April 2024
Fossil Fuel companies have left behind wells that leak toxins and operate existing wells too close to public places. Stephanie Garcia Richard, Commissioner of Public Lands, and EOPA NM Leadership Council member spoke about those dangers and what the legacy of the toxins does to communities. She said that oil and gas wells leaking methane can be seen from space with NASA satellites.
Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands, is leading an effort to hold the industry accountable for the state’s 1,700 abandoned wells. The unplugged wells are located on state and privately owned land with still more on federal and tribal lands.
“If those oil and gas wells needed to be properly plugged, we put the onus on the oil and gas industry to plug those wells properly on their own dimes,” Richard stressed. “Because those abandoned and orphaned gas wells are sometimes the worst offenders of emissions out in the oil field.”