Citizens Take on ConAgra Ethanol Plant

Acoma Pueblo Water Office Joins the Uranium Fight

Oil Pit Rule the Pits for Industry

Southwest Landfill Zoning Effort Unsuccessful

The Law Center won in its appeal on behalf of Clovis’ Hispanic, African-American and low-income residents against the proposed 110 million gallon per year ethanol plant that would be sited near their residential neighborhoods. In 2007, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued an air permit for the plant even though residents were very concerned about the possible respiratory illnesses that might be caused by the plant’s air emissions and the diesel exhaust from thousands of delivery trucks and trains annually, as well as other adverse impacts like noise, odor, traffic, and dust. Representing our clients in an appeal to the Environmental Improvement Board, we argued that the company’s notice to the community about the location of the plant had been substantially flawed. Based on our arguments, the Environmental Improvement Board reversed the NMED’s decision to issue the permit and required NMED to conduct another public hearing following proper notice. The Law Center was prepared to refute NMED’s assertion that it must make permitting decisions based solely on technical air emission data; rather, we intended to argue that the agency must seriously consider all of the adverse disparate impacts that the plant will have on Clovis’ minority populations, not just air emissions. In the face of this additional hearing, which could be followed by additional appeals, ConAgra decided on January 22, 2008 to withdraw its permit application for the ethanol plant. This is a big win for Clovis residents. Nevertheless, the Law Center may still seek to challenge ConAgra’s existing air permit for its grain elevator, which was also obtained following a misleading notice and which inflicts excessive levels of noise, odor, and dust on nearby residents. | top

Acoma Pueblo has been through one uranium boom, and its members are still grappling with the damage done to cultural sites and the environment from more than twenty years ago. With energy companies once again eyeing the uranium-rich lands of northwestern New Mexico, the Pueblo is preparing to defend the health of its people, land and water against future mining. In August 2007, the Law Center agreed to represent the Haaku Water Office of Acoma Pueblo in two efforts: its work to prevent future degradation from uranium mining, and its opposition of the Generic Environmental Impact Statement proposed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for future in situ leach uranium mining in the West. In response to increased interest in mining on Mount Taylor, a significant cultural site for Acoma Pueblo and other tribes, Staff Attorney Eric Jantz is representing the Pueblo in a government-to-government consultation with representatives of state agencies and the U.S. Forest Service. “Our current goal,” states Jantz, “is to ensure that Acoma Pueblo is treated as a sovereign nation in this matter, and that its concerns are taken seriously by state and federal regulators.” In February 2008, Acoma Pueblo, along with Zuni Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe obtained emergency listing for Mt. Taylor on the State Register of Cultural Properties which will provide the mountain with some protection for a year. | top

After consideration of Task Force recommendations, the NM Oil Conservation Division has issued draft regulations on oil and gas waste pits, which are pits dug into the ground that collect solid and liquid wastes produced during oil and gas drilling. The draft regulations significantly strengthen public safety and environmental requirements of these waste pits by requiring oil and gas companies to have liners for all pits. Currently, not all pits are required to have liners – oil and gas companies can essentially just dump their toxic wastes into a hole in the ground and then cover it up. In addition, the regulations would require companies to take their wastes to a certified landfill, and encourage the use of “closed loop” drilling systems, which effectively re-use many of the materials that would otherwise wind up in waste pits. A hearing was held on the proposed regulations, and the Law Center presented extensive health and economic testimony on behalf of its client, the Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP). An internationally-known environmental health expert, Dr. Theo Colborn, testified about the kinds of chemicals that end up in these pits. Dr. Colborn pointed out that most of the chemicals in pits are highly dangerous, including chemicals that cause cancer, liver damage, and neurological damage. Dr. Colborn also testified about the potential for oil and gas pit chemicals to be endocrine disruptors, which interfere with hormones and can lead to developmental problems both within a person’s lifetime and generations later. The Law Center also presented testimony from Mary Ellen Denomy, a Certified Petroleum Accountant who testified about the possible economic impacts on oil and gas companies. Ms. Denomy concluded, based on her experience representing oil and gas operators and county governments in Colorado and New Mexico, that the proposed regulations would, at worst, increase oil and gas waste disposal costs by about 6%. Using closed loop systems would actually save operators money. Even testimony by the oil and gas industry confirmed that at most, the new rule would impose a 10% increase in waste disposal costs and at most a 5% decrease in returns on investment. This is a small imposition on an industry that is making record profits and is responsible for substantial contamination to groundwater | top

We regret to report that the Law Center’s effort to prevent the issuance of a zoning permit for the proposed expansion of the Southwest landfill has ended unsuccessfully. After the Bernalillo County Commission decided to allow the Southwest landfill to amend its zoning permit to allow expansion of the landfill from 80 to 120 acres in 2003, we and our clients obtained a ruling from the Second Judicial District Court reversing that decision. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeals overturned the ruling of the District Court, and the matter was then remanded to the Bernalillo County Commission for reconsideration of its decision on one point. Regrettably, the Commission ruled in favor of the landfill again, and the landfill therefore now has the Commission’s permission to expand. Fortunately, we and our clients still have avenues to pursue. The environmental justice complaint that we filed against the State Environment Department for issuing a permit to the landfill in 1999 is still pending, and it is the position of the State Environment Department Solid Waste Bureau that the landfill’s Solid Waste Act permit only allows the landfill to use 80 acres. We and our clients therefore will continue to work on these remaining avenues to prevent the environmental injustice that would result from expansion of the landfill. | top

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