The draft Wastewater Reuse Rule (WQCC 23-84) at the Water Quality Control Commission was proposed to solve the oil and gas industry's enormous waste problem by expanding on toxic fracking waste reuse, aka produced water, experimentation outside of the oil field for the eventual goal of reuse for "agriculture, irrigation, potable water supplies, aquifer recharge, industrial processes or environmental restoration.” We are calling on the New Mexico Environment Department to amend their proposed rule to prohibit produced water reuse because it fails to safeguard our land, water and health.

In 2022, the oil and gas industry consumed 86,747 acre feet of fresh water and produced 266,160 acre feet of toxic fracking waste. This amount would fill 131,270 Olympic size swimming pools. Under current law, oil and gas operators have two choices for disposal - reuse the produced “water” in drilling operations or inject the waste back underground into injection wells. The problem - those injection wells are causing earthquakes - 2,404 quakes in 2022. Because New Mexico has never been earthquake prone, our homes and infrastructure cannot withstand those quakes.

The oil and gas industry in New Mexico now faces a costly crisis with no immediate solution. Treatment of produced water for reuse may be scientifically possible at some unknown scale and at some unknown cost, but this rule does not address that. This rule puts the cart before the horse, expanding authorization for reuse demonstration projects and industrial projects across the state without specifying or requiring any measures of toxicity or radiation at input or output to ensure the safety of the public.

Just 14% of chemicals in fracking waste have been adequately studied for human health impacts. Among these known chemical compounds, produced water can contain PFAS, bromide, arsenic, mercury, barium, radioactive isotopes and organics like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes. Exposure to these toxic and radioactive substances is correlated with increased risks of cancer, birth defects, and early death. Even after treatment these substances can remain, accumulating in soil, livestock and humans over time.

We are demanding that the proposed rule be rewritten to prohibit the discharge, disposal or reuse of treated or untreated produced water outside the oil field, without exception. Join us in protecting our water by calling on the Governor and NMED to amend their proposed rule. Read the full text of the petition here.