New Mexico
New Mexico environmental regulators say majority of Permian Basin operations are violating air quality – Oklahoma Energy Today
New Mexico officials contend that at least 60% of the Permian Basin oil and gas operations they inspected were in violation of EPA air quality standards.
The New Mexico Environment Department announced the results of a six-month inspection initiative done in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It found 75 of the 124 facilities investigated had emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and could be subject to monetary penalties and other actions necessary to comply with requirements pursuant to federal Clean Air Act and state Air Quality Control Act.
Suspected criminal violations will be referred to New Mexico’s Environmental Crimes Task Force for further investigation and potential criminal prosecution of companies or individuals.
During this time, EPA and NMED analyzed data from satellites, regulatory reports and other sources to identify specific sites in the Permian Basin prior to conducting on-site inspections. In April 2024, 14 EPA inspectors and five NMED inspectors took part in joint investigations.
“The results of our federal and state oil and gas investigations are cause for alarm, with a meager 40% compliance rate,” Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said. “With the impacts of climate change ravaging our state and air quality degrading, we have no choice but to increase sanctions on polluters until we see a commitment to change behavior.”
The on-site investigations took place at multiple companies’ operations in the Permian Basin. These companies include Chevron U.S.A. Inc, Earthstone Energy, Inc, Franklin Mountain Energy, Inc, Kaiser Francis Oil Company, Marathon, Permian Resources, Tap Rock and XTO Energy, Inc. Approximately 112 facilities are located in communities with environmental justice concerns due to exposure to higher levels of ozone pollution.
VOCs contribute to the formation of ozone, which causes health problems for New Mexicans, including asthma, lung infections, bronchitis and cancer. Air quality has degraded to unsafe levels in several New Mexican counties, including Lea and Eddy Counties in the Permian Basin. This could result in federal sanctions by the EPA on these counties that will require NMED to institute more restrictive regulations on New Mexico’s industry.
NMED currently regulates over 55,000 facilities with 30 permitting staff and six enforcement staff which results in an untenable workload. In fact, it would take NMED 9.6 years to inspect all permitted sources in New Mexico which is why the Department is currently seeking to raise permit fees and hire additional staff.
Given NMED’s lack of adequate permit fees to expand air quality staff, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the EPA will lead in resolving these enforcement matters. For such cases, at least half of the civil penalties collected in these matters by the DOJ and EPA are paid to the U.S. Treasury as opposed to the New Mexico general fund. In short, if NMED had appropriate resources to take on more cases itself, more money would be going back to the New Mexico legislature for the benefit of New Mexicans.
“Currently, six people are now managing over 114 active enforcement matters which take thousands of hours, so I welcome the resources provided to us by the EPA and DOJ to hold these polluters accountable,” Compliance and Enforcement Section Chief Cindy Hollenberg said.
“As of today, 15% of New Mexico’s Permian Basin oil and gas production is under a federal settlement.”
“NMED has not raised its air quality permit fees in two decades, yet our permitting workload has increased a staggering 2,234 percent,” Director of the Environmental Protection Division Michelle Miano said.
“Our proposal to increase fees paid by the industry is our best chance to help the one in seven New Mexicans who suffer from respiratory ailments to breathe clean air.”
As part of NMED’s efforts to avoid federal sanctions resulting from degrading air quality, the Department has increased its oversight of the oil and gas industry. As a result, NMED has observed compliance rates of around 50%, meaning roughly one out of every two facilities inspected is in violation of federal and state rules. Settlements with the oil and gas industry include the following:
- April 2024 – Ameredev II LLC agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle alleged violations of state air regulations. This is the largest civil penalty collected by the Department with an oil and gas company and the total civil penalty was deposited in the state’s general fund as the DOJ and EPA did not assist in this matter.
- February 2024 – Apache Corporation agreed to pay $4 million in civil penalties and undertake projects expected to cost at least $5.5 million to ensure 422 of its oil and gas well pads in New Mexico and Texas comply with state and federal clean air regulations and offset past illegal emissions. Under the federal/state settlement, the U.S. Treasury received $2 million of the civil penalty and state’s general fund received $2 million.
- December 2023 – Oxy USA, Inc. agreed to pay $1.2 million in civil penalties for operating its facility at major source levels without applying for and obtaining a Title V permit and for exceeding federal standards for oil and gas facilities.
- August 2023 – Mewbourne Oil Company agreed to pay a $5.5 million penalty and to spend at least $4.6 million for projects to ensure 422 of its oil and gas battery pads in New Mexico and Texas comply with state and federal clean air regulations. Under the federal/state settlement, the U.S. Treasury received $2.75 million of the civil penalty and state’s general fund received $2.75 million.
- March 2023 – Matador Production Company agreed to pay $1.15 million in civil penalties and undertake projects expected to cost at least $5.05 million to ensure compliance with both state and federal clean air regulations at all 239 of its New Mexico oil and gas well pads to resolve liability alleged in a civil complaint filed today under the Clean Air Act and state regulation Under the federal/state settlement, the U.S. Treasury received $650,000 of the civil penalty and state’s general fund received $500,000.
The EPA’s inspection reports are available online here: https://www.epa.gov/nm/enforcement-and-compliance-assurance-documents-new-mexico.
Source: press release
CHIMAYO, N.M. (KRQE) – A suspect is dead following a shooting involving the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office in Chimayo on Highway 76. Deputies are said to be okay. New Mexico State Police is investigating the shooting.
KRQE News 13 will provide updates as they become available.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A leader in the New Mexico Republican Party was arrested Wednesday, accused of a deadly hit-and-run in Las Cruces.
