New Mexico's Proposed Methane Rule: Compliance Considerations Ahead of the December Hearing
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has asked the state Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) to adopt 20.2.51 NMAC, Methane Abatement. The Board will take testimony on the proposal starting December 1, 2026, in a hearing scheduled to run through December 8.
The rule would do two things. It would set up a state super-emitter program, under which certified third parties can report large methane releases detected by satellite, aircraft or other remote sensing. It would also require natural gas-driven pneumatic controllers at well sites, tank batteries, gathering and boosting stations, natural gas processing plants and transmission compressor stations to emit no methane beginning January 1, 2031.
New Mexico is moving ahead while EPA heads the other way on federal methane requirements. On October 7, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency would propose eliminating the federal Super Emitter Program in NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc. If the EIB adopts 20.2.51 NMAC, operators in New Mexico will have super-emitter and controller obligations under state law regardless of what the EPA decides.
Below we summarize the proposal, compare it with federal and existing state requirements, and outline the steps we are recommending to clients with New Mexico assets.
The Proposed Methane Rule Requirements
NMED circulated a stakeholder draft on July 16, 2026, and filed its petition with the EIB on August 13 under docket EIB 26-78 (R). The summary below reflects the filed version, which may change after the hearing.
Super-emitter program
Under the proposal, a super-emitter event is a methane release of at least 50 kilograms per hour, detected with remote sensing technology NMED has approved. NMED would certify third-party notifiers, typically satellite and aerial monitoring firms. Notifiers would have 7 calendar days after detection to notify NMED, including the quantified emission rate and its measurement uncertainty, the coordinates, the detection technology used and supporting imagery.
NMED would then notify the owner or operator of every source within 50 meters of the reported location. Each notified operator must investigate, identify the source and repair it.
Under 20.2.51.104, investigation and repairs must be completed within three calendar days of receiving NMED's notification. A signed event report is due within 15 calendar days of the notification, and records must be kept for five years.
The program applies to any stationary source of methane, so landfills, wastewater plants and other facilities outside oil and gas could receive notices as well. If an investigation cannot tie the event to a specific leak, the operator must repair all leaks found during the investigation and verify each repair by re-monitoring with Method 21 or OGI.
Zero-emission process controllers
From January 1, 2031, natural gas-driven process controllers at well sites, tank batteries, gathering and boosting stations, gas processing plants and transmission compressor stations would have to emit zero methane. Operators can meet the standard by routing controller exhaust to a process through a closed vent system, or by using self-contained gas-driven controllers. Routing emissions to a control device does not satisfy the standard.
Emergency shutdown devices and process controllers that are not natural gas-driven are exempt.
The proposal also sets design and operating requirements for closed vent systems, calls for initial and periodic inspections, and requires an annual report covering every inspection and repair.
Operators already replacing controllers under the 2022 Ozone Precursor Rule (20.2.50 NMAC) should plan on 2031 as the end point of that program.
Comparison With Federal and Existing State Rules
NMED modeled its program on the federal one in NSPS OOOOb, with a lower threshold, broader applicability and a shorter response time.
Provision | Federal Super Emitter Program (OOOOb/c) | Proposed NM 20.2.51 NMAC |
Detection threshold | 100 kg/hr | 50 kg/hr |
Sources covered | Oil and gas facilities | All stationary methane sources |
Operator response | Begin investigation within 5 days; report within 15 days | Investigate and repair generally within 3 days; report within 15 days |
Repair scope | Source of the event | All leaks found during the investigation, if the event cannot be traced to a specific leak
|
Status | Implementation paused to Jan. 22, 2027; EPA plans to propose rescinding it | Takes effect on adoption |
Federal status
EPA finalized a first set of revisions to the 2024 OOOOb/c rules earlier this year, which among other changes extended allowances for temporary flaring. The second set, announced October 7, would remove the Super Emitter Program and revisit provisions for marginal wells, associated gas and control devices. EPA puts the savings at $45 billion. The proposed text had not been published as of mid-October.
Rescinding the federal program would have no effect on the state proposal. If both actions are finalized, the New Mexico program would be the only super-emitter requirement that applies to sources in the state.
Existing state requirements
Operators in New Mexico already comply with two state methane programs. NMED's Ozone Precursor Rule (20.2.50 NMAC) requires LDAR inspections, a compliance data system and phased controller replacement through 2030 in Chaves, Doña Ana, Eddy, Lea, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia counties. The Oil Conservation Division's Methane Waste Rule (19.15.27 and 19.15.28 NMAC) regulates venting and flaring.
20.2.51 NMAC would add a remote-detection response obligation on top of both. The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) argued in its comments that the three-day repair deadline and the 2031 controller date are not achievable in practice. We expect both provisions to be contested at the hearing and some details to change in the final rule.
Recommended Steps
Remote detection is already producing data on New Mexico operations. Earthworks and Gas Leaks Project used public satellite data to identify 166 super-emitter events in the New Mexico Permian between January 2025 and April 2026, many of which had not been reported to the state. With a three-day response requirement, an operator that receives its first notice before it has a plan in place will have very little room to respond well. These are the steps we are recommending to clients now:
Survey higher-risk equipment, such as tanks, compressors, flares, separators and controllers, so the largest emission sources are found and repaired before a third party reports them.
Write a response procedure that covers who receives NMED notices, how a crew reaches the site within three days, which method will confirm the source, and who signs the 15-day report.
Arrange investigation capacity in advance. When several facilities sit within 50 meters of a reported event, each one has to be surveyed quickly and the source confirmed at the component level.
Build a controller inventory and compare it with your 20.2.50 replacement schedule and the 2031 date. Note which devices serve as emergency shutdown devices and decide, site by site, between closed vent systems and self-contained controllers.
Review recordkeeping so that survey data, repair logs and imagery would support a signed event report and stand up to an agency review.
Follow the docket. Filings are posted on NMED's docketed matters page under EIB 26-78 (R), and comments can be sent to the Air Quality Bureau at AQB-ControlStrategies@env.nm.gov.
How Alliance Supports New Mexico Operators
Most of what the proposed rule asks of operators falls within our LDAR and compliance services.
Requirement | Operator need | How Alliance Helps |
Super-emitter notifications at 50 kg/hr or more | Identify large emitters before a third party does | We provide LDAR/OGI baseline surveys of higher-risk equipment to find and document large leaks |
Investigation of sources within 50 meters, generally within 3 days | Determine which facility and component caused the event | OGI surveys of each facility within the radius to confirm the source at the component level |
Repair of all leaks found during the investigation | Confirmation that repairs were effective | LDAR/OGI repair verification with imagery |
Signed event report within 15 days; records kept 5 years | Documentation that supports the report | Compliance services to compile survey data, imagery and repair records |
Zero-emission process controllers by January 1, 2031 | An inventory showing which controllers still vent | LDAR field inventory, with OGI to identify venting devices |
Closed vent system requirements and periodic inspections | Inspections at the required frequency, properly documented | LDAR/OGI inspection programs set up by facility |
Annual inspection and repair reports | Complete records for each reporting year | Compliance services for tracking and report preparation |
For most clients, these requirements will run alongside existing LDAR and controller obligations under 20.2.50 NMAC and NSPS OOOOa and OOOOb. We generally recommend managing them as a single program, so one set of field records serves both state and federal requirements. Our field teams work out of more than 80 offices across North America.
Talk With Our Team
The final details of the rule will be settled after the December hearing. Baseline surveys, response planning and controller inventories are worth doing under any likely version of it, and starting now gives operators time to fix what they find.
