US Rep. Gabe Vasquez talks balancing oil and gas and conservation during Carlsbad stop

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) touted his support of the region-defining oil and gas industry while prioritizing conservation during a visit to Carlsbad Tuesday amid a three-day tour of southeast New Mexico.

On Monday, Vasquez was in Otero County touring the Otero Mesa, an area sacred to the Mescalero Apache Tribe of south-central New Mexico and planned to meet with oilfield workers Wednesday in Hobbs.

In Carlsbad, Vasquez met with local students who a pre art of the city’s Student Advisory Committee, discussing his work in Congress in addressing issues local to southern New Mexico.

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The event included presentations by the National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Energy on the theme of federal government in the local community.

Vasquez pointed to his recent vote in favor of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to de-list the lesser prairie chicken, a grouse species native to the eastern New Mexico plains deemed endangered last year.

Vasquez’s vote for the measure that passed the House broke with party ranks as New Mexico’s other two U.S. Representatives Melanie Stansbury and Teresa Leger Fernandez, both Democrats, voted against the GOP-led initiative.

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Upon its Senate passage in May, the White House signaled President Joe Biden would veto the resolution.

But voting against the resolution was indicative of the diverse needs of the Second Congressional District, Vasquez said Tuesday during an interview with the Current-Argus and was the result of “listening” to industry and local stakeholders in both agriculture and energy development.

He said he met with the Carlsbad-based nonprofit Center for Excellence (CEHMM), which facilitates agreements with landowners like oil companies or ranchers to fund and take conservation actions targeting recovery of species like the chicken.

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“Folks may have not expected me to take that vote in that direction,” Vasquez said. “But I talked to folks on the ground, I listened and changed my perspective on what the best conservation path forward is for the chicken.”

New Mexico is second in the U.S. in oil production, following only Texas with which New Mexico shares the Permian Basin region that spans through its southeast region in Eddy and Lea counties.

The fossil fuel industry, mostly in Vasquez’s district, makes up about half of New Mexico’s state revenue, according to the latest budget projections.

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Vasquez said this economic driver should be maintained while respecting the needs of protection the environment from pollution.

Most recently, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issue a $5.5 million fine to Mewbourne Oil Company for alleged air pollution violations in the Permian Basin, following a $42 million fine by NMED last month against Ameredev for similar violations of state air pollution policy.

“We should be able to responsibly develop oil and gas resources in this country, and I think we can. I think there are some folks who are doing a great job of that,” he said. “I think there’s other who aren’t as we’ve seen from some of the fines that have been levied by the state environment department.”

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He argued renewable energy was slated to grow into the future but for now, the U.S. must rely on oil and gas produced largely in New Mexico.

“I think that we really need to look at our energy policy as a whole and better understand what the right mix of renewables and fossil fuels is going to look like in the future,” Vasquez said. “But I think right now, fossil fuels are a necessity in this country, but we have to do a better job.”

And he questioned accusations by the industry and its supporters that strict pollution regulations could hamper profits and lead to oil companies moving out of New Mexico, citing continual leasing of federal land to fossil fuel companies and growing production.

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“I think that we’ve seen production increase despite some of the regulatory challenges that industry has said that they face that might cause them to relocate out of the state or that might stop or halt production or halt investment,” Vasquez said. “We haven’t seen that. What we’ve seen is record profits.”

During his presentation, Ty Allen with the Bureau of Land Management’s Carlsbad office said conservation was a critical part of the federal agency’s agenda, balanced with energy development.

He pointed to 113 active drilling rigs in New Mexico, about 17 percent of the U.S. total rig count of 654 oil and gas rigs.

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“The big thing around here is oil and gas. The Permian Basin is one of the most prolific oil basins in the world,” Allen said. “Conservation is great but if that’s all you do, it makes the value of the land less when it comes to natural resources. The idea is balance.”

Vasquez also pointed to the Great American Outdoors Act signed into law by former-President Donald Trump in 2020, as providing additional funds for federal projects and maintenance backlogs at facilities like Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

“Now it’s about responsible use of those dollars. Not all the dollars are going to go to backlog and maintenance projects.”

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He was critical of long-term of the project to rebuild the elevators at the Caverns, arguing congressional members must ensure federal dollars are used appropriately.

“That’s really a sign of disfunction in the federal government’s ability to fund national parks. We should have been able to fix those elevators a long time ago,” Vasquez said of the elevators. “I think those dollars are coming, but it’s not just the national parks but the infrastructure leading up to the national parks. I think Eddy County is going to see some of those investments. “

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said Carlsbad had a heavy federal presence with several agencies hosting local field offices.

“Because of our Carlsbad’s unique location, we probably interact with the federal government more than any other community,” he said during his remarks.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Vasquez talks balancing oil and gas, conservation during Carlsbad stop