LATEST NEWS
IACHR Makes Historic “Promotional Visit” to Churchrock & Crownpoint New Mexico
August 31, 2023
Press Release
Commissioners See First-Hand Impacts from Uranium Mining & Milling to Pueblo and Diné Communities
Churchrock, NM—Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) and Red Water Pond Road Community Association, with support from NMELC, Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE) and Southwest Research & Information Center (SRIC), hosted a four-person delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during the last week of July at the Pueblo of Laguna, Churchrock and Crownpoint chapters of the Navajo Nation, and in Gallup, New Mexico.
Albuquerque Plastic Fire Gives Air Regulators Opportunity ‘to Make the Right Decision’
August 17, 2023
By Austin Fisher, Source NM
Massive, toxic fire comes as grassroots community groups push for historic air regulation
Richard Moore started getting phone calls from his neighbors in the South Valley on Aug. 6.
He followed the path of the smoke, and decided to go up to Mesa del Sol where the Atkore United Poly Systems fire was still burning.
Ten days after the plastic fire, there has still been no official report to residents on the health impacts of the smoke created by burning plastic.
Board of Regents Approve RPSP Requests
August 14, 2023
By Maddie Pukite, Daily Lobo
Passed unanimously, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes presented the Legislative Research and Public Service Projects Funding requests for FY 2024 – 2025 to the Board of Regents at their meeting on Thursday, Aug. 10.
The largest RPSP request for 2025 was $11,941,700 for athletics to improve student-athlete welfare, recruitment and “enhancing the university’s brand”; it was $3.5 million more than last year’s request.
The athletics request is one of two categorical requests, which are approved for a purpose, rather than a specific project. The other is a $1,097,900 request for educational television like New Mexico PBS.
Categorical requests are alongside 23 new requests and 29 expansion requests. A new request of $997,946 would support the Accelerating Resilience Innovations in Drylands Institute for education and research on how to preserve the people’s economy and the ecosystem of New Mexico.
Environmental concerns were also brought up during the public comment. Several spoke about the Board of Regents filing to require “review and consideration” of the Health Equity and Environmental Impacts regulation. …
Navajo Nation Community Pushes to Have Uranium Mine Waste Moved to Nearby Landfill
August 11, 2023
By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
Residents of a small Navajo Nation community are hopeful that some of the historic mine waste impacting their land and health will be hauled away.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Quivira Mine produced approximately 4.6 million pounds of uranium, making it the third largest uranium mine on Navajo Nation.
As the uranium was hauled off, waste was discarded in a pile that today is located about 200 yards from a residence in the Red Water Pond Road Community. …
New Amendments, Perspectives Shake up Airpermitting Debate
August 7, 2023
By Drew Goretzka, Albuquerque Business First
New versions of a proposal to change air permitting processes in Bernalillo County are taking stage at ongoing stakeholder meetings.
The original proposal, filed in November 2022 by the Mountain View Coalition, a collection of neighborhood organizations based in South Valley, looks to limit permits being issued in communities deemed “overburdened.”
Business leaders, especially those with stakes in the South Valley, say the proposal would hinder business and development across the county.
The two proposals, submitted by the Mountain View Coalition and the City of AlbuquerqueEnvironmental Health Department (EHD), differ greatly in specificity and intent. …