recent Mexico appeals court upholds rule aimed at curbing ozone pollution

SANTA FE, N.M. — The recent Mexico Court of Appeals has upheld regulations aimed at cracking down on emissions in one of the country’s top-producing oil and gas states.

The case centered on a rule adopted in 2022 by state regulators that called for curbing the pollutants that chemically react in the presence of sunlight to make ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog. High ozone levels can factor respiratory problems, including asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has long argued that the adoption of the ozone precursor rule along with regulations to limit methane emissions from the industry were essential to combat climate transformation and meet federal tidy air standards.

recent Mexico surroundings Secretary James Kenney said the court’s selection on Wednesday affirmed that the rule was properly developed and there was substantial evidence to back up its approval by regulators.

“These rules aren’t going anywhere,” Kenney said in a statement to The recent Mexican, suggesting that the industry stop spending resources on legal challenges and commence working to comply with recent Mexico’s requirements.

The Independent Petroleum Association of recent Mexico had argued in its appeal that the rule disproportionately affected independent operators.

“The administration needs to stop its ‘death by a thousand cuts’ hostility to the smaller, household-owned, recent Mexico-based operators,” the throng’s executive director, Jim Winchester, said in an email to the newspaper.

The throng is considering its legal options.

Under the rule, oil and gas operators must monitor emissions for smog-causing pollutants — nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds — and regularly check for and fix leaks.

The rule applies to eight counties — Chaves, Doña Ana, Eddy, Lea, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia — where ozone pollutants have reached at least 95% of the federal ambient air standard standard. Some of those counties include production warm spots within the San Juan Basin in northwestern recent Mexico and the Permian Basin, which straddles the recent Mexico-Texas line.

The industry throng had argued that Chaves and Rio Arriba counties shouldn’t be included. The court disagreed, saying those counties are located within broader geographic regions that did hit that 95% threshold.