Case Summary
Issue:
Whether a county can ban oil and gas drilling in violation of state law and contrary to the guarantees set forth in the U.S. and New Mexico Constitutions?
Plaintiffs:
Mary L. Vermillion; Jay Land Ltd. Co.; Yates Ranch Property LLC; and the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico
Defendants:
Mora County, New Mexico; Mora County Board of County Commissioners; Paula A. Garcia, Mora County Commissioner, District 1; John P. Olivas, Chairman and Mora County Commissioner, District 2; Alfonso J. Griego, Vice-Chairman and Mora County Commissioner, District 3
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Case History
New Mexico has been a major producer of oil and natural gas since hydrocarbons were discovered in the State in the 1920s; they are a lynchpin of the State’s economy and are essential for its continued fiscal health. In 2012, New Mexico derived more than 27 percent of its general fund revenues from taxes and royalties on oil, natural gas, and carbon dioxide production, which, through the years, have contributed over 90 percent of the principal in the Severance Tax and Land Grant Permanent Funds, the earnings on which are used to fund the common schools, specific education or charities and institutions, and other state governmental operations. Other petroleum tax receipts go directly into the State’s general budget. More than 88,000 New Mexican citizens are employed directly by the oil and gas industry.
In 1978, New Mexico passed the New Mexico Oil and Gas Act, which created the Oil Conservation Commission and Oil Conservation Division that are vested with complete “jurisdiction, authority and control” regarding the development of oil or gas. The Division regulates oil and natural gas activity within the State so as to protect, among other things, fresh water, public health, safety and the environment and issues rules for “safety procedures for drilling and production of oil and gas wells.”
Asserting a “local bill of rights,” despite the preeminence of State law as to oil and gas, Mora County passed its ordinance on April 29, 2013.
MSLF’s client asserts that the ordinance violates their rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution as well as corresponding rights under the New Mexico Constitution. The ordinance also denies them their right to invoke New Mexico state laws that preempt the county’s authority to enact or enforce its ordinance. With their lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek both declaratory and permanent injunctive relief from Mora County’s unconstitutional actions.
