Court Backs New Mexico’s Ozone Pollution Rule

Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. Charlie Riedel/AP Photo

The New Mexico Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed the state’s rule designed to reduce emissions of ozone precursor pollutants from oil and gas operators in counties with high ozone levels.

The ruling pertains to the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico’s (IPANM) appeal challenging the Environmental Improvement Board’s adoption of the rule in 2022, which IPANM claimed was “unlawful.”

The rule requires oil and gas operators in eight counties—Chaves, Dona Ana, Eddy, Lea, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Sandoval, and Valencia—to conduct monthly leak inspections and comply with emission standards for nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

Ozone precursors are nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that chemically react in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight, producing ground-level ozone, which can be harmful to human health.

In a 22-page opinion order filed on Wednesday, the court rejected IPANM’s claims that the board relied on flawed and outdated data for its ozone precursor rule.

“Other than summarily stating that the Board needed to update the modeling it relied on to account for the changes in the proposed rule, Appellant does not develop an argument supporting its contention that the Board’s conclusions were not supported by substantial evidence,” the order stated.

IPANM had argued that the rule should not apply to Chaves and Rio Arriba counties as there was no evidence that ozone levels in these counties exceeded 95 percent of the federal ambient air quality standard.

But the court rejected this argument, noting that both counties are located “within the area of the state” where ozone concentrations exceeded the threshold.

The rule exempts small businesses from certain requirements. It defined small businesses as independently owned entities with gross annual revenues of less than $250,000 and employing 10 or fewer staff.

IPANM asked the court to strike the gross revenue provision, saying it was arbitrary because revenue “has no connection to the actual size of the business” and is tied to the fluctuating oil and gas market prices.

The court disagreed, citing the board’s explanation that its inclusion of the gross annual revenue provision helped balance the cost of compliance with a company’s ability to finance those costs.

Evidence presented by the New Mexico Environment Department showed that the annual average cost of compliance was $37,945. It also indicated that, on average, compliance costs a small business facility $4,385 per well, and “very few companies have a revenue per well less than that,” according to the opinion order.

The Epoch Times reached out to IPANM for comment but has not heard back as of publication time.

State regulators have projected that the rule will reduce ozone precursor pollutant emissions by about 260 million pounds annually and methane emissions by more than 851 million pounds per year.