Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This week on New Mexico in Focus, we revisit 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. We hear from advocates for and against the proposal. In June, Capital and Main journalist and In Focus 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.”
Host:
Jeff Proctor
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
Host:
Nash Jones
Guest:
James Kenney, Cabinet Secretary, NM Environment Department
--
0:00 Intro
03:26 WATR Alliance Argues Fracking Wastewater Could Be Used Safely
16:24 Environmentalists Oppose Reuse of Fracking Wastewater
31:07 Supreme Court Approves Rio Grande Water Access Deal
46:40 New Regulations for Forever Chemicals in NM
This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support NMPBS: bit.ly/donatetonmpbs
Subscribe to the NMPBS channel for more clips: youtube.com/@NMPBS
Enjoy full episodes of your favorite NMPBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS App. Learn how: newmexicopbs.org/what-we-do/how-to-watch-us
FOLLOW NMPBS
Instagram: instagram.com/nmpbs
Facebook: facebook.com/NewMexicoPBS
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/knme-tv-new-mexico-pbs
Website: nmpbs.org
FOLLOW NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS
Instagram: instagram.com/nm_in_focus
This week on New Mexico in Focus, we revisit 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. We hear from advocates for and against the proposal. In June, Capital and Main journalist and In Focus 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.”
Host:
Jeff Proctor
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
Host:
Nash Jones
Guest:
James Kenney, Cabinet Secretary, NM Environment Department
--
0:00 Intro
03:26 WATR Alliance Argues Fracking Wastewater Could Be Used Safely
16:24 Environmentalists Oppose Reuse of Fracking Wastewater
31:07 Supreme Court Approves Rio Grande Water Access Deal
46:40 New Regulations for Forever Chemicals in NM
This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support NMPBS: bit.ly/donatetonmpbs
Subscribe to the NMPBS channel for more clips: youtube.com/@NMPBS
Enjoy full episodes of your favorite NMPBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS App. Learn how: newmexicopbs.org/what-we-do/how-to-watch-us
FOLLOW NMPBS
Instagram: instagram.com/nmpbs
Facebook: facebook.com/NewMexicoPBS
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/knme-tv-new-mexico-pbs
Website: nmpbs.org
FOLLOW NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS
Instagram: instagram.com/nm_in_focus
