Tribal leaders say they won’t accept changes to their state Senate map after hours of talks - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A coalition of tribal leaders announced Tuesday that despite “productive, meaningful, and respectful” conversations with leadership of the New Mexico State Senate, they still do not accept any of the alterations to the Senate district map they drew up earlier this year.
The All Pueblo Council of Governors celebrated in September a “historic” consensus about what the 23 pueblos and tribes in New Mexico would like to see in political districts here for the next decade. It took them eight months to achieve agreement on a map, one that was ultimately endorsed as nonpartisan and fair by an independent expert and redistricting committee.
But on Sunday, tribal leaders said they were stunned when State Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), the Senate’s president pro tem, introduced an amended map to the Senate Judiciary Committee, one that changed the layout of districts in and around tribal lands and pueblos.
The map passed the committee 7-2. Since then, the public workings of the Legislature have been halted as tribal leaders and their allies in the Senate talk to resolve the impasse.
State Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque), sponsored the original SB 2, which includes the layout of Senate districts in accordance with the tribes’ map. That version was voted down in favor of Stewart’s changed map.
The pueblo coalition released a letter Tuesday mid-morning to Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) saying that the tribes “remain steadfast” in their support of an unchanged SB 2.
They said a senator told them in negotiations that protecting sitting legislators who live in current districts is a reason behind changes to their map. The tribes’ map would potentially draw two Republican senators in Districts 29 and 30 – Sens. Greg Baca and Joshua Sanchez – into the same district, meaning one would have to resign or move. Stewart’s amendment prevents that.
Wilfred Herrera, chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, wrote in the letter that protecting incumbents at the expense of the tribes’ preferred boundaries is unacceptable. The tribes did not draw maps considering the home addresses of sitting legislators, and neither did the nonpartisan Citizen Redistricting Committee.
“We find that wholly unacceptable,” he said, “primarily because that was never a priority for the CRC nor the All Pueblo Council of Governors, especially in designing Senate District 30.”
The tribal consensus maps aimed to protect Native American majorities of at least 65% in the three Senate districts where they are the biggest racial group and keep District 30 as an “influence group,” with 35% Native American composition. The map they agreed upon had 34.5% Native Americans, and Stewart’s map has 34.1% in District 30.
“The Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, Isleta and Zuni have tribal lands and communities located in SD 30. All support maintaining the boundaries of SD 30 as contained in the tribal consensus plan,” he wrote. “Doing so will allow the tribes to increase their chances of not only electing a candidate of their choice, but also increasing the possibility of electing a Native candidate to the New Mexico Senate, a candidate who is responsive, understanding, and supportive of tribal issues and concerns.”
Pueblo governors previously told Source New Mexico that even if the decrease in Native Americans in each district might seem small, the data do not reflect the way Stewart’s amended map dilutes or divides specific Native American communities and boundaries that the tribe recognizes.
$478 million for state needs passed by the NM Senate, despite fears of rushed process - By Shaun Griswold and Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
New Mexico is inching closer to spending nearly half of the roughly $1.1 billion in remaining federal relief money given to the state under the American Rescue Plan Act passed earlier this year.
The state Senate on Tuesday approved $478 million to be distributed to state agencies, covering housing services, upgrades to state parks, pre-trial services monitoring and a new rural hospital.
The Senate passed the bill 36-4, and two senators were absent. The measure heads back to the House side where representatives crafted the bill and passed it nearly unanimously 65-1. Money will be distributed shortly after it is signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. She also has the option of vetoing it.
Despite the bill passing with broad, bipartisan support, senators raised concerns during floor debate about whether it was prudent to spend so much money so fast.
The Senate made one significant change decreasing the budget the House sent over, removing $26 million for the Department of Information Technology, according to Senate documents. That alteration means the bill will be sent back to the House for “concurrence” before the governor reviews it.
However, the tech agency will still receive more than $123 million for broadband projects.
Another $10 million is slated for upgrading tribal libraries and their Internet infrastructure through the Public Education Department.
Beyond broadband efforts, the Department of Transportation is the biggest winner, receiving $142.5 million for road construction efforts and another $10 million to clean up roadways.
Senators preserved the $50 million appropriation that was added by a House committee to build an “acute care hospital” in a county with less than 100,000 residents.
