WPX Energy settles with Carlsbad family for oil and gas wastewater spill in January 2020

Penny Aucoin and her husband Dee George said they awoke in the early hours of the morning on Jan. 21, 2020 to a pipeline across the street from their home in southern Carlsbad spraying oil and gas wastewater all over their yard and house.

Owned by WPX, the line had split and released produced water – a combination of flowback from hydraulic fracturing and formation water brought to the surface along with crude oil – and natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons, she said.

The spill damaged Aucoin’s property, coating the home and contaminating the soil with what she feared was a toxic mix of chemicals.

More:Water pipeline explosion from oil, gas operation leaves Carlsbad family seeking answers

Several animals on the property were injured.

About a year later, Aucoin said WPX had settled with the family and they planned to buy a new home this month and move out of the area that quickly became surrounded by oil and gas operations during the recent production boom in the Permian Basin.

The company also settled with George’s parents who own property across the street also impacted by the spill, under undisclosed terms.

More:Oil and gas market collapse plagued southeast New Mexico's economy in late 2020

She couldn’t divulge the details of the settlement reached on Monday but Aucoin said she was pleased although the dangers fracking and oil and gas operations pose to the environment and nearby residents remained.

“WPX has settled with me and my family. I’m pleased,” Aucoin said. “The dispute has been resolved amicably. What troubles me is that people are unaware of the dangers of fracking.”

Produced water stirs discussions

The topic of produced water became controversial in recent years as oil and gas production grew to record levels in 2018 and 2019 in the arid region of southeast New Mexico.

More:Hearings begin on New Mexico's proposed oil and gas methane venting and flaring rules

Traditionally, the water was pumped back underground via an injection well, but recently companies began recycling it for subsequent fracking operations.

The State of New Mexico recently began efforts to research the water produced during extraction, hoping to treat it for use outside of the industry.

The water often contains a proprietary blend of chemicals and other materials kept private by companies, making research a challenge.

More:New Mexico oil and gas industry condemns Deb Haaland nomination as secretary of interior

But whatever is actually in the water, Aucoin said it is “toxic” and “dangerous” waste material that should be treated as such.

"I live in a fracking warzone,” she said. “It is sad people need to leave their homes. I pray and ask for our government to wake up and see how harmful this is to New Mexico and its citizens.”

WPX Spokesman Kelly Swan said the settlement with the Aucoins was reached after negotiations and the terms were private and undisclosed.

More:Oil and gas market decimated by COVID-19 in 2020, production poised for recovery next year

He said it was important for the company to support local residents in the areas WPX operates and that the company has a strong record of preventing spills.

“We value the relationships we have and care about our record, our reputation and working together,” Swan said. “We have a strong record around fluid management. Statistics show we have a 99.988% spill prevention rate, keeping oil and produced water within our systems.”

Calls for stronger state oversight of oil and gas operators

Mariel Nanasi, an attorney with New Energy Economy who represented the Aucoin family said throughout the process of getting the spill cleaned up and remediated, it was clear New Mexico oil and gas regulators were “lacking” in oversight.

More:New Mexico tracking, reporting oil and gas pollution via mobile app on iPhone, Android

Both the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) were slow to respond to the incident, Nanasi said, and did little to fix the problem.

“One of the most serious issues that have come up repeatedly during this process, is it is not only what oil and gas industry is doing to our land and water for short term profit,” she said.

“It is the government that is responsible, obligated and has a duty to enforce and regulate industry. The fact is they have been complicit.”

EMNRD spokesperson Susan Torres said the department did work to remediate the spill and used all the resources it could via its Oil Conservation Division to address Aucoin's concerns. 

"When the spill was reported the Oil Conservation Division worked with all relevant agencies and the parties involved to remediate the site," Torres said. "We will continue our work to ensure that spills like this are cleaned up quickly and thoroughly in the future.

More:Environmental groups call for tougher state methane restrictions on oil and gas operations

Nanasi said stronger regulations for produced water and oil and gas waste were needed to ensure similar incidents to what befell the Aucoins later year.

She said she hoped New Mexico lawmakers would support efforts to amend the Produced Water Act to strengthen the regulations to minimize the use of freshwater in drilling operations, make the discharge of produced water illegal and establish penalties for violations.

Nanasi also called for companies to be required by the state to publicly disclose the chemicals in the water.

More:New Mexico oil and gas pollution persists amid climate change concerns

“This is one of things that we’re trying to do to rise from the ashes not only for what happened to Penny and her family, but this is an ongoing environmental disaster in Carlsbad,” she said.

“From cradle to grave, the oil and gas industry has had a nefarious impact on our land and environment. It’s all for short term profit. We should keep it in the ground. Our obligation is to future generations.”

NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney advocated for stronger regulations on produced water, as both departments undertook rulemaking processes to establish stronger regulations on the management and use of wastewater from oil and gas. 

As the Aucoin's incident occurred within the oilfield, it was out of NMED's jurisdiction and was under the oversight of the Oil Conservation Division. 

But Kenney said the events exemplified the need for lawmakers to create stronger state regulations and resources to protect New Mexicans and the environment from the impacts of extraction. 

“When an oil and gas operator like WPX fails to manage its operations – they need to immediately take responsibility. This includes making impacted residents whole as soon as possible while they remediate environmental impacts," Kenney said. 

"No New Mexicans – including the Aucoin family –should have their health and livelihood disrupted simply because they live near oil and natural gas infrastructure.

"As the Environment Department strengthens its regulations under the Produced Water Act, we recognize the need for enforceable regulations and increased oversight over this industry.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.