Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press
ahedden@elritomedia.com

Wastewater from the oil and gas industry could prove a boon to southeast New Mexico’s strapped water supplies, locals said, if New Mexico officials would get out of the way.

The comments came during a discussion on produced water and efforts to treat and reuse the byproduct fluid from oil and gas drilling.

About 50 local government leaders, industry workers and others attended the Jan. 8 meeting at the Pecos River Village Conference Center where researchers presented recent findings on the topic and solicited feedback from the public.

Produced water is mostly brought to the surface from the same underground rock formations, or shale, that yield crude oil and natural gas.

It is high in brine, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals, making it unfit for human consumption unless treated and recycled, said Zach Stoll, a scientist from New Mexico State University who presented his findings to the group.

Stoll also serves as executive director of the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium, formed in 2020 by the New Mexico Environment Department and NMSU to study methods of treating produced water to a quality that could be used outside of oil and gas.

The water is currently treated by oil and gas companies and reused in subsequent drilling operations, namely hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – when a combination of water, sand and chemicals is pumped underground to break up fossil fuel-rich shale.

The other option is to pump the produced water back into the rock formation, Stoll said, via disposal wells, which were recently linked to a spate of earthquakes across the Permian Basin.

And it’s a lot of water, he said: between two and five barrels – 42 gallons each – per barrel of oil. In the prolific Permian Basin, Stoll estimated, there could be billions of gallons of water produced every year.

“A lot of water comes up with the oil and gas. In the desert, wouldn’t it be great if we could actually use that water?” he said. “That’s how the science has been looking at it.”

But such scientific progress faced significant “obstacles” from regulators and state decision-makers, Stoll said.

The Produced Water Act was passed by the New Mexico Legislature in 2019, clarifying that the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division had authority to regulate and track produced water’s use within the industry, such as recycling and reuse in drilling.

The Environment Department was tasked with overseeing the product’s potential use outside of the industry, suggesting future applications such as watering crops.

That’s why the department formed the consortium, and Stoll said that while its research and experiments proved that treated produced water is safe for human cells, plants and various fish species, the environment department’s rulemaking Water Quality Control Commission remained unconvinced.

Commission members voted last April to allow permits for produced water to be discharged in conjunction with pilot projects studying its potential for reuse. The commission reversed that decision in May, and opted to require permits even for pilot projects that do not discharge the fluid.

“That kind of makes it difficult because you’re stuck at a much, much smaller scale,” Stoll said of conducting research without the ability to discharge the water into the environment. “From what I’ve seen, it’s very, very safe and its very technically possible to take this water and treat it so that it’s not toxic. The ability to hide your head in the sand has really put us at a disadvantage.”

To local leaders in Carlsbad, the increased water supplies would provide an opportunity to support the needs of the growing community, in step with the booming oil and gas industry in the southeast region of New Mexico.

In 2025, about 1.6 billion barrels of water were produced in the New Mexico oilfields, read a report by the research consortium presented at the meeting, up from about 700 million barrels in 2015.

About 75% of the total water used in Eddy County is for irrigation in the agricultural sector, meaning treating produced water could provide a safe way to offset much of the hydraulic cost of the region’s other leading industries, Stoll said.

“I see this as an industry opportunity. It’s something that could help all of our industries, oil and gas, potash and nuclear,” said Kristen Gamboa, executive director of the Carlsbad Department of Development, a nonprofit that promotes business needs in the area.

“It’s just infrastructure. If it must be industrial, manufacturing, then we need to market it that way.”

Kevin Beardmore, president of Southeast New Mexico College, said the school in Carlsbad recently created its first-ever “environmental management technology” program, which would train students to research produced water treatment and other environmental issues tied to fossil fuel extraction.

New Mexico is already sending about 35% of its produced water to Texas for disposal where regulations are laxer, read the consortium’s report.

And Beardmore worried that the growing oilfield water management industry could also leave the state if policymakers fail to act.

“By the time a market solution arrives, Texas is going to eat our lunch,” Beardmore said. “All the facilities are on the state line in Texas, which is where we’ll be sending our graduates if something doesn’t happen.”

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

A Carlsbad housing development was given a $4 million boost by Eddy County and will see apartments and homes installed on the south end of the city.