This money will be available for the majority of New Mexico counties, as 28 out of the 33 counties in the state have populations under 100,000, according to 2020 census numbers. However, Valencia County could be a contender for the funding, lawmakers said.
The Senate bill also keeps $2 million for the Higher Education Department to repay teachers who take loans for professional development.
Housing services will see millions through the Department of Finance and Administration,, including $10 million toward assistance to homeless people that is contingent on a 100% match by the communities seeking that money. Another $15 million is meant to cover costs of energy-efficient affordable homes.
It’s unclear when the House will take up the spending bill. Members are in recess waiting for the Senate to reconvene, according to the House Majority Office. The Senate is in caucus figuring out Senate district maps.
State Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) began the floor hearing by pressing Sen. George Muñoz, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, on where exactly the money would be going. On spending $25 million to address homelessness and lack of affordable housing, for example, Cervantes asked where the new homes would be built. He had similar questions about roadway and broadband spending.
“I'm not really sure we're doing it in the best way we can,” Cervantes said before Senators voted. “I believe the reason that we're not doing it the best we can is because we're rushing.”
Lawmakers were pressed to spend the money because of a last-minute proclamation by Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham, who announced just days before the session began that lawmakers would need to agree on how to divvy up the money while also passing new maps for federal and state voting districts.
Her announcement came after legislators sued the governor this year, and a state Supreme Court ruling that removed Lujan Grisham’s ability to spend the $1.8 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds without legislative approval. By the time the Legislature got its hands on the money, around $1.1 billion remained.
Lawmakers, in consultation with the governor, later pushed off spending about half of that funding into the regular 30-day session, opting to allocate money this week on what they described as programs or projects that were already identified and did not need additional administrative bills to launch.
Cervantes asked his fellow senators to take their time in allocating the money despite the governor’s proclamation, and he said they should focus primarily on using the funds on health care matters, like addressing COVID or responding to mental health problems exacerbated by the pandemic.
Without more specifics, he said, where the money is spent will be left up to the agencies in the executive branch, which undermines the whole point of having the Legislature be a part of the process at all.
“Is this the transformative use of a billion dollars in response to COVID? Or are we simply responding to a tune that's been played for us, and we're doing the dance?” Cervantes said. “We're dancing to the tune of the proclamation.”
Lawmakers previously expressed concerns about the quick turnaround on spending the money. In a previous Senate committee hearing, $15 million was incorrectly allocated to two agencies that had no use for it. Those errors that were corrected, but leaders attributed them to the quick pace.
Muñoz responded by saying the Legislature was prioritizing valuable projects that were “transformative” despite the quick pace, like $50 million toward a county hospital, millions toward improving state roads and money to help pre-trial services monitor defendants. And, in a news release later Tuesday touting the bill’s passage, he set his sights on the money still left to be spent in the upcoming legislative session.
The bill’s allocations “represent an effective way for us to put some of the federal aid into vetted, one-time projects that are ready to go, getting money out the door and continuing our pandemic recovery efforts,” Muñoz said. “ … But there is still more to do, and during the regular session in January, we will be looking at making even more bold, transformational investments.”
Cervantes ended up being one of four senators who voted against the bill, and the only Democrat who did. Republicans who voted against it included Mark Moores of Albuquerque, Greg Schmedes of Tijeras and David Gallegos of Eunice. Two senators were absent, including Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque, who just changed his party from Democrat to “decline to state” at the start of the special session, and Democrat Roberto Gonzales of Ranchos de Taos.
The Senate plans to reconvene Wednesday at 2 p.m. The House plans to meet again Thursday.
Boy killed in hit-and-run after leaving ABQ BioPark identified - Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque police are searching for the driver who struck and killed a 7-year-old boy as he was crossing the street with his family, though they may have located the vehicle.
Authorities say the hit-and-run that killed the boy identified by police as Pronoy Bhattacharya occurred Sunday around 8:30 p.m. at Central Ave and Tingley Drive.
A family of four had just left the River of Lights, a series of holiday light displays at ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden.
According to traffic camera footage, a car ran a red light. The family was in the crosswalk and the traffic signal gave them the right of way.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. His father was also injured. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition and has since been discharged, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
The car did not stop. Police describe it as an off-highway vehicle.
