This is un-be-liev-able.
New Mexico’s State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn recently headlined a press conference for the oil and gas industry, standing with them to oppose nationwide rules to limit methane pollution from the industry. This is the state official whose job it is to help safeguard New Mexico’s lands…and he’s acting as a spokesman for the people he’s supposed to be regulating.
So I guess it should come as no surprise then that Land Commissioner Dunn also went on the record recently saying that he “strenuously objects” to the national rules that would limit the amount of methane that escapes in to the air or is simply burned off.
Join us in holding State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn accountable. By opposing the common sense methane pollution rules, he is standing with polluting industry instead of protecting New Mexico’s trust lands. Send him a message here.>>
One of the most important jobs members and supporters like you help us do here at CVNM is to hold our elected officials accountable for the things that they do and say. The people you elect are supposed to represent you. When they don’t, it’s up to all of us to let them know that we’re paying attention.
What Land Commissioner Dunn is doing is incomprehensible. The role of the Land Office is to “optimize revenues while protecting the health of the land for future generations.”¹ Does Commissioner Dunn think that opposing the Bureau of Land Management’s common sense environmental protections on federal lands helps New Mexicans? How could he when a recent report by the Western Values Project found that New Mexico taxpayers have lost out on more than $50 million in royalty revenue since 2010 due to leaks and intentional venting and flaring of natural gas on our public lands.
This isn’t just an economic issue. Methane causes ground level ozone contamination, which is a cause of asthma. This is one of the reasons why the American Lung Association recently gave “F” grades to two of the major oil and gas producing counties in the state.² Not only is Dunn undermining the mission of his own office, he’s doing so in a way that directly harms New Mexican families.
Remind Commissioner Dunn that his job is to protect the health of state lands, not oppose common sense environmental safeguards. Send him a message now.>>