The environmental organization named WildEarth Guardians is out with a critical report about New Mexico’s “ongoing failure to manage” the oil and gas industry’s “mounting toxic waste crisis.”
In its inaugural Oil & Gas Waste Watch quarterly report, the group claimed there were 307 oil and gas spills, or an average of one spill every seven hours, that occurred from January through March of this year. Yet WildEarth Guardians contended that state agencies, the Bureau of Land Management and the EPA “have yet to take meaningful enforcement action.
The organization also said the more than 300 spills involved more than 75,000 barrels of hazardous waste including 22,927 barrels of toxic “produced water,” a radioactive, chemical-laced byproduct of fracking.
“This is a toxic crisis hiding in plain sight,” said Melissa Troutman, Climate and Health Advocate at WildEarth Guardians and member of the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium. “For every barrel of oil, up to seven barrels of toxic waste are produced—and the state is barely lifting a finger to stop the damage. These constant spills aren’t the cost of doing business—they’re a sign of industrial waste mismanagement run amok.”
Despite the staggering scale of these self-reported incidents, regulatory agencies like the Oil Conservation Division (OCD), Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have yet to take meaningful enforcement action. Trade secret loopholes shield the identities of chemicals in these spills, making cleanup, emergency response, and public health protections nearly impossible.
Among the most alarming findings of the Q1 report: 307 spill incidents statewide between January 1 and March 31; more than 75,000 barrels of toxic materials released, including 22,927 barrels of produced water of which 4,985 barrels were completely lost; and counties like Lea, Eddy, and San Juan bearing the brunt of the damage. The volume of produced water spilled in just three months would fill over 109 full-sized tanker trucks.
“This is the true cost of oil and gas—poisoned water, toxic spills, and communities left in the dark,” said Rebecca Sobel, Campaign Manager at WildEarth Guardians. “And thanks to weak enforcement and trade secret laws, the public doesn’t even get to know what they’re being exposed to.”
The release of the Waste Watch report comes as the state enters Phase 2 of rulemaking on produced water reuse—where regulators will consider allowing oil and gas waste to be treated and repurposed for uses outside the oilfield. But advocates warn that New Mexico isn’t even capable of managing the existing waste crisis.
“There are already hundreds of produced water spills monthly—and now the oil and gas industry is pushing to put this toxic waste into rivers and on farmland?” said Sobel. “If industry can’t clean up the mess already happening, it has no business expanding the use of produced water.”
WildEarth Guardians is calling on policymakers to strengthen enforcement by requiring state and federal agencies like the OCD, EPA, and BLM to issue meaningful fines, deny permits to repeat violators, and publish all spill-related enforcement actions. The group also demands full chemical disclosure of all substances used and spilled in oil and gas operations—ending trade secret protections that obscure risks from communities and emergency responders.
Finally, the organization calls for hazardous waste laws, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation (CERCLA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), to be fully applied to oil and gas operations. Produced water and other byproducts must be regulated and disposed of as the hazardous waste they are.
“New Mexico’s communities, waters, and air are not sacrificial zones,” said Sobel. “We’ll keep sounding the alarm until regulators stop letting industry pollute with impunity.”
Source: press release