Latest draft of New Mexico oil, gas rules stirs tension

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Advocates for the oil and gas industry and the environment are at odds over the latest draft of proposed regulations to tamp down on smog-causing pollution. The Albuquerque Journal reports a New Mexico Environment Department panel will hear the agency’s proposed new rules at a hearing later this month. Industry stakeholders think these new regulations would put the state’s budget and hundreds of jobs at risk. Some of the proposed rules include professional engineers certifying emissions data from oil and gas operators and more equipment inspections. Environmental activists fear it doesn’t go far enough. Oil and gas advocates say it’s too expensive to implement some of these changes.