Council approves permit for produced‑water pipeline that crosses wellhead protection area

The Carlsbad City Council on March 2 approved a permit for Select Water Solutions to install a produced‑water transmission pipeline linking local wells called the Water Buffalo wells to a treatment facility known as the BTK valve, despite council concerns about the line crossing the city's wellhead protection area.

City staff and a retained third‑party inspector, Clayton Bradley of Bradley Law Offices, told the council the application substantially complies with city code and recommended approval with conditions including final approval of each pipeline roadway crossing, submission of as‑built GPS coordinates after installation and continuous field inspections by the city's inspector. "The applicant has, substantively, complied with the city code," Bradley said during the presentation, and he recommended approval subject to the listed conditions.

Several council members pressed staff about the risk of a spill in the wellhead protection area and how the city would be notified. A councilor who spoke in opposition said he was strongly against any project that crosses the wellhead protection zone because of threats to the municipal water supply. City counsel and staff said state regulation requires the operator to notify the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division and that the operator must notify state authorities within 24 hours of a fluid discharge; there is currently no statutory obligation for the operator to notify the City of Carlsbad directly. "There is no obligation to report to the City of Carlsbad," the inspector said; he added the city is working to establish a process to ensure the city is kept informed in practice.

Staff and the inspector described technical safeguards: the buried polyethylene pipeline is proposed at a minimum depth of 36 inches, vertical separation of 10 feet beneath city waterlines at crossings, steel casing at roadway bores, and continuous pressure monitoring to detect leaks. Bradley said the city has retained an inspector to perform preconstruction, construction‑phase and postconstruction inspections and to verify vertical depths and crossings in the field.

Opponents and some councilors asked what happens after a detected release. Bradley and staff said the operator must notify the state regulator (NMOCD) and that the state coordinates reclamation; the city would then work with the state on monitoring and remediation. Staff acknowledged the city does not currently have automatic reporting requirements from the state but said they are working to improve notification protocols.

After discussion and a roll‑call vote, the council approved the permit with the inspector's recommended conditions. The vote recorded a majority in favor and the item passed during the meeting.