SENATE MEMORIAL 8

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart and Brenda G. McKenna

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO STUDY AND RECOMMEND LEGISLATION FOR ESTABLISHING SETBACKS FOR OIL AND GAS FACILITIES.

 

     WHEREAS, oil and gas facilities emit air pollutants that are hazardous to human health and the environment; and

     WHEREAS, these air pollutants include pollutants designated by the environmental protection agency as hazardous "criteria air pollutants", which are known or suspected to cause serious human health effects or adverse environmental effects; and

     WHEREAS, human health risks from criteria air pollutants emitted from oil and gas facilities include cancer, impacts to the central nervous system and adverse respiratory effects; and

     WHEREAS, the primary criteria air pollutants directly emitted from oil and gas facilities are particulate matter and nitrogen oxides; and

     WHEREAS, human health risks from particulate matter include premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, decreased lung function and increased respiratory symptoms, and human health risks from nitrogen oxides include swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract and reduced oxygenation of body tissues; and

     WHEREAS, there is a reasonable degree of scientific certainty that living in close proximity to oil and gas facilities may result in increased human health risks from elevated air pollution levels; and

     WHEREAS, a 2021 study estimated that more than thirty-five thousand New Mexico residents live within one thousand feet of a well site regulated under the department of environment's ozone precursor pollutants rule, and of those, over two thousand seven hundred are children under the age of five; more than four thousand five hundred are adults age sixty-five or older; more than five thousand seven hundred are living in poverty; and nineteen thousand are people of color, including more than five thousand eight hundred Native Americans; and

     WHEREAS, maps show that one hundred forty-four thousand three hundred seventy-seven New Mexico residents and students live or go to school within one-half mile of an oil and gas facility, including seventy-one thousand seven hundred eighty-eight people of color and twenty-seven thousand nine hundred seventy-five students at one hundred nineteen schools; and

     WHEREAS, oil and gas facilities present a risk of harm to the surrounding environment, including contamination of surface waters; and

     WHEREAS, pathways for contamination of surface waters, rivers and streams include on-site spills and leakage; leaching and improper disposal or treatment of wastewater; wastewater storage systems that are aging or not properly designed, constructed or monitored; wastewater storage systems that are not properly closed or cleaned up; improper storage or disposal of drilling and production wastes in pits; and storm water runoff during construction or from established well pads; and

     WHEREAS, establishing setbacks for new oil and gas facilities to reduce proximity and exposure to humans and the natural environment is a targeted strategy to protect public health and the environment; and

     WHEREAS, there is no authority under the Oil and Gas Act to establish setbacks for oil and gas facilities;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the energy, minerals and natural resources department be requested to evaluate the risks to humans and the environment from proximity to oil and gas facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and natural resources department be requested to consult with relevant stakeholders on such risks and how to mitigate those risks by establishing setbacks for oil and gas facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and natural resources department be requested to recommend legislation to the first session of the fifty-seventh legislature to establish setbacks for oil and gas facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources.

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