Earlier this year, environmental advocates in New Mexico waited patiently for the outcome of a battle they’ve now relived three times in less than a year.
Victory
On February 7, 2026 after a nearly 5-hour long hearing, by a 5-4 vote, the State House Agriculture, Acequias And Water Resources Committee decided to table a bill that would have forced New Mexico to adopt rules and permit the use of oil and gas wastewater for a variety of purposes outside of the oil fields.
Oil and gas wastewater, or produced water as the industry terms it, contains varying amounts of salts, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, carcinogens, and radioactive materials. This wastewater is part rock and salt water from underground and part chemicals and additives from the drilling and fracking processes. As a result, any use outside of the oil field can pose dangerous risks of contamination to New Mexico’s waters.
HB207, as originally introduced, required the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC), the state’s water pollution control agency, to authorize the discharge of treated oil and gas wastewater to New Mexico’s rivers and streams along with a variety of uses outside of the oil field, including road spreading. Roadspreading is the dumping of the wastewater on roads for use as a dust suppressant. This practice, in particular, has come under heavy scrutiny recently as studies of wastewater show it to be both less effective at dust control than commercial alternatives and potentially pose risks to human health and the environment.
Just last year, the WQCC decided these were not risks worth taking.
A through process: prohibiting wastewater discharge
In May 2025, the Commission completed a thorough rulemaking process to prohibit discharges of produced water to surface waters and groundwater (see Earthworks and partners’ comment supporting the draft rule prohibiting discharge). The rulemaking lasted 18 months and included thousands of pages of evidence and testimony from experts, scientists, and non-profits. Based on all of the available evidence at the time, the commission decided to prohibit reuse of oil and gas outside the oil field finding, “insufficient evidence exists at this time to ensure that discharges of untreated or treated produced water are protective of human health or the environment.”
The rule adopted last year did, however, allow for certain pilot projects to proceed.
These non-discharging pilot projects allow the Commission to compile additional evidence and fill in needed data gaps to more conclusively decide whether treatment is adequate to prevent contamination. The rule also sunsets after 5 years, meaning the potential for reuse could be revisited in a few years after compiling more evidence from pilot studies in a way that does not risk contaminating New Mexico’s water resources. In other words, the commission declined to put the cart before the horse and decided to allow more time to answer some unsettled questions about the effectiveness of the treatment process.
The oil and gas industry demands a second-look
Before the ink could dry on this rule, an oil and gas industry-aligned group called the WATR Alliance filed a petition asking the WQCC to revisit the decision and allow the discharge of treated oil and gas wastewater. Having just finished a lengthy year and half long legal process, the WQCC was back answering the same question again. This time, though, the petition failed for a different reason. After initially agreeing to hear the petition, the WQCC reversed its decision.
The commission voted to vacate the decision to advance the petition due, in part, to “the appearance of impropriety.” This decision followed a public outcry after the Santa Fe New Mexican revealed emails between the governor’s office and commissioners, including one from a staffer in Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office urging commissioners to get the rule “over the finish line,” which advocates argued tainted the process.
Not long after this second attempt failed, HB 207 was introduced. This represented a third attempt to loosen restrictions on the handling of oil and gas waste in less than a year.
‘A formidable resistance’
Despite the late introduction of the bill during the short thirty-day legislative session, community members and environmental advocates quickly formed a formidable resistance. Led by groups like Amigos Bravos, Western Environmental Law Center, Citizen Caring for the Future, Wildearth Guardians and with support from Earthworks, they compiled factsheets, answered questions from legislators, packed the committee hearing, and provided impassioned public comments, which featured dozens of contributers, including Earthworks state policy manager.
In the end the committee ultimately decided not to move forward with the bill. In the face of relentless pressure from industry and the governor’s office, a group of dedicated advocates prevailed again and again (and again).
But the fight continues
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. A couple of weeks after the 2026 legislative session ended, WATR Alliance submitted yet another petition to allow reuse of treated produced water outside of the oil field. The WQCC is expected to vote on whether to schedule a hearing on the latest petition on May 12th, and the dedicated advocates fighting to protect New Mexico’s precious water resources from contamination of oil and gas waste byproducts will have to relive this fight at least one more time.