Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham delivered her State of the State Address at the commencement of the 57th Regular Legislative Session, outlining her key priorities for the upcoming term. You can read the full transcript here.
Her focus on climate and energy, included:
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Updates to the Oil and Gas Act.
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Establishing a state-sponsored fire insurance program outside the private market to protect families and their homes – and to help make people whole when tragedy strikes.
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A strategic water supply for clean energy projects, advanced manufacturing, and even putting out wildfires.
Water is New Mexico's most valuable resource. The New Mexico oil and gas industry utilizes less than 1 percent of fresh water in their production processes, and NMOGA members are committed to preserving fresh water for generations to come and utilizing science-proven methods to reuse and recycle treated, produced water. In the Governor's address, she stated, "recycled industrial water will not be used for human or animal consumption, or to irrigate our crops. Period." NMOGA requests that science guide her remarks on the appropriate and safe uses of treated, produced water and not politics.
Science driven by research universities, technology companies, government agencies, national laboratories, and private industry has proven that water treated to appropriate standards may safely be utilized for:
- Irrigation for agriculture
- Irrigation for landscaping such as parks, rights-of-ways, and golf courses
- Municipal water supply
- Process water for power plants, refineries, mills, and factories
- Indoor uses such as toilet flushing
- Dust control or surface cleaning of roads, construction sites, and other trafficked areas
- Concrete mixing and other construction processes
- Supplying artificial lakes and inland or coastal aquifers
- Environmental restoration
To learn more these types of uses and research please visit:
- Environmental Protection Agency
- New Mexico Water Research Consortium
- New Mexico Environment Department
NMOGA members are committed to science driving innovation, the conservation of fresh water, and the safe and appropriate uses of treated, produced water.
Watch now to see Ashley Wagner, Vice President of Government Affairs for NMOGA, break down the State of the State: