OPINION: Governor’s Strategic Water Supply Act is contrary to science

Donald Trump’s re-election and the implementation of Project 2025 mark an escalation of corporate impunity, environmental deregulation and fossil fuel expansion. Nowhere is this threat more pronounced — and the opportunity for resistance more urgent — than in New Mexico.

The Permian Basin, spanning New Mexico and Texas, is the world’s most productive oilfield. It accounts for a staggering share of global emissions, with projected extraction through 2050 consuming nearly 10% of the remaining global carbon budget that is required to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius/34.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Despite these dire stakes, the fossil fuel industry’s grip on New Mexico’s economy and politics has created a system where corporate profits take precedence over community well-being. Oil and gas production has increased tenfold since 2010, yet New Mexico ranks near the bottom in child wellbeing, educational attainment and income inequality, exposing the failures of extractive industries to deliver on their promises of prosperity.

Now, New Mexico faces a water scarcity crisis, and the governor’s Strategic Water Supply Act proposes to address it by committing $75 million in public funds to incentivize the oil and gas industry’s toxic wastewater “treatment.” This approach risks turning water scarcity into a full-blown legal and ecological disaster while shifting the burden of failure onto taxpayers.

The SWS Act is riddled with ambiguities. Its goal to “expand water reuse opportunities” is overly broad and could authorize projects that lack credible scientific support. The Act also demands compliance with water quality standards that do not yet exist, as no scientifically-based standards for treated produced water reuse have been established. Without these assurances, reuse projects risk public health, legal challenges and costly taxpayer liabilities.

NMED’s own feasibility study reveals the economic futility of the plan. Treating produced water is exorbitantly expensive, with one Permian Basin project estimating a net cost of $202 million to $238 million, even after factoring in end-user payments. The plan also lacks financial safeguards, leaving taxpayers liable when oil and gas companies inevitably offload environmental responsibilities onto bankrupt entities.

The SWS plan also ignores evidence from other states where produced water reuse has caused environmental harm. For instance, the NMED study highlights Eureka Resources in Pennsylvania as a model for treatment and discharge. Yet it fails to mention that all three of Eureka’s facilities have closed, its fourth planned facility was shelved, and the company is on the brink of bankruptcy. Eureka’s operations left pollution, contamination and worker harm in their wake, including one death.

Similarly, the study mentions discharges of treated and untreated produced water into streams in Wyoming, noting the “high quality” of the water but omitting the fact that many Wyoming waterways are now “incapable of supporting aquatic life.” In Pennsylvania, treated produced water discharged into streams delivered high doses of radium to downstream organisms, devastating ecosystems and threatening public health.

These examples demonstrate the unacceptable risks of reusing or discharging treated fracking waste, particularly in water-scarce states like New Mexico. Our communities cannot afford to repeat the costly and hazardous mistakes of others.

The Strategic Water Supply Act is neither strategic nor sustainable. It prioritizes corporate interests over public health, environmental safety and economic responsibility. By failing to resolve legal uncertainties, ignoring scientific standards and neglecting the economic risks, the plan deepens New Mexico’s water crisis while offering no real solutions.

New Mexico deserves better. Instead of subsidizing a polluting industry, legislators must prioritize initiatives that protect our water resources, safeguard public health and transition to a sustainable future.

Elaine Cimino lives in Rio Rancho.