New Mexico s air will be cleaner and free of more ozone equivalent to taking 8 million cars off the road, according to some estimates if new requirements from the state s Environment Department go into effect next year.
The NMED on Thursday announced it was removing exemptions from its proposed ozone rules for low-performing or stripper wells after calls from environmental groups that such “loopholes” would exempt most oil and gas wells in New Mexico.
The rules required operators conduct leak detection at least monthly and repair most leaks within 15 days while maintaining records of compliance.
Emission reduction requirements would also be established for equipment like storage vessels, compressors, turbines. heaters, engines, pneumatic devices, produced water management facilities and others.
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Even as the Biden administration has centered climate change throughout the government and proposed billions in clean energy investments, state regulators said at a panel Tuesday they are still best equipped to handle emissions reductions at home. States rights are important … and states like New Mexico need to keep their own rules in place, said Sandra Ely, director of the New Mexico Environment Department, on a panel at the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory s annual 21st Century Energy Transition Symposium. That is especially true given the policy swings between the Trump and Biden administrations, Ely added.
The best role for the federal government in promoting clean energy and transportation is funding, said Brad Crowell, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.