Oilfield equipment that emits smog-causing pollution would be targeted by New Mexico environmental regulators under a proposed rule made public by the state Environment Department.
The release of the proposal marks the next step in a process that started nearly 2 years ago as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other top Democrats in the state announced their intentions to curb emissions across the oil and natural gas sector. The state created a working group made up of industry, environmentalists, and other experts to help in crafting the regulations.
The rules proposed by the state Environment Department are part of a two-pronged approach, which Environment Secretary James Kenney touted as the most comprehensive effort in the US to tackle pollution blamed for exacerbating climate change. State oil and gas regulators adopted separate rules earlier this year to limit venting and flaring as a way to reduce methane pollution.
The Environment Department opted to remove all exemptions from an earlier version of its rule that was drafted last year. The proposal also includes minimum requirements for operators to calculate their emissions and have them certificated by an engineer and to find and fix leaks on a monthly basis.