by NMELC | Feb 14, 2023 | NMELC in the News
February 14, 2023
by Gwynne Ann Unruh, The Paper.
The Mountain View Coalition has finally, after years fighting a permit that was issued for another hot mix asphalt batch plant in the South Valley, got the long end of the stick. New Mexico Terminal Services (NMTS) set to operate the plant in the Mountain View neighborhood got the short end of the stick this time.
By unanimous vote, the Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board approved a joint motion to dismiss a request for a hearing on the merits for an air quality permit issued in October 2020 for NMTS to operate the asphalt plant. …
by NMELC | Feb 7, 2023 | NMELC in the News
February 7, 2023
by Curtis Segarra, KRQE
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Tuesday, legislators considered a bill to give the state’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department additional powers to deny permits to oil and gas companies. The bill would also require oil and gas companies to prove they have “environmental insurance coverage.” …
by NMELC | Feb 3, 2023 | NMELC in the News
February 3, 2023
by Pat Davis, The Paper.
Status of 4,000 home Campbell Ranch development now unknown
East Mountain residents won a 14-year fight to protect their domestic water wells this week when New Mexico Court of Appeals Court affirmed a District Court decision denying an application for a new groundwater appropriation by a company that sells water to commercial developers. East Mountain homeowners banded together to hire lawyers and expert witnesses to defeat an application for a new groundwater appropriation to supply the massive proposed Campbell Ranch 4000 home and golf course development in the Edgewood and Sandia Park area….
by NMELC | Jan 18, 2023 | NMELC in the News
January 18, 2023
by Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main
Three bills proposed for the New Mexico legislative session would shift the state’s focus on the oil and gas industry by emphasizing public safety and environmental protections, denying permits and increasing penalties for companies in violation of the law, and making it easier for citizen groups to sue scofflaw operators.
The bills would dramatically redirect the Oil and Gas Act, which was written to protect oil and gas resources for the state’s benefit, to include protecting the environment and the public, particularly marginalized communities. The legislation could be the largest change to the act since it was written in 1935. …
by NMELC | Dec 23, 2022 | NMELC in the News
Health, Environment and Equity Impacts Regulation Could Shift Environmental Racism in South Valley
December 23, 2022
by Gwynne Ann Unruh, The Paper.
The South Valley is a clear example of environmental racism and they are fed up with being the dumping ground for decades of a dirty industry that no one else wants. The strength of community organizing paid off for residents there when, spearheaded by the Mountain View Coalition and New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC), they were able to convince the ABQ-BernCo Air Quality Control Board (AQCB) to vote unanimously (5-0) to hold a public hearing on their proposed Health, Environment and Equity Impacts Regulation.
“Most of the burdens and few of the benefits of economic development are experienced by residents in these overburdened communities,” Eric Jantz, NMELC Senior Staff Attorney told the AQCB….
by NMELC | Dec 14, 2022 | NMELC in the News
December 13, 2022
by Gwynne Ann Unruh, The Paper.
Bernalillo County residents are sick and tired of getting the short end of the stick when it comes to businesses affecting their air quality. They want to close the loopholes polluters use and make the health of the community paramount.
The Mountain View Coalition and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center have teamed up to present the Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board with a proposed Health Environment & Equity Impacts Regulation on December 14, that would make it virtually impossible for businesses to squeak by the Board if they produce any air pollution. …