The Albuquerque Journal reports APD announced Tuesday they may have located the vehicle following several tips from the public. Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a statement a vehicle was collected as evidence from a property in northwest Albuquerque.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Cities wracked by opioids close to getting $26B settlement - By Andrew Selsky Associated Press
The opioid epidemic blew into this picturesque Oregon town like a toxic wind, leaving overdoses, addiction, homelessness and wrecked families in its wake.
In a humble, single-story brick building, three blocks from downtown McMinnville's wine-tasting rooms and cafes, staffers and volunteers of a recovery center called Provoking Hope help the casualties. The workers, who themselves are recovering from drug addiction, offer counseling, coffee and, for some, clean syringes.
McMinnville and thousands of other towns across the United States are on the precipice of receiving billions of dollars in the second-biggest legal settlement in U.S. history. The $26 billion from three drug distributors and a pharmaceutical manufacturer would address damage wrought by opioids, which the federal government declared in 2017 was a public health emergency.
States, counties and cities face a deadline in three weeks to sign onto the deal, and most states have agreed to do so. But a few holdouts remain, including Oregon, where disagreements have emerged between state and local government officials.
The money is needed. In Yamhill County, where McMinnville is the county seat, it would expand counseling and treatment, including in jails, expand residential treatment and recovery facilities and fund other programs, said County Commissioner Casey Kulla.
As Provoking Hope's office manager, Anne Muilenburg has seen the devastating effects of drug addiction and also experienced it first-hand. She says her addiction started as many in America did, after her physician prescribed opioids. They were for a painful spinal bone spur. Ten years later, using her prescription and buying two other people's prescriptions, she was taking 35 pills per day, far exceeding the maximum dosage.
"It wasn't even enough to make me feel high. It was just enough to not make me sick," Muilenburg said. She described opiate withdrawal — experienced when she would run out of pills — as "the worst feeling ever."
"It makes you feel like somebody's peeling your skin off," she recalled in her small office, decorated with posters with sayings like "be kind" and "stay humble."
Muilenburg finally got treatment but then "drug jumped" to alcohol and methamphetamine. She wound up losing her job at a car dealership and splitting with her husband, though they have since reunited. She was in and out of jail and found herself living on the street.
"My being homeless was one of the things that led me to wanting to change my life," Muilenburg said.
She has been free of drugs for 4 1/2 years. Muilenburg said funds from the settlement are needed to address the community's drug dependency.
"We need more treatment centers. Every place needs more treatment centers," she said. "It's ridiculous that somebody wants to go to treatment and they have to wait eight to 10 weeks for a bed."
In the U.S., more than 500,000 deaths over the last two decades have been linked to opioids, both prescription drugs and illegal ones.
The clock is ticking on the settlement, with a payout second only to the $200 billion-plus tobacco settlement, in 1998, with the nation's four largest tobacco companies.
The three drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson agreed in July to pay the combined $26 billion to resolve thousands of state and local government lawsuits. But if the defendants feel there's a lack of participation by states and local jurisdictions, it could cause them to back away from the landmark agreement or eventually reduce the settlement amount.
"The defendants have the last bite at the apple to say, 'Do we have a critical mass to justify going forward?'" said Joe Rice, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
In exchange for the payout, participating states, counties and cities would have to drop any lawsuits against the defendants and agree not to sue them in the future for the opioid epidemic.
"There are complex tradeoffs at stake here," said Caleb Alexander, a drug safety expert at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "On the one hand, the settlement would offer sorely needed funding to scale up treatment and otherwise address the opioid epidemic. On the other, many parties believe the settlement is not enough."
At least 45 states have signed on or signaled their intent to do so, and at least 4,012 counties and cities have also confirmed participation, plaintiffs' attorneys said Friday.
Washington state has already ruled out participating, with Attorney General Bob Ferguson calling the settlement "woefully insufficient." He's suing the nation's three biggest drug distributors — the same ones in the national settlement — for $38 billion in a trial that began in November.
In Pennsylvania, the district attorneys for Philadelphia and Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, have sued the state attorney general to ensure their lawsuits against the drug industry could continue, saying their communities' shares from the settlement would cover only a fraction of the epidemic's financial toll.
"We are not going to accept a settlement that is a sellout," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro says receiving payouts from the settlement is a sure thing, unlike continuing to pursue lawsuits against the companies. Local governments can opt out and keep suing, he said, but the more that do, the less the state would receive.
