Update October 4, 2023: The City of Lovington received payment from HF Sinclair for $515,000. Though this is not the full amount currently owed, the city expects additional payments to soon follow, according to the city manager.

The City of Lovington is uncertain whether it will receive payment for about $600,000 from the HF Sinclair Corporation, the owner of the Navajo refinery located on the Hobbs Highway leaving Lovington. The matter was brought up by Lovington city manager David Miranda at the city commission meeting on September 26.

“I feel like I’m getting the run around,” Miranda stated in the meeting. He explained that he and his staff have been very accommodating so far, and the company has not given any indication that it does not intend to pay the bill, except for the fact it hasn’t.

The large bill is the result of some ongoing confusion with Lovington’s metering system which has likely caused inaccurate reporting for Lovington utility customers for several years. The city has three water wells and corresponding meters on HF Sinclair property to track usage, as the City of Lovington owns the water rights. However, because of the inaccurate readings, new meters were installed and a deal was struck between the city and the company to use a new average reading to determine the amount owed, according to Miranda.

HF Sinclair continued to pay the sewer portion of its utilities bill, but the water portion was put on hold until estimated usage could be determined based on the results of new meters. The new meters were installed and an average usage over three months was measured to serve as the basis of the new, updated bill. This total came out to around $540,000.

Miranda said that through multiple meetings and conversations with representatives from HF Sinclair, the company had agreed to the process and the amount of the bill. Since then, additional usage has brought the outstanding bill up to around $600,000. Despite agreeing to the terms and the amount owed, HF Sinclair has yet to pay the large bill.

“This is money that would go directly into the utility fund,” Miranda told the Lea County Tribune. “It would get us better infrastructure, better software, better equipment. That’s directly translatable into improvements for the city.” He also pointed out that HF Sinclair, a publicly traded company, made a profit of $2.3 billion last year.

In the commission meeting, Miranda suggested cutting off the water being supplied to the Navajo refinery. “Why should we treat them any different than a resident of Lovington?” Miranda asked the commission. “If a resident doesn’t pay their bill for multiple months, then we cut them off.”

Some commissioners considered possible liabilities to the city that cutting off the water could bring. City attorney Patrick McMahon was present to speak to these concerns. McMahon said that it would be important to properly notify them of a potential cut off in order to limit the city’s liability in the matter.

Miranda plans to send a 30-day disconnect notice via certified mail in hopes of collecting on the debt.

Asked about this bill, HF Sinclair provided the statement, “We appreciate the opportunity to correct the record on this issue. After working with the City on the replacement of water meters to support the accuracy of billing, the City determined the outstanding balance and HF Sinclair received the invoices from the City on Sept. 9, 2023.  The invoices were promptly processed and payment was sent via check in full within two weeks of receipt.”

However, city manager Miranda confirmed the bill has not been paid and believes HF Sinclair is referring only to the wastewater bills which had not been paused or altered in any way. The approximately $600,000 bill for fresh water is still outstanding, according to Miranda.

Editor’s Note: The “Navajo Refinery” is unrelated to the Navajo people and refers to the original owner of the refinery, the Navajo Refining Company of Artesia, NM. Today the refinery is owned by the HF Sinclair Corporation which still uses the “Navajo Refinery” name to refer to the facility in Lovington as well as the partner facility in Artesia.