New Energy Economy and other environmental advocates renewed a call for a member of the Water Quality Control Commission to recuse herself from hearing a proposed water reuse rule that centers largely around produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas production.
Krista McWilliams, a member of the WQCC, is married to the owner of LOGOS Resources, an oil and gas company based out of San Juan County. She also works for LOGOS, which is one of the largest operators of natural gas in the San Juan Basin.
That connection to LOGOS, as well as her current position as a board member of the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico, prompted the initial call for her to recuse herself from considering the case. Recently, New Energy Economy found a promotional video put out by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association in which McWilliams touts the benefits of oil and gas extraction. That led to the renewed call for her recusal.
In the video, McWilliams says, “When people hear what I do, I get questions. Fracking. It’s a sensitive subject. I get it. But I feel good about fracking. We’ve been fracking for oil and natural gas for more than 50 years without one case of groundwater contamination. Getting energy here in New Mexico creates jobs and energy security so we don’t have to buy foreign oil. You know, like from Texas.”
New Energy Economy is a vocal critic of the oil and gas industry and opposes the reuse rule. The advocacy group has expressed concerns that the reuse rule will pave the way for produced water to be used outside of the oilfields.
The reuse rule provides regulations for the use of both treated and untreated produced water, including prohibiting discharges of untreated produced water into groundwater or surface waters. It also requires a discharge permit for people using treated produced water that could move directly or indirectly into surface waters or groundwater.
NEE first filed a motion to disqualify McWilliams from hearing the case in June. Navajo environmental advocates Daniel Tso and Samuel Sage, joined NEE in the motion, which consists of more than 300 pages.
“Krista McWilliams appears to stand for beauty and purity in NMOGA’s promotional video while her company, LOGOS, and the fracking industry are actually contaminating the Earth and water,” NEE executive director Mariel Nanasi said in a press release.
Nanasi argued that McWilliams has profited from fracking and alleged that McWilliams covers up the environmental harms that LOGOS and other oil and gas companies are causing in New Mexico. She also alleged that McWilliams “acts as a spokesperson for NMOGA.”
“Her attempts to cleanse the image of oil and gas have been exposed, as well as her obvious bias in this case,” Nanasi said.
In an email to NM Political Report, McWilliams said she hasn’t had any ties to NMOGA for many years.
“The educational video on fracking that the New Energy Economy references was filmed over six years ago,” she said. “At that time, I aimed to provide an industry perspective on the fracking process. I was not aware that NMOGA continues to use this video.”
However, NEE argues that LOGOS is a member of NMOGA and McWilliams’ husband served on the NMOGA board from 2017 to 2021. Additionally, NEE states that McWilliams is on the board of Four Corners Economic Development (4CED) and that NMOGA is a member of 4CED.
In response to NEE’s allegations that she has a conflict of interest and should recuse herself, McWilliams said that she believes her background as an engineer working in the oil and gas industry is among the reasons she was appointed to serve on the WQCC.
“My expertise allows me to offer valuable insights on rules affecting the oil and gas industry, ensuring that the 13-member commission makes informed decisions,” she said.
McWilliams said she stands by her statement that she does not have any conflict of interest and that she does not expect the proposed reuse rule will “give any material benefit to me personally or to LOGOS.”
She further explained that the company hasn’t used produced water “for any purpose other than recycled-reuse use in oil and gas applications and does not plan to do so in the future.”
NEE argues that LOGOS operates the Rosa Recycling and Containment Facility, which has the capacity to hold 600,000 barrels of produced water. This produced water facility is used by the company to reduce its dependence on freshwater resources by recycling the produced water to use in operations.
McWilliams said that she is committed to the Water Quality Act’s objectives of protecting public health and enhancing water quality, even though she is also connected to the industry.
“My obligation is to serve the public interest, not personal or corporate gain,” she said.