Eddy County commissioners voted unanimously during their Tuesday, Jan. 13, meeting to approve funding the project, which will use about 20 acres of land at Kircher and Boyd Drive the city purchased from Carlsbad Municipal Schools for about $1.3 million on Oct. 29, 2025.

The plan presented by city of Carlsbad officials included development of 10 acres on the property to hold about 150 to 200 apartments, while the other 10 acres will include 55 single-family houses.

The homes will be priced from $220,000 to $299,000, according to the city’s presentation. It was unclear what monthly rents would be at the apartments.

The county’s contribution was part of a $15.6 million housing project commissioners voted to create at a special meeting Nov. 10. Municipalities such as Carlsbad and Artesia can apply to the commission for a portion of the money to offset costs of housing developments.

In December, the county approved a slate of three housing projects in Artesia, totaling about $6.5 million, meaning about $5 million in county funds remained.

Carlsbad Mayor Rick Lopez said his city’s portion of the money would support growth in the city, which he said depended on adequate housing.

“We purchased the 20 acres for housing,” Lopez said during the meeting. “There will be market-priced apartments, but they will be on the lower price.”

A sticking point for commissioners, before they voted to approve, was the lack of finalized design plans for the homes and apartments.

The city of Carlsbad planned to close a request for proposals from potential contractors for the apartments on Jan. 30 when a contractor will be chosen.

Another request would be issued for the homes in the coming weeks, with final designs for the development – apartment and houses – expected to be approved by Feb. 27.

District 1 County Commissioner Ernie Carlson said the county prefers projects using the county funds to be designed and ready for work to begin before being approved.

“We really want to get these projects going,” he said. “We don’t approve these until we have an invoice from the contractor.”

Lopez said work would begin within 120 days after approval.

“We can have those designs ready to go and shovel-ready. We’re pretty far down the road on that one,” Lopez said. “We need houses.”

District 4 Commissioner Bo Bowen said Carlsbad’s vow to begin work in 120 days was a sign that it was close enough to deserve the county’s support. He noted that if the city does not begin work by the deadline, it could apply to the county for an extension.

“I think there’s been a lot of thought put into this by the city. We don’t have engineered plans, but I think we can take their word for it,” Bowen said. “They’ll either fulfill it or not. I think this is one worth supporting.”

Eddy County building underway

A new county administrative complex was being designed, using feedback recently gained from county employees saying they need more space for a growing staff, said officials with Parkhill, the Frisco, Texas-based design firm leading the project.

Eddy County Commissioners opted last year to move forward with a proposal to shift both the county’s administrative office and its jail from Carlsbad’s downtown area on Greene and Main streets, respectively, to a location near the Cavern City Air Terminal.

The county estimated last year the total cost for the jail and administrative offices would be about $350 million.

Parkhill’s Principal in Charge Kreg Robertson noted “structural challenges” with the administrative building’s continued use, not just in its size but also its design.

He said the building had inadequate security technology, no fire suppression system and “outdated” climate control. Robertson noted the space would also need to grow to accommodate a projected increase in county staff from about 75 workers to 120 in the coming years.

“There are a lot of deficiencies we are looking at,” Robertson said. “We would propose to renew, not renovate.”

Other business

Finance Director Robert Gonzales reported that in November 2025, Eddy County received about $6.6 million in gross receipts tax revenue and $8 million in oil and gas revenue.

Gonzales also reported the county was at about 69% of its budgeted revenue collection as of November, amounting to about $167 million of $244 million the county expected to receive for fiscal year 2026.

Fiscal years run from July 1 to June 30 and are named for the calendar year when they end.

Gonzales said the county was also at 24% of budgeted expenses, about $110 million of the expected $470 million in spending for Fiscal Year 2026.

Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

A southeast New Mexico lawmaker on Thursday, Jan. 15 became the latest Republican to launch a bid for lieutenant governor.

Sen. David Gallegos (R-41) of Eunice announced his campaign in an early morning Facebook post on Thursday. He said he is running to succeed term-limited Democratic Lt. Gov. Howie Morales because New Mexico needs “serious leadership.”

