CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Recently, rumors of a massive methane gas leak just outside the Pueblo of Laguna began to make its way around the internet. The leak was being cited as a reason for discontinuing use of natural gas, but when asked, both the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office and Pueblo of Laguna denied any knowledge of this alleged leak. Transwestern Pipeline, who runs the methane gas pipeline which allegedly leaked, did not respond to the Cibola Citizen’s request for comment.
The rumor was first discovered online, and asserts that the pipeline released 38 million cubic feet of methane into Cibola’s sky over the pueblo.
Allegedly the methane leak began sometime before the Summer Solstice, as no direct information is provided, and the rumor alleges that the leak was discovered by a Cibola County Sheriff’s Deputy. There is no record of any deputy in CCSO discovering a methane gas leak near Laguna around that time.
The Cibola Citizen called the Pueblo of Laguna’s Environmental Program on November 18 and spoke with Program Director Greg Jojola who said, “This is the first I’m hearing about this.”
Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace spent over two days searching for any records of the alleged incident, and could find nothing about it. “There would be record of that,” the sheriff explained, “and I don’t have it.”
Transwestern Pipeline, the company who owns the gas pipeline which had allegedly leaked, did not return a request for comment about the leak.
From the resources available, it appears as though the rumor of a massive gas leak outside of the Pueblo of Laguna is not accurate.