News
The latest news from the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.
The New Mexico Environment Department and Freeport-McMoran Tyrone Inc. Settle
The New Mexico Environment Department announced yesterday that they and Freeport-McMoran Tyrone Inc. have settled a longstanding appeal associated with closure requirements for the Tyrone copper mine in Grant County, N.M. Get NMED press release.
Learn more about the Grant County Tyrone mine closure plan case.
Fall 2010 Green Fire Report Newsletter Online
The GreenFire Report is now online. Get the whole newsletter in PDF format here. Sign up for our monthly ENews and stay updated on all our casework.
CALL TO ACTION! Please Join Us in Santa Fe and Stand Up for New Mexico’s Pit Rule!
On December 10, District Judge Barbara Vigil will hear oral argument on two appeals of New Mexico’s Pit Rule. The Oil Conservation Commission passed the Pit Rule in 2008, which requires that oil and gas producers manage their oilfield wastes to protect human health, groundwater and soil. The hearing will be held at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe at 2:00 p.m. Earthworks’ OGAP will be represented by Eric Jantz, Attorney, New Mexico Environmental Law Center. Learn more about the case.
WHEN: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: First Judicial District Court, Catron Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
WEBSITE: http://www.firstdistrictcourt.com/
NM Regulators Approve Gas Emissions Cap
“The Environmental Improvement Board voted 4-1 in favor of the petition by New Energy Economy, which calls for large polluters such as coal-fired power plants and refineries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent per year from 2010 levels.“ The Washington Post
Learn more about the New Mexico Greenhouse Gas Emission Caps case.
NMELC Files Closing Arguments in Support of Greenhouse Gas Cap Regulation
Yesterday, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center filed closing arguments for client, New Energy Economy, in support of statewide greenhouse gas cap regulation. If adopted, the regulation would apply only to facilities that emit more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year and would “dovetail” with the State’s cap and trade rule adopted earlier this month.
Get PDF of filed Petitioner’s Closing Argument in Support of Regulation.
Learn more about the New Mexico Greenhouse Gas Emissions Caps case.
BREAKING: US Supreme Court Denies Navajo Communities’ Petition Re Uranium Mining
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied review of decision to allow in situ leach (ISL) uranium mining in the Church Rock and Crownpoint communities. Learn more about the Hydro Resources, Inc. uranium mines case.
NMELC Comments on EPA’s Plan to Integrate EJ Principles Into Their Programs
Dear Administrator Jackson:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Plan EJ 2014 (the Plan). We commend your effort to further environmental justice in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’ s) work and we appreciate your solicitation of input from groups working on environmental justice issues before putting the proposed Plan into effect.
INTRODUCTION
By way of introduction, I am the Executive Director of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center (the Law Center), a non-profit public interest law firm that provides free and low cost legal services for protection of the environment in our state. The majority of the work of the Law Center is representing communities here that are either being impacted by or are threatened by existing or proposed facilities such as airports, chemical plants, landfills, and roads, and by existing or proposed operations such as extraction of ground water, mining, and oil and gas production. Almost all of the communities with which the Law Center works are communities whose residents are predominantly low-income and communities whose residents are people of color. In most cases, the communities that are our clients are both low-income communities and communities of color.
Green Fire Report: Summer 2010 Edition Now Available
The print version of the Green Fire Report is now available online here. You can also download a PDF version.
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Climate Change: The Faster We Get on it, The Better for Everyone
Public comments submitted by Mary-Charlotte Domandi,
Producer and Host, The Santa Fe Radio Cafe
KSFR 101.1 FM, Santa Fe Public Radio
I first became aware of how serious the climate change problem was about five years ago when I started spending time socially with a group of scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratories. There’s a terrific program, not open to the public, where LANL brings in top scientists from all over the country, MIT, Rice, University of California, and so on, to give lectures to the scientists here. And my friends were continually talking about the speakers who came in to talk about energy.
There was at that time, no discussion in those lectures about whether or not climate change was real and man-made—that was already established. It was all about how we were going to get off of fossil fuels, and how many terrawatts of energy each non-carbon-emitting source could yield, and what research was most promising, and what was the time line.
New Energy Economy GHG Regulation Summary
Here is a summary of, our client, New Energy Economy’s greenhouse gas emission cap regulatory proposal:
Climate Change Experts Talk to KSFR’s Radio Café - Get the Podcasts, Get Informed!
The Santa Fe Radio Café on KSFR interviews climate change experts all this week. Miss the shows? Get the podcasts and get informed!
Learn more about the case and get filed documents and testimony.
Solar and Nuclear Costs - The Historic Crossover
Why solar power is now the better buy over new nuclear energy in North Carolina.
Learn About Groundwater
Not many people realize that 99 percent of the freshwater we use is groundwater. This video helps people worldwide to understand the importance of groundwater. An IGRAC initiative: http://www.igrac.nl
A good article from AlterNet.org: Everything You Need to Know About Groundwater.
EPA 40 CFR Part 192 Uranium-Thorium Standards Discussion Forum
EPA is establishing this discussion forum to ensure an open and transparent process as we review 40 CFR Part 192, Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings Standards to determine if revisions are needed. They are looking for input and public response. Visit the EPA discussion forum here.
Find out more about our uranium case work.
We Met Our Match!
Thank you everyone for contributing. Your support is essential to the NMELC’s critical work!!