“New Mexico cannot afford more symbolic leadership. We need people in office who understand how to govern, how to work with a President Trump administration to secure our border and get the economy moving again, and how to build the coalitions necessary to actually get things done. The Lieutenant Governor cannot just give speeches — the Lieutenant Governor has to help run a state,” the post stated.

In New Mexico, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor when needed, presides over the Senate when the Legislature is in session and is a member of eight state boards and committees.

In an interview with El Rito Media, Gallegos, 65, confirmed that he had filed the necessary campaign paperwork Monday with the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office. However, as of Thursday morning, his candidate campaign committee registration was still not posted on the Secretary of State’s website.

Gallegos said that on the campaign trail and as lieutenant governor, he would work to strengthen the state’s oil and gas industries, bring attention to rural New Mexico and advance a conservative policy agenda.

“In reality, we need someone that is steadfast and understands rural New Mexico and the southeast, and we’ll then do everything we can for the whole state,” he said.

Gallegos has represented portions of Eddy and Lea counties in the Senate since 2021. He sits on the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee, Senate Rules Committee and Senate Ethics Committee. As Senate Republican Caucus Chair, he holds the third highest-ranking Republican leadership position in that chamber.

He previously held the District 61 seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives, from 2013 to 2020, representing Lea County. That seat is currently held by Rep. Randall Pettigrew, a Republican. Gallegos has also been on the Eunice School Board since 1999.

Currently, Gallegos is a senior superintendent with Ramirez & Sons Inc., a Hobbs-based general contractor. From 1979 until 2010, Gallegos worked for the New Mexico Gas Company, where he began as a laborer and eventually rose to a supervisor position in Lea County. Gallegos also has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of the Southwest in Hobbs.

With his announcement, Gallegos became the third Republican to enter the race to be his party’s nominee. Manuel Lardizabal of Albuquerque, who ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for the District 26 New Mexico Senate seat, filed paperwork last year for a campaign for lieutenant governor. Aubrey Blair Dunn, an Albuquerque attorney who was the Libertarian Party nominee for New Mexico attorney general in 2018, wrote in a Facebook post Monday that he is also running as a Republican for the position.

Three Democrats are also vying for their party’s nomination: New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Sen. Harold Pope (D-23) of Albuquerque and Jackie Onsurez, the mayor pro tem on the Loving village Council. New Mexico Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard also launched a campaign, but later withdrew due to her husband’s health.

Legislative Reporter Alex Ross can be followed on the social media platform X @alexrosstweets.

Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

New Mexico Democratic lawmakers on Friday said affordability, healthcare, juvenile justice and banning immigrant detention will be top priorities in the upcoming legislative session.

Speaker Javier Martinez (D-11) of Albuquerque and other Democrats laid out their agenda Friday during a press conference outside the First Choice Community Health Care, South Valley Health Care Center in Albuquerque. The press conference came as lawmakers gear up for the 30-day legislative session that begins Tuesday.

“We will lead the way forward to ensure that we are making life affordable for our families, to build a safe community for all of our children to be able to thrive,” Martinez said.

In New Mexico, 30-day sessions are dedicated to the budget and matters the governor calls for the Legislature to take up.

The session comes as state economists last month projected a steep drop in the amount of new money — revenue coming into the state that is above spending levels for the current budget year — that the state is projected to receive. A report last month by the Legislative Finance Committee predicted the state will take in $105 million in new money, representing a $329 million downward revision from their August estimate.

House Majority Floor Leader Rena Szczepanski (D-47) of Santa Fe said that despite the slowing revenue growth, New Mexico enters the session as “the envy of many states.”

She said lawmakers backfilled health and food assistance programs during two special sessions this fall. That includes allocating $17.3 million to fully cover the cost of federal enhanced premium tax credits that expired at the end of the year, up through the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

“We were the only state to do that,” Szczepanski said. “We’re going to continue to do that as long as we can and as long as we have to.”

Szczepanski announced House Democrats will put forth a comprehensive healthcare agenda, which includes expansions of both the rural provider tax credit and the state’s Medical Student Loan Repayment Program and legislation to allow New Mexico to join the interstate medical licensure compacts. The compacts, she said, will expand options in telehealth and provide healthcare professionals licensed in other states with a more streamlined path to work in New Mexico.

