NMiF reviews wastewater and water rights in N.M.

This week, New Mexico in Focus revisits several previously aired stories about water in New Mexico.

Earlier this year, the Water Quality Control Commission decided to revisit how and where fracking wastewater can be used in New Mexico. NMIF hears from advocates for and against the proposal.

In June, Capital and Main journalist and NMIF correspondent Jerry Redfern sat down with Matthias Sayer, an attorney with the Water, Access, Treatment and Reuse Alliance (WATR Alliance), and asked whether there's science to back up using it safely.

Then, in an interview that first aired in May, Tannis Fox, a senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Centers, tells Host Nash Jones why she opposes letting the fracking wastewater genie out of the bottle and what's to come in the rulemaking process.

This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court settled a 13-year water rights dispute over access to the lower Rio Grande. Longtime reporter Danielle Prokop has spent years following the case for multiple news organizations. In a conversation that first ran in June, she stopped by the studio to break it down for Nash.

On May 1, New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney dropped by to explain new state regulations on PFAS. Kenney spoke about the state's efforts to demand the clean-up of - and accountability around - "forever chemicals."

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 9 at 7 a.m. and streaming on the PBS video app. Involved, informed, in-depth media: watch New Mexico in Focus again online shortly thereafter.

Host
Jeff Proctor

NMiF Segments
WATR Alliance Argues Fracking Wastewater Could Be Used Safely
Correspondent
Jerry Redfern
Guest
Matthias Sayer, vice president, WATR Alliance

Environmentalists Oppose Reuse of Fracking Wastewater
Correspondent
Nash Jones
Guest
Tannis Fox, senior attorney, Western Environmental Law Center

Supreme Court Approves Rio Grande Water Access Deal
Correspondent
Nash Jones
Guest
Danielle Prokop, journalist

New Regulations for Forever Chemicals in New Mexico
Correspondent
Nash Jones
Guest
James Kenney, cabinet secretary, N.M. Environment Department

New Mexico in Focus is the New Mexico PBS prime-time news magazine show covering the events, issues, and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. NMiF takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic, educational, and art issues, exploring them in depth with a critical eye to provide context beyond the "news of the moment."

NMPBS Executive Producer, Public Affairs is Jeff Proctor. New Mexico in Focus's senior producer for public affairs is Lou DiVizio. Host and producer of New Mexico in Focus is Nash Jones. The producer is Antonio Sanchez, and the multimedia journalist is Cailley Chella.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by the McCune Charitable Foundation and Viewers Like You. Funding for the Your New Mexico Government Project comes from the Thornburg Foundation and New Mexico Local News Fund. Funding for Our Land: New Mexico's Environmental Past, Present & Future is provided in part by the Neeper Natural History Programming.