New Mexico governor proposes $500M to treat fracking wastewater

abcnews.go.com:

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

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico would underwrite development of a strategic new source of water by buying treated water that originates from the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling, and help preserve its freshwater aquifers in the process, under a proposal from the state's Democratic governor.

The initiative from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced Tuesday from the international climate conference at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, would set water purification standards and purchase treated water that originates from oil fields as well as the state's vast natural underground reservoirs of brine. It requires legislative approval.

The idea is to create a government-guaranteed market for the commodity — treated water — and attract private enterprise to build desalinization and treatment facilities, securing new sources of water for industrial applications. The administration hopes to make the water available to businesses ranging from microchip manufacturers to hydrogen fuel producers that separate the element from water in an energy-intensive process.

Lujan Grisham said she'll ask the Legislature to set aside $500 million to underwrite acquisition of treated water. The arrangement would harness the state's bonding authority and financial reserves held in its multibillion-dollar Severance Tax Permanent Fund. The trust, founded in the 1970s, is sustained by taxes on the extraction of oil, natural gas and other minerals from state land.

“We're going to turn water —