NMELC in the News
The New Mexico Environmental Law Center is frequently in the news, both locally and nationally. If you see references that we've missed, please forward them on to us at: nmelc@nmelc.org. Thank you.
Martinez Pursues Business-Friendly Agenda Aimed at Economic Growth
“Martinez’s executive order blocked Richardson-era rules curbing greenhouse gases, increasing energy efficiency in new buildings, and regulating water quality at dairies…Environmental groups promptly sued…The high court overruled Martinez and ordered the regulations published, although the greenhouse gas and water quality rules are being appealed by industry in the state Court of Appeals.“ Albuquerque Journal
After six months on the job, HOW’S SHE DOING?
“Martinez pledged to make New Mexico more businessfriendly, and the first thing she did—just minutes into her term—was to freeze proposed and pending regulations for 90 days while a task force reviewed them… Environmental groups promptly sued—the first in a series of challenges to her muscle-flexing on those and other issues that the governor has lost in the state Supreme Court.“ TMCNet.com
Court Grants Company to Join Appeal
“The New Mexico State Supreme Court agreed to hear a case filed by the New Mexico Environmental Law Center on behalf of its client, New Energy Economy. The NMELC filed an emergency petition asking the Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals’ ruling that barred New Energy Economy from participating in an appeal filed by PNM.“ Cibola Beacon
Under Fire: Las Conchas Continues to Burn. What’s Next?
“Doug Meiklejohn, the executive director of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, shares [Joni] Arends’ fear that the fire could burn radioactive material and release it into the air. But he also has a second concern: erosion of the contaminated soil near the canyons where waste was once dumped. ‘Fire makes the soil less stable,‘ Meiklejohn explains. ‘When it rains, the soil in the canyons can go into the Rio Grande.‘“ Santa Fe Reporter
High Court Considers NEE Request
“‘The Supreme Court did not have to take (the appeals court ruling), but they did take it up, and we’re happy they did,‘ said attorney Bruce Frederick of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, which petitioned the high court for a review of the ruling on NEE’s behalf. He said the appeals court held there was no authority to let NEE intervene, ‘which is just absolutely not true.‘“ Albuquerque Journal
Op Ed: Uranium Mining Danger to Water
by Douglas Meiklejohn, Executive Director
“Congratulations to The New Mexican for its June editorials supporting the 20-year moratorium on uranium mining at the Grand Canyon and to the Obama administration for considering the moratorium. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center also supports the moratorium and favors reforming the 1872 Mining Act that makes such mining possible.“ Santa Fe New Mexican
KRQE TV Announces Petition Filed with the IACHR
New Mexico’s KRQE TV announces petition filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asking them to intervene with the United States to stop uranium mining on Navajo community lands.
Aired on May 16, 2011 at noon.
A Toothless Watchdog
by Staff Attorney Eric Jantz
“Recently, however, it occurred to me that corporatism’s apparent triumph wasn’t the direct result of the Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United case, as many progressive commentators have supposed. The model for the current corporate takeover of government has been refined over the last 60 years in the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).“ HCN The Range
Deregulation Sensation: Documents Reveal Industry Pressure on State Policy
“But government is supposed to serve the people, not corporations, Frederick says… ‘It’s a timeless theme and, really, it’s the definition of corruption. To have government not serving the people but just catering to [corporate] needs? To treat them as if you’re selling something and you want their business? To shift the burden of proof from the regulator to the polluter?‘” Santa Fe Reporter
Fighting for Their (Water) Rights
“The San Augustin Water Coalition is in it for the long haul. It has to be in order to protect its water rights, members say… The group was formed shortly after the water rights of people who live in sparsely populated west-central New Mexico were threatened by a New York City-based corporation operating in the area under the name of Augustin Plains Ranch LLC. The Ranch filed an application with the Office of the State Engineer in 2007 to pump 54,000-acre-feet of groundwater annually from the San Agustin Basin. That translates to 17.6 billion gallons of water per year, or about half of what the Albuquerque metropolitan area uses in a year.“ El Defensor Chieftain
Learn more about the Augustin Plains Ranch water rights application case.
Hear NMELC Staff Attorney Jonathan Block on KSFR’s The Journey Home
If you missed Diego Mulligan’s “Sustainable Tuesdays” May 24th show, listen here! He and Jonathan talk about New Mexico’s environmental protections’ under the current state administration and economic impacts.
Cities’ Water Needs Could Deplete Rural Areas
“Communities in rural New Mexico are watching apprehensively as the Rio Grande Valley’s growing water needs threaten to deplete their water resources, two state legislators said recently. Attorneys for members of several of the communities have challenged applications to the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) by the developers of two large projects to transfer water from other parts of the state into the Valley…
State Representatives Don L. Tripp, R-Socorro, and Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell, said the cases highlight a larger issue: attempts to transfer water to meet the critical water needs of cities in the Rio Grande Valley are a threat to their constituents’ ways of life.“ Veritas New Mexico
Learn more about the Augustin Plains Ranch water rights application case.
Guv’s Record Worse Than Reported
“Your story about possible litigation against Gov. Susana Martínez by members of the Legislature indicated that the state Supreme Court had ruled against her administration twice…Those are not the only Supreme Court rulings against the administration.“ Santa Fe New Mexican
Nuclear Horizon: An atomic economy is booming in New Mexico
“‘The state currently has a stake in a lot of aspects of this cycle—the mining, the enrichment, the storage,‘ Mat Lueras, vice president for corporate development at Uranium Resources Inc., a mining outfit that owns 183,000 acres of uranium mineral rights in New Mexico, tells SFR. Because of that, Lueras says, URI has ‘seen widespread local and state support from New Mexico politicians’ for its efforts to restart uranium mining….
Still, to local residents, the market potential isn’t worth the risk. ‘They talk about jobs—BS!‘ former uranium miner Larry King says. King serves on the board of Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, an organization dedicated to stopping URI in its tracks…‘“ Santa Fe Reporter
Navajo Group Bringing Attention to Uranium Mining
“‘We want to bring international attention to this issue and hopefully induce the United States to take a look at how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses these projects, particularly when it’s dealing with low-income or indigenous communities,‘ [Eric Jantz] said.“ BusinessWeek.com
Learn more about the Hydro Resources, Inc. uranium mines case.