NM Environment Department pushes for water reuse rules to move forward

The New Mexico Environment Department is moving forward in its efforts to outline rules for recycling water amid a megadrought. The agency is asking a state water division to approve its proposed regulations on the reuse of water that’s a byproduct of oil and gas in New Mexico.

It’s a way to address the state’s water crisis in the face of a dwindling supply of water sources.

This is the first of several expected rules focused on guiding the future of water reuse in New Mexico, according to the Environment Department.

These initial regulations are focused on produced water, which comes out of the ground with oil and gas extraction. The water isn’t safe to drink and has to be treated in order to safely be reused.

The Environment Department’s proposed rule would allow treated, produced water to be used for certain types of projects — not for drinking — in New Mexico as long as there’s no discharge to the surface or groundwater.

The proposal also clarifies how organizations can test produced water treatment technologies. Under the regulations, the Environment Department could authorize feasibility studies on treating produced water that could become drinking water.

An example of a project that the Environment Department could approve is a hemp farm using produced water. NMED spokesperson Matthew Maez said there’s already a pilot project doing that. He said another hypothetical example would be generating green hydrogen using produced water. Neither project discharges or could discharge.

Maez said the New Mexico Environment Department would review all proposed related projects.

The agency petitioned the Water Quality Control Commission on Wednesday to consider the proposal. That’s the entity that has to approve the regulations before the Environment Department can adopt them.

John Rhoderick, water protection division director, said the department petitioned the commission to get on its January agenda to present the draft rule and have a hearing on it in March.

If approved, Rhoderick said the rule would likely go into effect in June .

Why?The 2019 Produced Water Act prompted the Environment Department to develop rules on the reuse of treated produced water, according to the agency.

Rhoderick said this new rule would ensure the Environment Department is more consistent in water reuse rather than handling it on a case-by-case basis.

He said there are already some ongoing projects with treated water, like a project in Rio Rancho where wastewater is treated, reinjected into the ground and pulled out again about a mile away. But those are projects with one-off permits, he said, and there’s not an overarching process to follow every time.

This is also an initiative to protect the state’s freshwater supplies amid a drought that’s only expected to get worse, Rhoderick said.

“We’re already dealing with dwindling water supplies, both surface and groundwater, and they’re just not recovering,” he said. “And so this is making it important and extremely time sensitive that we begin to look at alternative sources of water to take the load off of our freshwater sources.”

And that’s what water reuse does, he said.

“It takes water that would otherwise just be discarded, unfit for use and looks for ways to treat it and use it in processes that would otherwise have to use fresh water,” he said.

New Mexico is one of the top states in the nation in oil and gas production, and much more produced water than oil and gas is generated during extraction.

In 2021, the state’s oil and gas industry generated about 60 billion gallons of produced water, according to New Mexico State University Produced Water Research Consortium. That’s over 160 million gallons per day, which is equal to the state’s total daily municipal water consumption, according to the consortium.

Rhoderick said this rule if adopted will also create good jobs and incentivize private investment.

“(It will) allow for expansion of our economy in New Mexico, economic development, growth of communities — none of which will happen if we don’t have water available,” he said.

ConcernsMany environmental advocates say the chemically infused water that comes with oil and gas extraction is unsafe and untreatable.

However, Rhoderick said the science is there to treat what’s in the water.

“The technology is there. The issue becomes socializing the concepts so that it becomes acceptable to humans,” he said.

He said there’s constant monitoring of treated water and the companies treating the water to make sure it’s safe. There’s no acceptable risk of health and safety in reusing water, Rhoderick said.

That’s why industries can’t discharge water on the ground, he said.

“The intent of the rule is to make sure that we exercise due caution to make sure that we don’t inadvertently create a bigger problem or put people at risk,” he said.

Rhoderick said New Mexico is tracking what’s happening with water reuse in other states. He said the Environment Department is also working with educational institutes like New Mexico State University on treating polluted water.

The state is also already reusing domestic wastewater for things like irrigating golf courses or soccer fields, he said. Rhoderick said New Mexico is at the forefront of the nation for using reclaimed wastewater, and his agency wants to see that expand.

Rhoderick said the Environment Department used an advisory committee that included environmental groups, individuals and tribal governments, while developing the draft rule.

“I don’t think anybody gets 100% of what they want out of it, but I think we’ve got something that is moving us the right direction and that is going to be supported,” he said.

He said water reuse has become more viable and cost-effective than it used to be.

“Not every community can afford to put in a billion dollar treatment facility, let alone operate it,” he said. “But there are other options out there, and so that’s what we’re looking at.”

Even as water reuse becomes more economically feasible, he said, price isn’t as huge of an issue when you’re faced with no water.

“That’s ultimately what we’ve got to do, is not only protect the resources but protect people here in the state and make sure that we sustain it for us and for future generations,” he said.

Rhoderick said the Environment Department hopes to go back to the Water Quality Control Commission in fall or winter 2024 to further expand on the state’s water reuse rules, eventually looking at all types of reuse.