Lawmakers will also make what Szczepanski called “targeted” changes to the state’s medical malpractice laws, and a bill will be introduced to protect the assets of physicians in medical malpractice cases.

Amid an aggressive crackdown by the Trump administration and the use of controversial tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, Democrats also promised to reintroduce a bill that would prohibit New Mexico counties from entering into contracts with the federal government to detain people on alleged civil immigration violations.

In the last regular legislative session, such legislation, known as the Immigrant Safety Act, passed the New Mexico House but stalled in the Senate. Martinez said the bill will be reintroduced in the first days of the session.

“It’s going to be House Bill 9, and it’s going to move quickly,” he said.

House Majority Floor Whip Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-15) of Albuquerque said measures will also be introduced to ensure ICE agents can be identified and held accountable and prevent certain routine surveillance data from being used by ICE against immigrants.

Democrats said they also look forward to addressing crime and public safety by increasing oversight of firearms dealers, cracking down on weapons trafficking, continued investments in law enforcement and improving behavioral health services.

“When it comes to juvenile justice, we must address the core issues and not fall for the false promise of easy solutions,” Hochman-Vigil said.

Policies that will be considered, she said, will include measures to hold juveniles accountable but also more funding for programs that steer youth away from crime.

Other issues Democrats said they hope to take up include a bonding bill to repair roads across the state and a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would create a commission of experts to appoint the leadership of the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department.

Legislative reporter Alex Ross can be followed on X @alexrosstweets.

Alex Ross
El Rito Media
aross@elritomedia.com

A Republican state lawmaker is planning to prefile several bills on juvenile crime she hopes will win the backing of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The proposals by Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-64) of Clovis include expanding the circumstances under which youths can be sentenced as adults and how long the state can have jurisdiction over young offenders.

Reeb told El Rito Media on Wednesday that two bills were prefiled and another four were introduced Friday, the deadline for filing legislation ahead of the 30-day legislative session, which begins Tuesday.

Under the New Mexico Constitution, 30-day legislative sessions focus on the state budget, and lawmakers may consider only bills supported by the governor. Reeb does not know whether her bills will get on the governor’s agenda, but said early indicators suggest Lujan Grisham will direct legislators to act on juvenile crime.

“So, I’m hoping that will open the door for mine to be discussed,” Reeb said.

On Thursday, Ben Baker, Lujan Grisham’s public safety advisor, told El Rito Media one of the governor’s top goals is reducing the youth recidivism rate, especially for individuals who commit crimes involving firearms. He said Lujan Grisham expects the issue will be debated by lawmakers in the session.

Reeb’s bills represent the latest push by the longtime prosecutor and former district attorney for Curry and Roosevelt counties to advance juvenile crime reforms through the Democratic-led Legislature.

Last year, Reeb sponsored House Bill 134, a comprehensive package meant to overhaul New Mexico’s system of juvenile justice. But the measure was ultimately defeated on a 4-2 vote in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.

Reeb said she is taking a more piecemeal approach this time, hoping that breaking her proposals from last year into separate bills will give them a better chance at passage.

Proposals

As of Thursday afternoon, the website of the New Mexico Legislature showed that two of Reeb’s proposals, House Bills 78 and 79, were prefiled and posted online. HB 78 would allow the juvenile records of a defendant to be more easily accessed for purposes of pretrial detention or sentencing for another crime.

HB 79 would reduce the standard of evidence under which a juvenile’s probation can be revoked from “beyond a reasonable doubt” to the lower standard of “preponderance of evidence.”

Other aspects of Reeb’s push for juvenile justice include proposed changes to the risk assessment tool used in determining whether a juvenile suspect should be held in pretrial detention and another to more closely align the procedure for competency evaluations of a juvenile defendant to those used for adults.

The two remaining bills yet to be filed include one to increase the age at which the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has jurisdiction over delinquents from 21 to 25. Reeb argues that doing so can provide the state with a longer period to keep youth on probation or provide them with treatment to reduce the risk of youth reoffending.

The sixth measure would broaden the list of offenses under which a juvenile can be sentenced as a serious youthful offender, where a juvenile defendant can receive the same mandatory sentence as an adult.

