{"id":48571,"date":"2026-02-11T15:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=48571"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:46:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:46:34","slug":"new-mexico-again-debates-greenhouse-gas-reductions-as-snow-melts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexico-again-debates-greenhouse-gas-reductions-as-snow-melts\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico Again Debates Greenhouse Gas Reductions as Snow Melts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Lawmakers table bill to expand use of oilfield wastewater and shoot down another that would restrict drone use around \u201ccritical\u201d infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>by Jerry Redfern, Capital and Main<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-background\" style=\"background-color:#8080801f\"><em><strong>This <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/new-mexico-again-debates-greenhouse-gas-reductions-as-snow-melts\">story<\/a> was originally published at <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/\">Capital and Main<\/a>, a NMPBS partner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Environmental Activists Make Pilgrimage to Santa Fe\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9lKgj-USOMw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A contentious bill<\/strong> to dramatically reduce New Mexico\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions remains in play at this year\u2019s legislative session after two hearings. Meanwhile, a controversial bill to pave the way for treated oilfield wastewater to be used outside the drilling operations was shot down after nearly five hours of debate on Saturday. And another bill that would have sharply restricted the use of drones around \u201ccritical infrastructure,\u201d including oil and gas operations and pipelines, was quashed before it could limit a powerful tool for documenting spills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its initial form, the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1McAmxFg9pfwPn3h5vtNURznMaz16geFDNKTWlyn5-tQ\/edit?tab=t.u707likdhma5\">Water Quality Commission Produced Water Rules<\/a> bill would have kicked the state Water Quality Control Commission into gear to create rules to allow treated wastewater water to be used for all sorts of things: cement, hydrogen production, geothermal energy and even watering \u201cindustrial\u201d crops and discharge into waterways \u2014 the last two being particularly controversial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oilfield wastewater \u2014 also known as produced water \u2014 is highly saline and can contain radioactive elements, toxic organic compounds and other contaminants from the well drilling process. Its toxic nature has kept it highly regulated. But record-breaking oil and gas production in the Permian Basin has also created record-breaking amounts of produced water, leading to problems with its disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, companies reinject the water back underground, but that has led to more frequent <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/as-new-mexico-shakes-state-cancels-dozens-of-planned-wastewater-injection-sites\">earthquakes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/news\/28012026\/new-lawsuit-claims-catastrophic-impacts-from-permian-basin-injection-wells\/\">failed wells<\/a>. Producers are desperate for another way to get rid of the water, even as New Mexico faces a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ose.nm.gov\/DroughtTaskForce\/#gsc.tab=0\">growing water crisis<\/a>. The dream is to clean the water so it can be used outside the oilfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before Saturday\u2019s hearing, the bill\u2019s sponsors stripped out the most controversial possible uses, but public comment still ran 75-18 against the proposed legislation. \u201cThe reputation of New Mexico chile is at stake!\u201d an Albuquerque resident testified, loudly, referring to the state\u2019s famed peppers. \u201cDon\u2019t frack with our chile!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After hours of debate by the House Agriculture, Acequias &amp; Water Resources Committee, the legislation was tabled. Democrats on the committee weren\u2019t convinced of the produced water\u2019s safety or the bill\u2019s need. Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Do\u00f1a Ana) led the arguments and spent nearly an hour picking the bill apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the effort sounds familiar, it should. Last year, a push to get the Water Quality Control Commission to reconsider a fresh ruling to postpone broader use of produced water use exploded after <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/new-mexico-governor-puts-finger-on-scale-in-oilfield-wastewater-vote\">reporting showed<\/a> Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had meddled in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tannis Fox, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, testified against the bill on Saturday, as she did last year. Before it was heard, she said, \u201cThe oil and gas industry is relentless in its efforts to obtain authorization for the reuse \u2026 of treated produced water. And industry has the support of the current administration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One-month legislative sessions like this year\u2019s are nominally devoted to creating a budget, and legislators need an executive message from the governor to debate nonmonetary matters like this one. Gov. Lujan Grisham <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.state.nm.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/House-Executive-Message-055-1.pdf\">provided<\/a> that on Jan. 