Press Releases

For immediate release: January 16, 2020

Community leaders across New Mexico applauded the Oil Conservation Commission Thursday for acting to protect the state’s air and water resources from oil and gas pollution by adopting new enforcement rules under legislation adopted in the 2019 session.

 The Oil Conservation Division lost administrative enforcement authority following the infamous 2009 Marbob New Mexico Supreme Court ruling. In fact, a 2019 Earthworks report found that oil and gas spills and violations increased nearly 100 percent over the last decade, while fines assessed by the agency dropped to zero in 2018. Despite industry pressure, the Oil Conservation Commission voted unanimously to adopt administrative rules allowing the state to penalize bad actors.

Coalition Quote Sheet

“Congratulations to the Oil ...
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Wheeler questions EPA’s authority to regulate methane, putting climate, families at risk

For Immediate Release: August 29, 2019. Contact: Camilla Feibelman, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org, (505) 715-8388

Today, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler proposed to eliminate direct regulation of methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas, from the EPA’s New Source Performance Standards. In New Mexico, this would mean that 4,700 new and existing wells would no longer have to reduce their methane emissions, endangering our climate and our families’ health. 

Methane is 80 times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, but it disappears from the atmosphere much faster, giving us one of the best chances we have of fighting to save our children and grandchildren from the worst consequences of the ...
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