New Mexico law reserves that designation for youth convicted of first-degree murder, but Reeb wants to add second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery and shooting at or from a motor vehicle or into a dwelling or occupied building that results in great bodily harm.

Reeb’s bill would also add involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, unlawful possession of a handgun and leaving the scene of an accident that causes great bodily harm or death.

‘Balance’ needed

Juvenile crime has been a top priority for Republicans, as Reeb said New Mexico copes with high juvenile crime rates involving firearms and fewer juvenile detention facilities.

“We’re seeing young kids commit crimes, and so we have to adjust to what is happening currently in society,” she said.

Some leading Democrats, such as Speaker Javier Martinez (D-11) of Albuquerque, are skeptical that stiffer penalties are the way to address youth crime.

In a recent interview on New Mexico In Focus, Martinez said he is concerned about juvenile crime, but believes increased behavioral health services, early intervention programs and reforms at the Children, Youth and Families Department are better solutions.

But Reeb said there has to be a balance.

“There are kids that we can change, and we can help, and we can rehabilitate, but then there are some that need to be locked up because they’re dangerous,” she said.

Legislative reporter Alex Ross can be followed on X @alexrosstweets.

Mike Smith
Artesia Daily Press

Twice retired Hagerman resident Benny Griffin embarked on a third career after his wife suggested he needed to find a way to pay for monthly fishing trips.

“The last time I retired was over a year ago and I was really enjoying fishing. I was fishing one week a month, fishing far off in a different state and my wife had been asking me if I had been looking at the checkbook,” he said in a Jan. 8 interview before the lunch hour at his Bar Ditch Bistro food truck.

Griffin said he wasn’t concerned about the money he spent on fishing – until his wife showed him the toll it was taking on family finances.

“It caught me off guard – my fishing was hitting the checkbook pretty hard,” he said with a smile. “She said, ‘You should look at something to offset that.’”

Griffin, 66, did not want to go back to work for an hourly wage. So he cooked up an alternative.

“I had cooked in the past and thought, ‘I’ll just put a food trailer together,” he said.

Good plan, but it caused a problem: “Now, I don’t have time to fish!”

Griffin was a welder in the oil fields of southeast New Mexico. He also operated heavy equipment, drove tractor-trailers and made a living as a carpenter.

He said he has cooked off and on for oil field companies and for fun for 30 years, so it wasn’t a big leap when opened Bar Ditch Bistro in August.

“I enjoy sharing what I do with other people,” Griffin said. “Any time there’s a restaurant that opens, they start out delicious (and) they start out packed. Somewhere when people start complaining, they make it bland. I have decided I am going to make my food the way I like to make it. The clientele will like it not or not.”

Bar Ditch Bistro can be found near the intersection of 13th and West Main Streets in Artesia Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Griffin serves burgers, brisket, Indian fry bread, macaroni and cheese, nachos, and hot dogs – all made fresh daily.

“We make the fry bread every morning. It’s usually ready by the time we open the door. I make chili at all different times. We bag it and freeze it. We do as much as we can as we have time and freeze everything,” he said.

When Griffin began Bar Ditch Bistro, he struggled to find a name that would fit the food truck.

“I flirted with something along the lines of Roadkill because I’m very sarcastic and I have a hillbilly attitude and I don’t really care about people’s softness. I couldn’t make anything in that manner work,” he said.

Griffin settled on a name that fit both the business and him.

“A bistro is a small high-end café and if I got all of my goods out of a bar ditch that would suit me,” he said.

Griffin likes to visit other places in New Mexico and also in Arizona and Texas, so the mobility of the food truck is ideal for him.

“I like the newness,” he said of traveling to locations beyond Artesia. “I like to see how my cuisine suits everybody.”

But home is home, so Bar Ditch Bistro also made appearances last year at the popular downtown Artesia Oil Patch markets that feature food trucks, bakers, crafters and growers.

“My go-to order is brisket, mac and cheese, and the Indian taco,” said Meghan Martinez, event coordinator for Artesia MainStreet. She became a fan after the first bite.

“Bar Ditch Bistro is an outstanding eatery that has come to our community,” Martinez said. “Fresh made fry bread, smoked tender brisket – and it’s all made with a friendly smile every single time.”

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 extension-2361.