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe governor\u2019s message is not an endorsement of the bill as drafted and introduced; rather, a message allows for the bill to advance through the legislative process, including debate and possible amendments,\u201d Michael Coleman, the governor\u2019s director of communications, said before the hearing. \u201cThe governor remains committed to advancing responsible and protective produced water reuse rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After it was shot down, Fox said the bill, among other problems, \u201cwould have forced a new produced water rule on an extremely rushed timeline. \u2026 That would have deprived the commission of the rigor needed to write a rule that would keep New Mexicans and our water resources safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite that, she expects proponents to resurrect the petition that died last summer, continuing the fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmlegis.gov\/Legislation\/Legislation?Chamber=S&amp;LegType=B&amp;LegNo=136&amp;year=26\">Unlawful Use of Unmanned Aircraft<\/a> bill had its first and only hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It would have restricted flying drones around \u201ccritical infrastructure,\u201d including communications and electric networks, water pipelines, jails and prisons, child detainment facilities, military installations, airports, private property \u2014 and natural gas and crude oil facilities and pipelines on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of my colleagues said, \u2018Hey, this is the Charlie Barrett bill,\u2019\u201d Charlie Barrett said. \u201cI think it\u2019s silly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barrett, an ecologist and thermographer with Oilfield Witness, has made a name for himself in recent years by finding and reporting oilfield spills across New Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat visual data can be really useful,\u201d Barrett said. \u201cWe\u2019ve documented gathering line spills, and the only way we were able to see it was because we could see a big black stain on the soil\u201d from a drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of an oil spill on dry, sandy terrain with sparse vegetation and a black hose or pipe running across the scene.\" class=\"wp-image-48574\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-24x14.jpg 24w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-36x20.jpg 36w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin-48x27.jpg 48w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oil-Spill-Permian-Basin.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aerial view of gathering line spill spotted by drone in the Permian Basin. Photo: Charlie Barrett.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>During the hearing, bill sponsor George Mu\u00f1oz (D-Cibola, McKinley &amp; San Juan) didn\u2019t mention no-fly zones for oilfield infrastructure. But Sen. James Townsend (R-Eddy &amp; Otero) said, \u201cIt\u2019s a constant battle protecting those facilities from drones because that drone invasion over that can be very serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo) told a story of buying her husband a drone for Christmas, which led to them inadvertently finding out that a neighbor swam in their pool in the nude. \u201cWere we guilty of a misdemeanor?\u201d she asked. \u201cI just don\u2019t think that this bill is ready,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither did the committee \u2014 they voted it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmlegis.gov\/Legislation\/Legislation?chamber=S&amp;legType=B&amp;legNo=18&amp;year=26\"><strong>Clear Horizons<\/strong> &amp; Emissions Codification Act<\/a>, sponsored by the president pro tempore of the Senate, Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) would increase oversight of greenhouse gas emissions across the state \u2014 particularly from the oil and gas industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The push is fueled by recurring climate blows. Across the state, 95% of monitoring stations are in a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.drought.gov\/drought-status-updates\/snow-drought-current-conditions-and-impacts-west-2026-01-08#:~:text=Snow%20drought%20worsened%20in%20Arizona%20and%20New%20Mexico\">snow drought<\/a>,\u201d made worse after last year\u2019s dismal snow pack. What remains is melting under unusually warm temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To promote its passage, Desir\u00e9e Barnes and Clara Sims, both directors with the group Interfaith Power and Light, undertook a three-week walk from Carlsbad, in the middle of the Permian Basin \u2014 the country\u2019s most productive oil and gas field \u2014 to the Capitol in Santa Fe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Two people with backpacks walk across a street in front of a tan church with a white steeple under a clear blue sky.\" class=\"wp-image-48575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-24x14.jpg 24w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-36x20.jpg 36w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo-48x27.jpg 48w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-Outside-of-Galisteo.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Desir\u00e9e Barnes and Clara Sims, both directors with the group Interfaith Power and Light, pass the old church in Galisteo, New Mexico, as they begin another leg of their walk to Santa Fe. Photo: Jerry Redfern.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>They called their 330-mile, 25-day walk a pilgrimage to connect that most polluted corner of the state with the state\u2019s lawmakers during the legislative session. They want to deliver prayers and a multipart request: to transition away from fossil fuels; to hold industry accountable for pollution; to protect New Mexicans facing climate change impacts; and to encourage the Legislature to pass the Clear Horizons Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, the two began that day\u2019s walk just as a Senate committee held the bill\u2019s first hearing. The act would force dramatic greenhouse gas reductions statewide: 45% by 2030, 75% by 2040 and a 100% reduction by 2050, all compared to a 2005 baseline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goals and the bill are an attempt to codify and expand Gov. Lujan Grisham\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.state.nm.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/EO_2019-003.pdf\">third executive order<\/a> after taking office in 2019. The state would get there in two ways: by direct reductions at sources where greenhouse gases are produced; and by offsets through which a company creates regulated gases in one place, but removes an equal amount elsewhere in New Mexico. The latter was an update proposed by oil companies after last year\u2019s failed version of the bill, <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/seven-years-on-new-mexico-still-hasnt-codified-governors-climate-goals#:~:text=She%20said%20the%20change%20adding%20offsets%20emerged\">according to Stewart<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.env.nm.gov\/resources\/_translator.php\/Njg0YWIwNzBjMzQxOTk4ZGIwNTdjNzEwNV8xNzczMjk%7E.pdf\">most recent greenhouse gas inventory<\/a> in 2024 forecasted that the oil and gas industry would produce about 40% of those emissions in the state in 2025, nearly the same percentage as four years earlier. (A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.methanesat.org\/project-updates\/first-look-system-wide-view\">report released last week<\/a> by the Environmental Defense Fund suggests that inventory may be radically low.) The state inventory also shows that the state is on track to miss the governor\u2019s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goal, diminishing such emissions by 32% versus the stated target of 45%, without a dramatic policy shift, including larger reductions from the oil and gas industry. Unsurprisingly, the bill is not popular with that group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immediate impacts of oil and gas production in the Permian Basin were front and center for Barnes and Sims as they walked between Carlsbad and Artesia in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Four people walk along the side of a rural road with mountains and shrubs in the background under a clear sky.