Annual Report 3 - New Mexico - Energy, Minerals and Natural ...

Oil Conservation Division
A Message from Acting Division Director Mark Fesmire
ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Mark Fesmire, PE
Acting Division Director
In addition to its traditional regulatory activities associated with preventing the waste of New Mexico’s oil and gas resources and
protecting the correlative rights of mineral owners, the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) is committed to the protection of human
health and the environment, prevention of future contamination of New Mexico’s water and soil from oil and gas operations and to the
identification and remediation of historical contamination that has damaged our state’s environment or resources.
To accomplish these objectives, OCD manages permits for drilling and operational activities, collects data on operations, conducts
hearings to resolve disputes among stakeholders, prosecutes enforcement actions and inspects wells and associated facilities and
operations. We also identify and remediate historical conditions and improperly plugged or abandoned wells.
Over the last eight years, OCD has proposed, advocated for and promulgated rules that expand public participation and openness in
the rulemaking process, provide enforcement capability to the division to pursue violators, provide regulatory oversight in oilfield waste
disposal and increase the protection of water resources during the use of oilfield pits, sumps and below-grade tanks.
The most prominent of these actions is the “Pit Rule” which became law on June 16, 2008. This rule requires proper management of oil
and gas waste to protect groundwater which is 90 percent of New Mexico’s drinking water. Prior to the enactment of this rule, oil and gas
operators self-reported 421 cases of ground water contamination caused by pits. Since this rule became effective over two and a half years
ago, there has not been a single case of ground water contamination reported to OCD.
OCD makes every effort to be proactive when it comes to human health and safety as well as protecting the environment. OCD
performed an assessment of the state’s brine wells because of recent brine well collapses in southern New Mexico and Texas. Findings
from the assessment identified a brine well in a commercial, transportation and residential area of the City of Carlsbad as a candidate for
imminent catastrophic collapse. OCD immediately engaged in a cooperative approach to help mitigate or eliminate the hazard by working
closely with the City of Carlsbad, the owner of the well and other state and local government entities. We continue to participate in the
joint effort to protect the public and to monitor the well with an early warning detection system until a successful resolution is achieved.
The dedicated staff in OCD will move proudly forward, protecting our precious water resources and leaving a natural resource heritage
for the benefit of all New Mexicans.
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