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Continuing Coverage: Oil And Gas Regulation In New Mexico Outdated
Mónica Ortiz Uribe
Cattle frequently roam around oil production zones in southeast New Mexico.
Unable to keep pace with a booming industry while using an outdated rulebook, a retired oil inspector in New Mexico described his job as “a strenuous exercise in futility.”
In a four-part investigative series KJZZ’s Fronteras: The Changing America Desk reporter Mónica Ortiz Uribe writes about poor regulation of the rapidly growing oil industry in southeast New Mexico during the time when oil topped $100 a barrel.
She focused on political resistance to strengthening regulation of an industry that generates 30 percent of the state’s revenue. She also wrote about how overwhelmed inspectors feel ridiculed on the job and how lax regulation poses a threat to the environment and public safety.
Stories contained in this submission:
Continuing Coverage: Oil And Gas Regulation In New Mexico Outdated (Jan. 5, 2015)
Continuing Coverage: New Mexico's Oil Regulators Have Limited Tools (Jan. 6, 2015)
Continuing Coverage: New Mexico Lawmaker Faces Challenge In Strengthening Oil Regulation (Jan. 7, 2015)
Continuing Coverage: State Oil Inspectors In New Mexico Overwhelmed (Jan. 8, 2015)