New Mexico is still working out details, "and we're anticipating that counties and local governments will be responding soon," said Jerri Mares of the state attorney general's office.
In Oregon, lawyers for local governments and the state recently resolved an impasse over how the settlement would be disbursed, according to The Lund Report, a health care news site.
The state of Oregon had wanted local governments to apply to it for grants. The local governments instead wanted a larger share of the funds in direct payments. There's now disagreement on how much of the settlement should go to attorneys who sued on behalf of several Oregon counties.
Kulla, the Yamhill County commissioner, supports the opioid settlement but doesn't want the state taking excessive control of it.
"We at the counties are the ones working with those addicted and their families, and we incur the societal costs of those addictions," he said.
Under the settlement, the payments would be made over 18 years. The tobacco settlement was controlled by state governments, and most of the money has not gone to pay for the toll of tobacco. By contrast, the opioid settlements are structured so most of the money is intended to fight the crisis.
Kulla recognizes there won't be a quick fix.
"It's going to be long-term," Kulla said. "It's going to take generations, really, to dig ourselves out of this."
___
Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Cedar Attanasio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
Fatal shooting by Torrance County deputy under investigation - Associated Press
A Torrance County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a man who reportedly had earlier entered a woman's backyard and fired at least one gunshot, the New Mexico State Police said.
The State Police didn't immediately release the identity of the man shot Monday.
The State Police said it was investigating the incident and that results of the investigation would be turned over to the District Attorney's Office.
According to a State Police statement, the man was wearing a black hoodie and a red facemask when he entered the woman's yard.
"For reasons still under investigation the deputy discharged his duty weapon at least once striking the suspect,"" the statement said.
Man indicted after 3 bodies found in burning Texas dumpster - Associated Press
A grand jury in Texas has returned a capital murder indictment against a man authorities have said confessed to killing five people, including three whose dismembered bodies were found in a burning dumpster earlier this year.
Jason Thornburg, 41, was indicted Monday on a charge of capital murder in the deaths of David Lueras, 42, Lauren Phillips, 34, and Maricruz Mathis, 33, the Tarrant County district attorney's office said. Their bodies were discovered in a burning dumpster in Fort Worth in September.
Thornburg remains jailed on $1 million bond. Jail records do no list an attorney for him.
Surveillance footage of a vehicle at the site of the dumpster led authorities to Thornburg.
During an interview with police, he confessed to killing the three people found in the dumpster as well as his roommate and girlfriend, according to his arrest warrant. He told officers that he had in-depth knowledge of the Bible and believed he was being called to "commit sacrifices," according to the arrest warrant.
Police have said that when they identified Thornburg as a suspect in the slayings of the three found in the dumpster, they were already familiar with him from a suspicious death investigation earlier in the year.
According to the arrest warrant, Thornburg's roommate had been killed in a suspicious house fire in May. During the police interview in September, Thornburg told officers he had slit his roommate's throat, then uncapped a natural gas line and lit a candle. At the time, the medical examiner had not been able to determine his roommate's cause of death.
When police asked Thornburg about any other sacrifices, he said he also sacrificed his girlfriend in Arizona, according to the arrest warrant.
Tanya Begay, an American Indian woman from Gallup, New Mexico, has been missing since taking a trip with Thornburg in 2017. When Begay last spoke to her mother, she told her she planned to travel from the Arizona town of Leupp back to her family's home near Gallup, New Mexico — a drive through the Navajo Nation that should've taken a few hours.
Messages left with police in the Navajo Nation and Gallup seeking any updates on her case were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Pecos man accused of fatally shooting drinking companions – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A Pecos man is accused of fatally shooting two drinking companions and shooting at another man who had called 911 while hiding in a closet of his residence, state police said Tuesday.
State police on Saturday found Mark Valencia, 40, sitting in a vehicle outside the residence, two people fatally shot inside the residence and the 63-year-old property owner hiding in a closet, a state police statement said.
Those killed were identified as Santa Fe residents Steven Singer, 40 and Evan Aragon, 48,
The shooting occurred after Valencia, Singer and Aragon were drinking and Valencia and Singer got into an altercation, the statement said.
An arrest warrant affidavit said Valencia and Singer argued about a haircut that Singer had given Valencia, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
At least one shot was fired at the closet where the property owner was hiding, but he wasn't hit, the statement said.
Valencia was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder, attempted murder and other crimes, according to court records.
