Regulators find air pollution violations at most Permian facilities inspected
Jul. 5—Regulators have found about 60% of oil and gas facilities they looked at in the Permian Basin during a six-month probe emitted a toxic air pollutant at levels violating state and federal standards.
The state Environment Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analyzed data from satellites, regulatory reports and site inspections and discovered 75 out of 124 facilities released volatile organic compounds in amounts that potentially exceed lawful limits.
VOCs combine with nitrogen oxides in sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a noxious gas that can impair breathing and in high, prolonged doses can cause heart and lung ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, infections and cancer.
The agencies conducted the probe as a joint effort to get a snapshot of how well Permian operators were complying with emission standards.
"The results of our federal and state oil and gas investigations are cause for alarm, with a meager 40% compliance rate," Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement. "With the impacts of climate change ravaging our state and air quality degrading, we have no choice but to increase sanctions on polluters until we see a commitment to change behavior."
Companies whose sites were examined include Chevron, Earthstone Energy Inc., Franklin Mountain Energy Inc., Kaiser Francis Oil Co., Marathon, Permian Resources, Tap Rock and XTO Energy Inc.
About 112 production sites are near frontline communities with environmental justice concerns due to residents' exposure to higher levels of ozone pollution, the Environment Department said in a news release.
Kenney and other regulatory officials said the findings further justify the need to increase air quality permit fees so the state can beef up staffing for monitoring and enforcement.
The state Environmental Improvement Board recently held a hearing to discuss boosting emission and construction fees by as much as 500%, though no decision was made. The potential for such a steep increase prompted state Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, to call and complain it would hurt small, independent operators.
The Environment Department now regulates more than 55,000 facilities with only 30 staffers to oversee permitting and six to handle enforcement, state officials say. With such severe understaffing, it would take almost a decade to inspect all the sites in New Mexico.
The heavy workload requires the U.S. Justice Department and EPA to step in and resolve many of the cases, resulting in half of the penalties collected going to the federal government instead of New Mexico, state regulators said in a written statement. They argued it's imperative for the state to bolster its staffing to take on more cases.
"NMED has not raised its air quality permit fees in two decades, yet our permitting workload has increased a staggering 2,234%," said state Environmental Protection Division director Michelle Milano. "Our proposal to increase fees paid by the industry is our best chance to help the one in seven New Mexicans who suffer from respiratory ailments to breathe clean air."
One environmental advocate contends a better option is to reduce the number of operating permits and, in turn, the air pollution they'd produce.
"The only thing that's going to improve children's air in the Permian are [fewer] permits for new emissions, permits that regulators seem to distribute like candy at a parade," Melissa Troutman, WildEarth Guardians' climate and energy advocate, wrote in an email.
WildEarth asked the EPA in 2021 to officially declare the Permian doesn't meet health standards, but the agency declined, Troutman wrote. Instead, the EPA is relying on its new methane rule to curb pollution instead of approving a "non-attainment" designation that would slow permitting of pollution sources, she added.
"Companies already fail to meet state and federal standards, so what good are more words on paper?" Troutman wrote.
