In the late 1980’s, community residents in Northwest New Mexico noticed strong menacing odors reported as smelling like rotten eggs, petroleum and sewage around the ever expanding oil and gas industry.  Residents experienced nose, throat and eye irritation that occasionally would last for hours after smelling the odors. When the odors increased in frequency, so did the associated acute health effects.

Currently, energy companies in the area (including BP, Energen, XTO, Devon, Conoco Phillips, Enterprise, Williams and Questar) have moved away from oil drilling in favor of drilling for natural gas and even fracking at some sites.  The entire community of Northwest NM consists of over 100,000 residents all affected, either by living near gas well or near the power plants that process the natural gas. 

There are gas wells near every school, church and community center.  With the switch, from drilling for oil in favor of fracking or drilling for natural gas, came more severe and more frequent odor incidents causing health effects for the community.  One of the members of the San Juan Citizens Alliance and long-term resident, Sug McNall, went out to get her mail in December 2009.  She was immediately struck with an extremely potent rotten egg odor and overcome with dizziness and nausea.  According to McNall, she fell to the ground and was forced to crawl back into the house.  While the symptoms began to slowly subside, she reported numbness in her lips that for lasted three days after the incident. 

During less severe odor incidents, residents commonly reported headaches, nausea and dizziness in addition to the nose, throat and eye irritation.  The health effects and reported odors could be associated with chemical presence and chemical exposure.  Sug McNall and other residents have documented odors most frequently in the late evening through the early morning hours.  This could be related to the industrial process and/or weather patterns.

The community members call in frequently, often multiple times a week, to the New Mexico Oil and Gas Conservation Division to report these odors. However no satisfactory solutions have been reached.  On occasion, a representative of the Conservation Division will conduct an on-site investigation.  During one of the occasions, the representative informed the residents the most likely cause of the odors is “treated” Hydrogen Sulfide.  This is a major concern as Hydrogen Sulfide is highly toxic and while its presence requires formal signage by law, none was present at the well.  

The homeowners were never informed of the toxic risk located on their property.  Members of San Juan Citizens Alliance and other residents of the San Juan Basin, have also complained to The Aztec City Manager and City Commissioner, and no satisfactory response was issued.

Most of the residents have lived there for their entire lives; some can even trace their ancestry back to the original land owners from The Old West.  Many are ranchers, maybe running one of the small businesses in town with their family. 

Hear first hand the fight against natural gas in New Mexico!