David Silva, listed in court records as Valencia's lawyer, did not immediately respond to a phone call by The Associated Press seeking comment on behalf of Valencia.
NC's Roy Cooper elected to lead Democratic governors' group - Associated Press
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has been formally chosen to lead the Democratic Governors Association next year, spearheading efforts to help the party's nominees win more in a big gubernatorial year ahead.
Cooper, the current vice chair and chair-elect in 2021, was elected chair on Saturday, according to social media posts by the association, which met in New Orleans. He'll succeed the 2021 chair, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
Cooper, who was reelected to a second four-year term governor in 2020, arrives on the job as 36 governorships are on the ballot in 2022. Republicans currently hold the governor's office in 27 states, with the other 23 held by Democrats.
Republicans are hopeful that sagging poll numbers for President Joe Biden and positive election results last month — particularly Republican Glenn Youngkin's victory in the Virginia governor's race — bode well for them next year.
"We know we have tough races ahead in 2022, but our record of success is clear," a statement attributed to Cooper and tweeted by the association reads. "We've proven we can win anywhere — whether it's presidential battlegrounds or states (Donald Trump) won by 30 points — and we're going to prove it again in 2022."
The association also elected New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy as vice chair and chair-elect for 2022.
New Mexico redistricting stalls amid discord on tribal plan - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
A state Senate redistricting plan is in limbo amid a standoff over Native American political priorities and efforts by lawmakers to avoid competitive pairing of incumbents in the next election.
The Senate canceled a floor session yesterday amid negotiations.
States must redraw their congressional and legislative districts every 10 years to reflect new population numbers.
A broad coalition of Native American communities is backing a plan to shore up Indigenous voting majorities in three Senate districts in northwestern New Mexico and reinforce voting blocs elsewhere.
Left intact, that proposal would leave Republican state Senator Joseph Sanchez of Bosque outside the boundaries of his current district.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A state Senate redistricting plan is in limbo amid a standoff over Native American priorities for achieving fair representation and efforts by lawmakers to avoid competitive pairing of incumbents in the next election.
The Senate canceled a floor session Monday amid discussions between legislators and Indigenous tribal leaders.
States must redraw their congressional and legislative districts every 10 years to reflect new population numbers, and New Mexico lawmakers are in the midst of a special legislative session on redistricting.
A broad coalition of Native American communities is backing a plan to shore up voting-age, Native American majorities in three state Senate districts in northwestern New Mexico and reinforce robust minority-Indigenous voting blocs in two additional districts.
Left intact, the proposal from Indigenous groups would leave Republican state Sen. Joseph Sanchez of Bosque outside the boundaries of his current district, potentially to compete in a neighboring district against GOP Senate minority leader Greg Baca of Belen.
Leading state legislators including Democratic Senate President Mimi Stewart are backing amendments that diverge from the consensus Native American proposal in an effort to avoid several incumbent pairings.
"We tried very had to maintain the majority of the Native consensus map but deal with issues of pairing and deal with issues of drastic changes to our seats," Stewart told a Senate panel.
Native American leaders emerged Monday from an hourslong meeting with several senators to say the tribes remain steadfast in their recommendations.
"The easiest solution is to support the tribal consensus plan," said Casey Douma, a Laguna Pueblo tribal member and co-leader of a redistricting alliance of 19 Indigenous pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe. "To undo that in a very short time, negates months of work."
Indigenous leaders say their recommendations emerged from several months of painstaking conversations aimed at preserve communities of common interest and ensuring minority voters have a fair shot at electing candidates of their choice.
Those conversations did not give weight to incumbent politicians and whether they are paired in future elections, noted Acoma Pueblo Gov. Brian Vallo.
State Sen. Harold Pope of Albuquerque urged colleagues Sunday not to tamper with the Native American blueprint for redistricting.
"This was a herculean task for our Native American communities to develop this consensus," he said. "They worked with us, let's honor it."
The amendments that stray from the Native American recommendations were endorsed on a 7-2 committee vote Sunday with bipartisan support, over emphatic objections by representatives of tribal governments.
New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized Native American communities. Tribal leaders are seeking to bolster Native American influence in the political process amid dissatisfaction with public education, access to basic household infrastructure and economic opportunities.
