NM Oil, Gas Law Change Sought

The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association filed a petition Friday to revise the state’s “pit rule,” which regulates the disposal of waste from oil and natural gas drilling. The petition, filed with the state Oil Conservation Division, would loosen certain requirements, allowing drilling companies to use sealed pits to dispose of waste from wells that are not drilled close to groundwater. It would also eliminate requirements that self-contained closed-loop systems be used in such situations and waste hauled off site, said Steve Henke, president of the Oil and Gas Association. “We feel like we’ve got sound science and justification for the proposals we’re making,” Henke said. However, environmental groups that have supported the current rules as critical to protecting groundwater are likely to fight the proposed changes...more