Lea County, NM
The federal environmental record for Lea County (population 72,101): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
0
Superfund NPL sites
4
federal cleanup sites
1
PFAS-detecting water systems
13
TRI facilities
34
open tank releases
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Lea with at least one PFAS detection under UCMR5. The federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L; EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the limits for the other compounds, which are shown for information.
| System | Highest results | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| HOBBS MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY NM3521613 | PFPeA: 16.2 ng/L PFHxA: 9.5 ng/L PFBA: 6.4 ng/L | above final limit |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
13 facilities in Lea filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 29.0M lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUNICE GAS PLANT | EUNICE | Hydrogen sulfide, Benzene | 12.2M lb |
| MALJAMAR GAS PROCESSING PLANT | MALJAMAR | Hydrogen sulfide, Toluene | 11.2M lb |
| EAST VACUUM LIQUID RECOVERY PLANT/CO2 PLANT | LOVINGTON | Cyclohexane, n-Hexane | 4.5M lb |
| RED HILLS GAS PLANT | JAL | Benzene, Toluene | 562k lb |
| MONUMENT GAS PLANT | MONUMENT | Benzene, Toluene | 203k lb |
| DKL LIBBY GAS PLANT | HOBBS | Methanol, Benzene | 138k lb |
| OCCIDENTAL - NORTH HOBBS UNIT RCF & WIB | HOBBS | n-Hexane, Cyclohexane | 82k lb |
| ZIA II GAS PLANT | LOVINGTON | n-Hexane, Toluene | 50k lb |
| HOLLYFRONTIER NAVAJO REFINING LLC - LEA REFINERY | LOVINGTON | n-Hexane, Hydrogen sulfide | 13k lb |
| CHAMPIONX-HOBBS | HOBBS | Methanol, Toluene | 10k lb |
| COASTAL CHEMICAL CO. LLC - HOBBS | HOBBS | Methanol, Ethylene glycol | 6k lb |
| BUCKEYE CO2 PLANT | LOVINGTON | Cyclohexane, Benzene | 3k lb |
| LINAM RANCH PLANT | HOBBS | Benzene, Toluene | 1k lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 388 tank facilities in Lea: 156 tanks in service and 854 closed. 123 fuel releases are on record, of which 34 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Lea as Zone 2, moderate predicted indoor radon (2 to 4 pCi/L average). Radon and air quality are covered in depth on lung.com.
The record for one specific address
County figures blur what matters: distance. The Address Environmental Report runs these same federal datasets against one address and reports every site, tank, polluter and water result around it, with distances, in about a minute.
Get the report - $39All federal cleanup sites on file
The wider Superfund enterprise inventory (SEMS) for Lea, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- BLM-KERR-MCGEE POTASH CO.HOBBS
- LINAM RANCH SITEHOBBS
- MASTER CLEANRSHOBBS
- SNYDER STREET PCEHOBBS