Regis Pecos, a former governor at Cochiti Pueblo and advocate for Indigenous educational initiatives, urged legislators to honor tribal recommendations on redistricting, noting New Mexico's leading example in enshrining requirements for tribal consultation into state statute — as well as past laws and policies that harmed Native Americans.
"I just simply want to reflect on the long history of intentional enactment of laws that have prohibited the speaking of our languages in our schools, the prohibition of the free exercise of religion, the laws and policy disconnecting us from our homelands," Pecos said. "You have provided consultation as part of the statutory framework."
New Mexico reports its first case of the omicron variant -Associated Press
The New Mexico Department of Health yesterday announced the state's first identified case of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
Health officials say the case was identified on Sunday and involves a Bernalillo County woman. They say the unidentified woman reported recent domestic travel to a state with reported cases of the variant.
Authorities say the woman was seen in a local emergency room and then discharged.
The state health department is currently conducting a thorough case investigation.
The omicron variant has been confirmed in at least 30 states and the District of Columbia as well as more than 60 countries.
Arizona reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant on December 8th.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health on Monday announced the state's first identified case of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
Health officials said the case was identified Sunday and involves a Bernalillo County woman.
The unidentified woman reported recent domestic travel to a state with reported cases of omicron, according to authorities.
They said the woman was seen in a local emergency room and then discharged.
The state health department is currently conducting a thorough case investigation.
The omicron variant has been confirmed in at least 30 states and the District of Columbia as well as more than 60 countries.
Arizona reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant on Dec. 8 in Yavapai County.
New Mexico residents are being told by health officials to get vaccinated and use proven public safety practices including wearing masks, avoiding crowds and washing hands frequently.
Colorado reaches proposed settlement for 2015 mine spill -Associated Press
A mining company has agreed to pay Colorado $1.6 million dollars to resolve its liability for natural resource damage related to the 2015 “Gold King Mine” spill that fouled rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Attorney General Phil Weiser's office says a consent decree with Sunnyside Gold Corporation is being filed in federal court in Denver, Colorado.
The court will decide whether to approve it after a 30-day public comment period. Sunnyside admits no fault in the agreement.
The agreement follows Sunnyside settlements with New Mexico and the Navajo Nation earlier this year.
The 2015 spill released 3 million gallons of wastewater from the inactive Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado.
DENVER (AP) — A mining company has agreed to pay Colorado $1.6 million to resolve its liability for natural resource damage related to the 2015 Gold King Mine spill that fouled rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The proposed consent decree with Sunnyside Gold Corp. follows Sunnyside settlements with New Mexico and the Navajo Nation earlier this year.
Attorney General Phil Weiser's office said Monday that a Denver federal court will decide whether to approve the decree after a 30-day public comment period.
Sunnyside admits no fault in the agreement.
Sunnyside operated a mine next to Gold King near Silverton that closed in 1991. A federal investigation found that bulkheads to plug that mine led to a buildup of water from Gold King containing heavy metals. A contractor for the Environmental Protection Agency inadvertently triggered the spill while attempting to mitigate the buildup.
The area has since been declared a Superfund site.
Sunnyside "never owned or operated the Gold King mine and was not at fault for the August 2015 EPA-caused spill," Gina Myers, Sunnyside's director of Reclamation Operations, said in an email. "We are pleased to resolve this matter and to see funds going toward further efforts to improve water quality rather than protracted potential litigation."
Weiser, Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of state health department, will work with local governments and not-for-profit groups to determine how to allocate the money.
Navajo Nation: 19 new COVID-19 cases, no additional deaths -Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Monday reported 19 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths.
The latest numbers pushed the tribe's total to 40,519 cases since the pandemic began.
The known death toll remains at 1,562.
Tribal health officials reported 23 cases Sunday plus one death.
Based on cases from Nov. 26-Dec. 9, the Navajo Department of Health issued an advisory for 58 communities due to uncontrolled spread of COVID-19.
Tribal President Jonathan Nez has issued a reminder to get the vaccine or the booster as the Christmas holiday approaches.
"Our healthcare system is being challenged due to the spread of the COVID-19 in addition to other hospital visits that require medical attention," Nez said in a statement Monday. "We are in this together and we have to remain strong to push back on this invisible monster known as COVID-19."
Nez also said an increase in cases after a holiday is inevitable so it's crucial that tribal members protect themselves.
The reservation covers 27,000 square miles and extends into parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.