Judge Approves Stay in NM Pit Rule Case, Oil and Gas Industry Wants Regulators to Revamp Rule
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A state district judge on Tuesday sided with New Mexico’s oil and gas industry, putting on hold legal appeals related to efforts by the industry to revamp rules for handling drilling and production wastes. The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association had asked for the appeals process to be halted so the state Oil Conservation Commission could tackle the so-called pit rule administratively.
Eric Jantz, an attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said he was disappointed the appellate process will not be able to unfold. Instead, he said the industry is taking advantage of a change in the political climate since the pit rule was first adopted by the commission.
“Groundwater and surface water is really the issue here and whether we want to sacrifice that for oil and gas profits,“ Jantz said. “If that’s the policy debate we have, then let’s have it.“ The Republic