LATEST NEWS
Pollution control bill advances to New Mexico Senate Floor, oil and gas industry dissents
By Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus
March 5, 2021
Air pollution controls adopted by The State of New Mexico could be made tougher than federal law as a bill advanced in the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday and could next face a vote on the Senate Floor.
Sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth (D-25), Senate Bill 8 was intended to allow the State to adopt air pollution controls as stringent or tougher than federal restrictions through the New Mexico Environment Department and the Environmental Improvement Board.
Not a Drop of Water to Spare
By Gwynne Ann Unruh, The Paper.
March 4, 2021
The fast and furious pace of regulation hearings, combined with a slew of legislative bills and amendments, appears to have blindsided New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) members and left them trying to figure out a way forward. NMOGA stated in an email, “The legislature has been fast-tracking bills that put oil and gas jobs and billions of dollars in state revenues in jeopardy, severely limiting funding for our schools, roads, first responders and healthcare.” With leases stockpiled, pre-Biden administration NMOGA members won’t run out of land to drill or frack for many years—even with the federal leasing moratorium. However, they are running out of water for fracking and are facing massive regulations on the toxic produced water that their industry creates.
Earth Care Leads Community Resistance to Asphalt Plant Expansion in Santa Fe’s Southside Neighborhood
WHAT: Associated Asphalt and Materials LLC’s application to New Mexico Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau for an Air Quality Permit
WHEN: Public Hearing on the Application is scheduled for March 22, 2021 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: The Public Hearing will take place virtually and will be presided over by Hearing Officer Gregory Chakalian.
WRITTEN & ORAL COMMENTS: The public may submit written comments by email or post to Pamela Jones, Hearing Clerk, at: Pamela.Jones@state.nm.us or mail them to Pam Jones, Hearing Clerk, New Mexico Environment Department, 1190 St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, NM 87505.
New Mexico Environmental Oversight Increases, But Officials Say More Funding Needed
By Scott Wyland, Santa Fe New Mexican
February 28, 2021
A disastrous blowout at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colo., released tons of toxic metals and acidic waste into the Animas and San Juan rivers in 2015, resulting in an $11 million settlement with the state of New Mexico.
An open-pit mining operation contaminated Questa’s surface and groundwater badly enough to put it on a federal Superfund list, leading to a recent $2.3 million payout to cover water improvements.
New Mexico sues feds over LANL cleanup, plans tougher oversight
By Scott Wyland, Santa Fe New Mexican
February 25, 2021
State regulators are suing the U.S. Department of Energy for what they say is a failure to adequately clean up legacy waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and they will impose tougher rules for disposing of waste generated at the lab during the Cold War and Manhattan Project.