yet to come.”
Representative Matthew McQueen, (left) Chairman House Energy, offered the following statement, “Until it is proven to be safe–and we’re a long way from that–treated produced water from oil and gas operations should not be put in our taps, used to irrigate our fields, or released into our rivers and aquifers.”
At their most recent public meeting on April 8th and 9th the WQCC Commissioners voted to authorize this discharge in the WQCC 23-84 (R) rulemaking, as well as a Notice of Intent procedure for closed loop pilot projects that don’t anticipate discharge, and stated their plan to officially adopt the language of the rule at the upcoming May 13th meeting.
The Legislators’ letter asks the Commission to prohibit permits for any pilot treatment projects outside the oilfield until scientifically based standards for treatment and water quality are developed, or at a minimum, to require that pilot projects are authorized only if:
- A. they are issued permission via a permit that includes a formal public input and
hearing process;
B. they are “closed loop,” with no discharge to ground or surface water contemplated;
and
C. they are operated under strict scientific standards adopted by NMED and vetted by
the WQCC.
The decision to allow ANY discharge of treated oil and gas waste to ground or surface water prior to the development of treatment and quality standards is both irresponsible and dangerous in the extreme. Without such standards pilot projects discharging to groundwater could irreversibly harm land, water and public health, and NMED will not be able to credibly defend any discharge permit they might have issued.
According to expert testimony from the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, we are at a nascent stage, having taken the very “first step” to understanding what is in Permian Basin produced water. (“This study is a first step toward a better understanding of PW quality in the Permian Basin.” – Xu, Pei & Zhang, Yanyan & Jiang, Wenbin & Hu, Lei & Xu, Xuesong & Carroll, Kenneth & Khan, Naima. (2023). February 2022 CHARACTERIZATION OF PRODUCED WATER IN THE PERMIAN BASIN FOR POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL USE.
NMED experts testified that produced water is toxic and dangerous, and that:
“Without defensible, scientific evidence that produced water treatment is reliably safe and treatment technologies are effective at removing all known and unknown constituents, the Department is left with only one option which is to develop and propose a regulation that is restrictive and does not allow for the discharge of treated produced water in any manner.” – NMED Bates Labeled Exhibits, NMED Exhibit 5, Written Direct Testimony Hu, at 143-144.
The WQCC’s decision to authorize discharge of treated oil and gas waste to groundwater without standards specific to oil and gas waste is contrary to science and to the evidence presented in the case.
The Legislators’ letter further asks the Commission to reconsider its April 9th decision to allow ‘closed loop’ pilot projects under a Notice of Intent procedure that is insufficient and does not comply with the Produced Water Act (Section 70-13-4 D NMSA), which requires a permit for ANY produced water use outside the oil field.
The legislature believed the use of produced water outside the oilfield was dangerous and risky, and determined that any use off oilfield use requires a permit.
A “Notice of Intent” procedure does not include procedures for public input or a hearing, and does not satisfy the requirements of the law.
The planned requirement to notify adjacent landowners has no import when said landowners have no recourse to formally object, and further, ignores the significant risk to all New Mexico residents relying upon connected aquifers that could be impacted by an accidental discharge.
Letter Legislators Sent to the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commissioners:
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