There are 19 Native American pueblos as well as Navajo and Apache nations in New Mexico. Unfortunately, many of these communities are viewed as places where resources are abundant and regulation is limited; they also are often seen as areas in which there is chronic unemployment, and in which jobs can be traded for environmental degradation. In addition, many indigenous communities receive little or no protection from government regulators.
Richard Deertrack, former member of the Law Center's Board of Directors, member of Taos Pueblo, and former client, wrote in the Fall 1997 issue of the Green Fire Report:
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The Forest Service could issue its approval this year, the newspaper reports… And once that happens, hoo-boy, is New Mexico in for an economic bonanza — the likes of which DeJoia can’t even describe to a reporter:
“I won’t run you through all the economics on that, but you can rest assured there is an awful lot of income tax paid on that,” he said. “There are a lot of New Mexico taxes in there.”
Thanks for sparing us the numbers. Nobody wants to be thinking hard when we could just be mindlessly digging for short-term profits. Grist.org
Go to Grist.org for full story.
But a coalition of organizations, including several Native American groups and an organization of former uranium miners, contends that a mining operation would imperil the area’s water supply and its quality. The group also believes it would severely impact an area designated by the Forest Service as a traditional cultural property that has great spiritual significance for indigenous people across the Southwest…
[Staff Attorney] Jantz said water pumped from the mine could result in significant drawdowns of surface water and springs. There is also concern that waste piles and toxic heavy-metal materials could make their way into ground and surface water, he said. Alamogordo Daily News
Go to Alamogordo Daily News for full story.
SANTA FE, N.M. - Today, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC) filed a request for a public hearing regarding a proposed permit revision to put the Mt. Taylor uranium mine on active status. The mine, near Grants, NM, has been inactive (on “standby” status) without cleanup for 23 years. The mine’s owner, Rio Grande Resources, received a fourth renewal for the standby permit in January 2012, but on April 12, 2013 it notified the public it was seeking a revision to change the mine’s status to “active”. The NMELC filed the hearing request on behalf of its clients, Amigos Bravos and the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE).
Go to case page.
SANTA FE, N.M. - The New Mexico Court of Appeals struck down an effort by the Martinez Administration to repeal regulations favorable to the environment and reinstated the state’s energy efficiency building codes.
The energy codes, adopted before Governor Martinez came into office, were repealed by the State Construction Industries Commission in the summer of 2011. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC) appealed the Commission’s move on seven grounds, including that the Commission failed to state the reasons for its decision as is required of all administrative agencies. The Court of Appeals agreed, and reversed the Commission’s decision. (Get PDF of Court of Appeals ruling)
Visit Repeal of Energy Efficient Building Codes case page
