New Mexico governor proposes $500M to treat fracking wastewater

A proposal by New Mexico’s governor to underwrite the treatment and recycling of oil-industry wastewater is being denounced by environmentalists as a handout to the petroleum industry that will only facilitates more fracking. A proposal from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham would underwrite development of a strategic new source of water by buying treated water that originates from oil fields as well as the state’s vast natural underground reservoirs of brine. The goal is to help preserve freshwater aquifers and provide a new source of water to industry.