Southwest
New Mexico's first step toward reuse of fracking water met with public concern
Environmental officials in New Mexico took initial steps Monday toward regulating the treatment and reuse of oil industry fracking water as the state grapples with scarce water supplies and fossil fuel producers confront shrinking opportunities for wastewater disposal.
A state water quality commission opened a weeklong series of hearings as the nation’s No. 2 state for petroleum production begins to build out a series of rules that initially prohibit the release after treatment of so-called produced water from oil and gas production while still opening the way for pilot projects.
“The rule is prohibitive when it comes to any type of release of any type of produced water, whether treated or untreated,” said Andrew Knight, assistant general counsel to the state Environment Department, in opening statements. “At this point, we couldn’t even tell you what testing would be needed to determine that a certain treatment technology or combination of technologies would be protective.”
BIDEN ADMIN ENACTS FIRST-EVER PFAS ‘FOREVER CHEMICAL’ LIMITS ON DRINKING WATER
He said the agency’s initial rule would be “as protective as possible while still allowing the science to advance through pilot and then demonstration projects.”
The proposal is generating public protests that give voice to fears of undisclosed contaminants used in the oil- and gas-drilling process. At the same time, oil producers and at least one water service provider say the regulations don’t provide specific water quality standards that might help effective treatment projects move forward.
The Environment Department “apparently wants a regulation to be able to deny a permit based on the source of the water, not its quality,” said Liz Newlin Taylor, an attorney for Select Water Solutions, a Houston-based water-management company for energy producers with operations in Carlsbad. “New Mexico certainly needs additional sources of water, and treated produced water could be part of this solution. These proposed regulations, however, failed.”
Protesters gather outside the New Mexico Statehouse to denounce a proposed rule for the treatment and recycling of oil-industry fracking water on May 6, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (AP Photos/Morgan Lee)
Several environmental groups are urging the Environment Department to strike definitions that refer to the reuse of treated water in agriculture, recreational fields, rangeland and potable water.
“The public, understandably, is concerned that the rule allows land application of produced water, and that produced water will infiltrate and pollute groundwater,” said Tannis Fox, an attorney representing environmental groups Amigos Bravos and The Sierra Club. “This is not what the rule says, but it is what members of the public are concerned about.”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has pitched plans for the state to underwrite a strategic new source of water by buying and selling treated water that originates from the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling. Related legislation stalled at the Legislature in February without a House or Senate floor vote, but the governor has said she’ll persist.
Several dozen protesters gathered last week outside the state Capitol to condemn the oil wastewater rule. They included the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging the state has failed to meet constitutional provisions for protecting against oil and gas pollution.
Another protester, Reyes DeVore, of Jemez Pueblo and the Native American environmental rights group Pueblo Action Alliance, said, “We collectively stand in opposition to the reuse of toxic oil and gas wastewater outside of the oil field.”
“The strategic water supply that the Gov. Grisham announced, it’s not a real solution,” she said.
Expert testimony submitted by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association paints a dire portrait of competition in New Mexico for water resources among cities, farms, industry and wildlife — even as oil-industry water demands grow for fracking.
“Over the next 50 years, New Mexico will have approximately 25% less water available in rivers and aquifers,” said John D’Antonio, who previously served as New Mexico’s top water regulator — the state engineer. “It impacts everything from municipal planning to population growth to economic activity.”
Other expert testimony from the association notes that oil companies have more and more produced water to dispose of as they increase drilling activity — with decreasing capacity for disposal because of concerns including earthquakes linked to high-pressure injection wells. The industry generates four or five barrels of wastewater for every barrel of oil produced, said Robert Balch of the Petroleum Research Recovery Center at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
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