Mark Olalde
I cover the environment, natural resources and public health around the Southwest.
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I report on issues related to public lands, water, mining, oil and gas, and agriculture across the Four Corners region and beyond. I am especially interested in how the energy transition is transforming the West.
Before joining ProPublica, I wrote for The Desert Sun, the Center for Public Integrity and The Arizona Republic. My investigations have taken me around the world and have been published by the Los Angeles Times, “PBS NewsHour,” USA Today, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, High Country News and numerous other outlets.
My team’s reporting on Colorado River policy earned us recognition from the Scripps Howard Fund, the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Indigenous Journalists Association. My coverage of hidden cleanup liabilities in California’s oil fields won the 2020 Stokes Award and helped spur passage of a state law meant to protect taxpayers from shouldering the cost of plugging old wells. And my work on South Africa’s abandoned mines prompted a parliamentary investigation in 2018.
Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, a New Rule Says. But It Won’t Be Enough.
The new Bureau of Land Management regulation, which applies to nearly 90,000 wells on federal public land, is hampered by math errors and overly optimistic cost projections.
The Future of the Colorado River Hinges on One Young Negotiator
J.B. Hamby, California’s representative in talks about sharing water from the Colorado River, holds the keys to a quarter of the river’s flow — and its future.
The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States
Tens of millions of people — and millions of acres of farmland — rely on the Colorado River’s water. But as its supply shrinks, these farmers get more water from the river than entire states.
Western States Opposed Tribes’ Access to the Colorado River 70 Years Ago. History Is Repeating Itself.
Records unearthed by a University of Virginia professor shed new light on states’ vocal opposition in the 1950s to tribes claiming their share of the river.
California Bill Requiring Companies to Pay for Oil and Gas Well Cleanup in Limbo
The bill follows ProPublica’s reporting on the multibillion-dollar cost to clean up California’s oil and gas industry.
Most of Chemehuevi Tribe’s Water Goes To California Cities
The Chemehuevi’s reservation fronts about 30 miles of the Colorado River, yet 97% of the tribe’s water stays in the river, much of it used by Southern California cities. The tribe isn’t paid for it.
Supreme Court Keeps Navajo Nation Waiting for Water
Decades of negotiations between the tribe and Arizona over water rights have proven fruitless. The court case was the Navajo Nation’s bid to accelerate the process and secure water for its reservation.
How Arizona Stands Between Tribes and Their Water
As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation.
Las Vegas Needs to Save Water. It Won’t Find It in Lawns.
Drought-plagued Nevada pledged to do away with 3,900 acres of grass in the Las Vegas area within six years, but a ProPublica analysis found that the state grossly overestimated how much of that grass would likely be removed.
It Will Cost Up to $21.5 Billion to Clean Up California’s Oil Sites. The Industry Won’t Make Enough Money to Pay for It.
An expert used California regulators’ methodology to estimate the cost of cleaning up the state’s onshore oil and gas industry. The study found that cleanup costs will be triple the industry’s projected profits.