Pause, ensure cleanup of oil, gas wells in Permian Basin

AS A resident of the Permian Basin, I understand it’s an area rich in oil and gas resources and has a long history of oil and gas production, but prolific production has also led to potentially harmful health outcomes.

The Permian Basin, a 160,000-mile area … has little to no monitoring of air quality, with only two air monitors present in New Mexico and Texas combined. It’s important to note air monitoring helps protect health. The increased risk for health problems like cancer and asthma are higher in the Permian area of Texas and New Mexico, with respectively higher rates in these areas compared to other areas of the states. Increased oil and gas production over the past few years has certainly increased pollution and increased risk for negative health outcomes.

Oil and gas production has rebounded, yet jobs are down by 26% and some predict these jobs may never return. This means less local economic income, but also less monitoring to ensure spills are cleaned in an effective and timely manner. Current state rules require companies to self-report any leaks or waste cleanup, so with less staff and high production many spills could go underreported. This is compounded by the fact that 60,000 wells will eventually need to be remediated.

Estimates for cleanup show the state is at an $8.1 billion deficit to effectively clean all sites. This burden will be left to the state and taxpayers. This is one cost we can estimate. Unfortunately, the costs to human health now and in the future are unknown. This is why we need to take a pause on new oil and gas leasing on public lands and create bond reform to ensure human and environmental health are protected now and for future generations.

ANTHONY LOPEZ COOK

Carlsbad