A team of inspectors, fourteen from USEPA and five from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), inspected 124 oil and gas facilities operated by eight companies in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin. According to EPA’s news release of July 5, 2024, “75 of the facilities—60 percent—had emissions of Volatile Emission Compounds (VOC) and could be subject to penalties and other enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act (CAA).”

Threat of Increased Sanctions
EPA’s news release quoted NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney: “The results of our federal and state oil and gas investigations are cause for alarm, with a meager 40% compliance rate” and with “the impacts of climate change ravaging our state and air quality degrading, we have no choice but to increase sanctions on polluters until we see a commitment to change behavior.”

Ongoing Attention to Permian Basin Emissions
The inspections are part of EPA’s increasing focus on emissions of VOC, especially methane, from oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin. EPA Region 6 (which includes New Mexico and Texas) Administrator Earthea Nance acknowledged that oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin “are contributing to the energy needs of our country,” but insisted all companies “must comply” with the CAA.

To see the news release https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-nmed-inspections-identify-widespread-emissions-oil-and-gas-facilities-permian

Texas Environmental SuperConference July 31-August 2
I am registered and hope to see many of you in Austin!