On July 3, Peter Lorenz, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the board and CEO of Unirac Inc., and Terri Cole, GACC president and CEO, submitted a letter of support to the Water Control Commission regarding an amendment to the regulations on legislation passed in 2019 dealing with the use of produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas production.
The intent of the legislation was clear, that produced water could be used by oil and gas operations and for economic development projects. The regulations that were written, however, failed to include usage for economic development projects. Water availability is a key determinant for companies looking to expand or locate in New Mexico.
The oversight occurred in the Department of Environment and was recently discovered when several businesses wanted to use the produced water but were turned down. On July 8, the issue came up at the Water Control Commission that moved forward with plans to set another hearing at a later time and date to amend the regulations.
In the letter, Lorenz and Cole wrote:
“It seems very clear that when the Legislature enacted the Produced Water Act in 2019, that produced water use should extend beyond applications just in the oil and gas industry. The law states that the WQCC ‘shall adopt regulations to be administered by the department of environment for the discharge, handling, transport, storage, recycling or treatment for the disposition of treated produced water, including disposition in road construction maintenance, roadway ice or dust control or other construction, or in the application of treated produced water to land, for activities unrelated to the exploration, drilling, production, treatment or refinement of oil or gas.’
“The current regulations, for whatever reason, failed to provide economic development uses, and this oversight should be corrected. To fail to act will result in the loss of this resource to other states or to reinjection – putting more stress on freshwater usage that otherwise can be avoided.
“There is widespread support for making good use of our produced and brackish water resources.”
See the full letter below:
