Board Decision Was Unanimous; Cite Lack of Justification & A "Rushed" Process IPANM (October 23, 2024) - The Governor's-appointed Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) today rejected the New Mexico Environment Department's (NMED) 5x fee increase proposal for General Construction Permits (GCP) along with all other fee increases included in their May 2024 petition for rulemaking.

The EIB specifically cited a complete lack of data from the NMED to support the arbitrary increases that would have directly impacted oil & gas operators.

Upon the announcement of today's EIB decision, IPANM Executive Director Jim Winchester issued the following statement.

"The Environmental Improvement Board's (EIB) unanimous decision today to flat out reject exorbitant permit fee increases against industry was significant. The Board agreed with IPANM that you cannot unilaterally impose gigantic fee increases on the backs of oil and gas operators without adequately supplying data to justify a 5-fold fee increase on General Construction Permits from $5,100 to $25,500. That kind of increase would have not only set a dangerous precedent that departments can circumvent the Legislature to add over 105 full-time employees, it would have opened the door to future arbitrary fee increases in any government department that would threaten to regulate small companies completely out of business."

"As IPANM offered in our testimony in June, the industry is not necessarily opposed to reasonable, modest, justifiable fee increases to help regulators more efficiently do their jobs. Unfortunately, the NMED never consulted with IPANM on this scheme, and they further signaled today they remain unwavering in a five-fold fee increase moving forward. As commented by EIB board members today, the NMED needs to work with industry to find common ground rather than attempting to slam through major regulatory changes on short notice and without justification."

IPANM decided to intervene in the rulemaking in coordination with the New Mexico Mining Association's (NMMA) filing this past spring, and received support during public comments in June against the arbitrary fee increases from legislators including Senate Finance Chairman George Munoz (D), Rep. Jim Townsend (R), and Rep. Cathryn Brown (R). IPANM also appreciates additional letters of support against the fee increases from legislators and our partnering trade associations including from the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association (NMOGA), Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA), and the New Mexico Business Coalition (NMBC).

Additional links below:

NMED Announcement of Fee Increases Proposal

IPANM's Written Comments Against Fee Increases

IPANM is the Voice of Independent Oil & Gas in New Mexico

The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) is a 501(c)(6) association that advances and preserves the interests of independent oil and gas producers while educating the public to the importance of oil and gas to the state and all our lives. IPANM provides services that protect, defend, and promote the industry that is the very foundation of our way of life. Our members are proud, independent, loyal, and hardworking!