Former Treasurer of the Republican Party in New Mexico, Kimberly Ann Skaggs, 54, was arrested Wednesday and charged with leaving the scene and tampering with evidence, jail records show.
Police documents show the charges stem from a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened Monday afternoon, which killed 40-year-old bicyclist, Andrew Brown.
Investigators believed Skaggs was involved after an investigation revealed that Skaggs allegedly was driving fast in the area, fled the scene after the crash and then tried to hide the vehicle from authorities.
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The investigation
According to police documents, a witness at the scene of the crash– 850 N. Fairacres Rd.– described seeing a dark blonde-haired woman flee in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Afterwards, investigators said they saw on Flock cameras– A.I. powered license plate readers– a black Cadillac Escalade traveling near the site of the crash minutes before the incident.
READ MORE: Dona Ana County expands Flock license plate cameras as officials cite crime-solving gains
The license plates showed that the vehicle belonged to Skaggs and that, in September 2025, the Las Cruces Police Department had given her a citation for “racing on streets-exhibition driving.”
Investigators stated that a business on Picacho Ave. captured what they alleged was the same black Cadillac Escalade driving fast.
Then, the documents described how investigators tracked down the Escalade using OnStar’s live GPS tracking, discovering the SUV was at a property on the 5000 block of Northwind Road, which investigators said the Dona Ana County Assessors Office confirmed is a property owned by Skaggs.
On Tuesday, at around 6:41 p.m.– over 24 hours after the deadly hit-and-run– investigators executed a search warrant on the property and described finding the black Cadillac Escalade behind a home, under a red metal carport.
Investigators noted damage on the SUV consistent with the crash, highlighting that there was blood splatter near one of the front tires, markings on the front bumper consistent with hitting a bicycle and parts missing, which investigators said were the same parts found at the scene.
Dona Ana County jail records show Skaggs was booked on Wednesday afternoon and remains jailed without a bond.
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About Skaggs
On the official website of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Skaggs was listed as the treasurer before she was removed.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to the Republican Party to learn more and are waiting for a comment regarding the arrest.
Also, according to election statistics, Skaggs ran for State Representative in District 36 in 2022 and 2024, losing both times to Democrat Nathan P. Small.
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SANTA FE, N.M. – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate whether any Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law when pills reached New Mexico streets.
In a statement, Lujan Grisham said, “make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities.”
The governor also shared a timeline from 2022 to 2025 that she said shows when she asked federal officials for help with New Mexico’s fentanyl crisis and violent crime.
Lujan Grisham said the first request came on June 21, 2022, when she wrote to then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray and asked for 50 additional federal agents.
She said she wrote to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sept. 15, 2022, asking for more agents, resources and support for New Mexico law enforcement.
Lujan Grisham said she wrote Garland a second time on Aug. 8, 2023, with the same request.
What came next?
About a month later, Lujan Grisham said she sent Garland a third letter and said New Mexico needed more federal law enforcement to curb violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
She said her most recent request came on Sept. 4, 2025, when she wrote to former Attorney General Pam Bondi and again asked for additional agents and resources.
The governor’s statement says those requests span several years as she pressed the federal government for more help in New Mexico.
Full statement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:
“I am appalled by reporting this week by the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal that revealed federal authorities made a deliberate decision to let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills flood into New Mexico communities, despite knowing that fentanyl is so lethal the White House has designated it a weapon of mass destruction.
Let me say that again: the Drug Enforcement Administration watched as 74,000 fentanyl pills were delivered to a mobile home park in Albuquerque, and they did nothing. And that’s just one transaction. Shockingly, the federal government stood by while monitoring shipments, tallying exact pill counts, and watching as these deadly drugs hit the streets.
There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were. Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway. The result: hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids. Hundreds of New Mexican kids growing up without stable parents. All while the federal government stood by.
If the justification for letting these pills flood our communities was that it would somehow make New Mexico safer down the road through bigger eventual busts, the results say otherwise. New Mexico now leads the nation in the increase in overdose deaths for the second straight year, despite deaths dropping nationwide.
Today, I wrote to Attorney General Raúl Torrez and asked him to investigate whether any federal agents broke state law when they allowed lethal drugs to remain on our streets, and to prosecute anyone responsible — regardless of whether they are a federal agent or not.
I have spent years working across two administrations — writing letters, traveling to Washington, meeting directly with President Joe Biden and his cabinet, pushing for accountability, asking for more federal agents to be deployed to New Mexico to help fight this crisis.
- On June 21, 2022, I wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, imploring the FBI to assign no less than 50 additional agents to New Mexico to stem escalating drug trafficking and violent crime.
- On September 15, 2022, I wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice provide additional federal agents, resources and support to New Mexico law enforcement. We asked the department to match the level of investigative, analytical, and technical resources the FBI had deployed in its Buffalo, NY surge.
- On August 8, 2023, I wrote again to Attorney General Garland, renewing my request that the DOJ expeditiously assign more federal agents to New Mexico.
- On September 7, 2023, I wrote to Attorney General Garland for a third time, reiterating my request once more federal law enforcement support to curb violent crime, drug and human trafficking.
- On September 4, 2025, I wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, once again requesting additional agents and resources.
I have declared the surge of drugs like fentanyl to be a public health emergency. I have deployed the National Guard to both Albuquerque and Española. While my administration was doing everything we could to stem the tide of fentanyl coming into our state, the federal government deliberately allowed it to flood in.
New Mexican lives are not the federal government’s cost of doing business.
I plan to hold the federal government accountable for this disaster and will explore every possible avenue of action against the federal government to right these wrongs.”
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