Selective complaining from green groups

THE RECENT op-ed from Kyle Tisdel regarding former New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn going to work for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association is another example of environmental groups complaining about how life is not fair when the deck is not stacked in their favor.

The vast majority of environmental regulations that address the oil and gas industry, which include groundwater quality, soil contamination and spills and releases, are enforced by the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, which is part of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. The New Mexico Environment Department has limited regulatory authority over the oil and natural gas industry, mainly addressing air permitting for compressor engines. As a result, former Secretary Flynn had very limited regulatory authority over the oil and gas industry.

I did not hear Tisdel complain when former EPA Region VI administrator Al Armendariz, who was very hostile to the oil and gas industry during his tenure at Region VI, took a position with the Sierra Club when he left the EPA. I also don’t recall hearing him say there may be a public trust or perception problem with having a PRC employee who used to belong to the Sierra Club reviewing the recent PNM rate case. If there is potential environmental organization influence on regulators that is fine, but potential industry influence is not acceptable. JEFF PEACE Kirtland