Like Hand, Douglas Meiklejohn, executive director of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, worries what approval of the application could mean not just for local residents, but other rural New Mexicans.

“The main thing to understand is that if this can happen to an area like the San Agustin Basin, then it can happen elsewhere in the state,” Meiklejohn said. “In terms of the possible precedent, it’s a case that’s important for all rural areas of the state.” NM Political Report

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