\" class=\"wp-image-48576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-24x14.jpg 24w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-36x20.jpg 36w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway-48x27.jpg 48w, https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pilgrimage-to-Santa-Fe-on-Rural-Highway.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Barnes and Sims, in front, walk along a rural highway on the way to Santa Fe. Photo: Jerry Redfern.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWalking through those regions and smelling the very, very intense stench in the air and seeing all the warning signs and the poison signs, and just really feeling for the folks who were breathing that air and breathing it ourselves was difficult,\u201d Barnes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sims said that difficulty was driven home for her at a community meal in Artesia where locals told her they felt unrepresented. \u201cThey feel like their legislators will not hear them or represent them when it comes to oil and gas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The inspiration for their pilgrimage came from an unexpected source: the father of one of the state senators who <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/in-democratic-new-mexico-oil-and-gas-legislation-doesnt-pass#:~:text=Sen.%20George%20Mu%C3%B1oz%20(D%2DGallup)\">voted against<\/a> last year\u2019s version of the bill. In 1989, Ed Mu\u00f1oz, then the mayor of Gallup, New Mexico, and father to current state Sen. Mu\u00f1oz, <a href=\"https:\/\/nmindepth.com\/2022\/poisonous-myths\/#:~:text=a%20protest%20against%20drunk%20driving%20in%201989\">led a march<\/a> from his home town to Santa Fe to get the Legislature to tighten loose liquor laws that fed the town\u2019s alcohol-fueled problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barnes came across the story while researching those who voted against the Clear Horizons bill in 2025 \u2014 like Sen. Mu\u00f1oz \u2014 and shared the idea with Sims. The two of them even talked with Sen. Mu\u00f1oz about their plan, and they said that he worried about their safety on the road (the senator did not respond to a request for comment). Sims said that the walk happened almost entirely without incident. She said, \u201cWe got yelled at by a woman in a car. Once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along the way, the two collected prayers for the planet from people they met, to be shared with legislators when they arrived in Santa Fe. Barnes told of meeting a rancher north of Roswell, who stopped to make sure she was OK walking alone on a road in the middle of nowhere while Sims conducted a sermon at her church. He told Barnes that he had been hauling water for his animals for 10 years because of the ongoing lack of rain \u2014 a reflection of the regional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41558-022-01290-z.epdf\">megadrought<\/a>. His prayer was \u201cMoisture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWow,\u201d she said later. \u201cHe just offered up a climate prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first legislative debate over the Clear Horizons Act bill ran nearly five hours \u2014 long for any legislative hearing. The last person to speak was Sen. Angel Charley (D-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.angelfornm.com\/angel#:~:text=I%20reside%20in%20the%20Pueblo%20of%20Acoma\">Acoma Pueblo<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe land gifted us the budget that we now use to take care of the people of New Mexico,\u201d she said. \u201cToday I am asking us to take care of the land \u2026 in the same way she has always taken care of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the time that Barnes and Sims stopped walking on Tuesday, the Clear Horizons Act passed that first hearing. And Saturday evening it passed its second hearing along party lines in the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee, pushed over the line in a comparatively brisk two hours by chair Carrie Hamblen (D-Do\u00f1a Ana). It awaits a hearing on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This story was originally published at <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalandmain.com\/\">Capital and Main<\/a>, a NMPBS partner. Copyright 2026 Capital &amp; Main.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers table bill to expand use of oilfield wastewater and shoot down another that would restrict drone use around \u201ccritical\u201d infrastructure. by Jerry Redfern, Capital and Main This story was originally published at Capital and Main, a NMPBS partner. A contentious bill to dramatically reduce New Mexico\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions remains in play at this&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":48576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10906],"tags":[10907],"class_list":["post-48571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partner-stories","tag-partner-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Mexico Again Debates Greenhouse Gas Reductions as Snow Melts - New Mexico In Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexico-again-debates-greenhouse-gas-reductions-as-snow-melts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mexico Again Debates Greenhouse Gas Reductions as Snow Melts - New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lawmakers table bill to expand use of oilfield wastewater and shoot down another that would restrict drone use around \u201ccritical\u201d infrastructure. by Jerry Redfern, Capital and Main This story was originally published at Capital and Main, a NMPBS partner. 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