Use these talking points to guide your public comment in support of stronger oil and gas bonding rules in New Mexico. These responses counter common industry opposition and emphasize fairness, responsibility, and the protection of our communities.
Opposition claims are included here for our own internal guidance – please do not include the oppositions’ claims in your comment.
1. Claim: Increased bonding will hurt small operators.
- Everyone, regardless of their size, must clean up after themselves. It’s the law.
- If a company can’t afford cleanup, they shouldn’t be drilling.
- Taxpayers and public funds are currently paying for cleanup of abandoned wells. Nearly $100 million of public funds have been used to plug abandoned oil and gas wells in the last 5 years. That’s not fair.
- Stronger bonding levels the playing field for responsible operators.
- The vast majority of wells in New Mexico are owned by wealthy corporations who can afford to follow the law and plug their wells.
- At its core, the job of the government is to protect the public from harm.
2. Claim: The proposed changes are inappropriate and do not address the problem.
- Industry dodges the problem at most and does not offer solutions.
- The proposed changes, supported by state agencies that oversee oil and gas development, offer a smart, risk-based, science-informed update.
- The proposed rule is supported by Tribal communities, financial and industry experts, faith leaders, environmental advocates and watchdogs.
- The natural resources here belong to all of us. When we let oil and gas corporations make millions from wells in our state, they have a responsibility to clean up wells to prevent leaks to our drinking water.
3. Claim: There’s no data supporting bonding reform.
- The proposed rule is backed by the NM Legislative Finance Committee and the Oil Conservation Division’s own data.
- Opposition filings lack data and rely on talking points rather than evidence.
- We encourage Commissioners to ground their decisions in evidence and data.
4. Claim: The Reclamation Fund has money available for plugging–why change bonding rules?
- Some argue that we shouldn’t focus on bonding until our well-plugging system works better. But that’s exactly backward. Bonding is about preventing future costs.
- A broken system makes it even more important to get bonding right now.
- Reform will reduce future liabilities and protect the Reclamation Fund.
- A broken system only amplifies the risk when bonds are insufficient.
- We cannot afford to underfund risk, especially when the cost of inaction falls on our communities.