Battle between New Mexico and US Air Force to track toxic chemicals drags on - By Megan Gleason, Source New Mexico
New Mexico will have to wait at least another three months before more progress could ensue on tracking toxic chemicals coming from the U.S. Air Force Base in the eastern part of the state.
Meanwhile, the wastewater treatment plant at Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis will continue dumping treated sewage into nearby water sources. The base’s discharges in the past have contaminated water with per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS.
PFAS can contaminate drinking water and are known as “forever chemicals” that can cause illnesses like cancer. They can be found in fire-fighting foams used on Air Force bases like Cannon.
Outflows from Cannon AFB contaminated water sources with PFAS in 2018 and caused dairy farmers to euthanize thousands of cows.
As a result, the New Mexico Environment Department is trying to get Cannon to follow state-issued standards for tracking and cleaning up PFAS chemicals. In December 2018, New Mexico’s Hazardous Waste Bureau issued rules for Cannon to follow that are intended to regulate PFAS spread in water systems and soil.
Cannon AFB responded by challenging the state’s authority in federal court. That case was dismissed last year.
The federal judge ordered that the case go to the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The case currently sits with that chamber for mediation work. New Mexico and Cannon AFB lawyers anticipate it will drag out for at least a few more months.
As a result, a similar issue on the state level is being delayed as well.
Other state-issued PFAS regulation and clean-up standards that Cannon objects to sit before the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission. Last week, state water officials approved a roughly three-month delay to inspect the matter, in part because the other issue is now in the hands of a state court.
This issue before the state water agency goes back about five years.
In September 2018, Cannon AFB requested that the New Mexico Environment Department renew a permit that allows Air Force officials to dump 900,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day into nearby water sources.
The state released a draft permit in February 2021 and a final permit in December 2021. However, Air Force officials expressed extensive issues with the permit, specifically with precautionary requirements for PFAS. They also questioned some contingency plan measures in place in the case of excessive contamination.
Cannon AFB took the issue to the state’s Water Quality Control Commission in January 2022.
Air Force officials object to state-mandated measures like setting up new monitoring wells and checking soil, in order to have consistent updates on water quality, according to the petition they submitted to the state water agency.
Cannon AFB said these precautionary conditions are repetitive, since the base already has to adhere to similar requirements in the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
“These provisions are duplicative, wasteful and fail to account for actions performed under other permits and regulatory programs,” the petition reads.
The petition also disputes deadlines set by the state, such as the process to set up the new wells, because of lengthy federal funding and contracting processes.
The New Mexico Environment Department wants a safety plan in place if excessive toxic chemicals like PFAS are found in the groundwater. Cannon AFB doesn’t agree with conditions that would require plugging, replacing and abandoning wells that aren’t set up correctly per state standards, according to the petition.
Air Force officials also argued in the petition that the New Mexico Environment Department doesn’t even have the authority to issue these conditions because Cannon is a U.S. Air Force Base.
The state’s Water Quality Control Commission has yet to resolve the matter. It’s the oldest open case on the commission’s table and will stay unresolved for at least another three months.
Lawyers from Cannon AFB and the New Mexico Environment Department asked that the state water commission approve a 90-day pause on the matter because the mediation from the 2022 federal court case could help resolve issues around the state permits.
The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission allowed a halt until the commission meets again in July.
Joseph Sanchez, counsel for the water agency, said last week that the PFAS debate is taking a long time to resolve. He said he hopes the federal court mediation actually does help the Water Quality Control Commission wrap this up.
“I’m really hoping that we can finally conclude this,” Sanchez said.
Commissioner Larry Dominguez said this permit review is quite complex and has a lot of moving parts.
“If some things can get resolved, I think that the stay may provide some light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
N.M. Environment Department spokesperson Matthew Maez said the agency couldn’t disclose specifically how the mediation could help the state permit issue due to confidentiality clauses at the federal court level.
He said other than the conditions being debated about PFAS tracking and clean-up standards, the Cannon AFB wastewater discharge permit generally remains in operation.
That means the Air Force base in eastern New Mexico continues to release wastewater without the precautionary measures the state wants federal officials to follow.
That could change when a resolution is met.
Walmart will market shuttered store site for six months to potential buyers — By Jeanette DeDios, KUNM News
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller announced Monday that Walmart will be moving forward with marketing its recently closed store in Southeast Albuquerque.
If no one buys the property after six months, Keller says the city is interested in acquiring it.
Walmart closed the location in early March, which was one of the only grocery stores serving the area around Zuni and San Mateo.
Keller said this is good news because it allows the city to work with the community and hold meetings to hear ideas on what should be there.
“We're very interested in working with the community, as we've stated before, on what to do with that — especially to make sure that there's a grocery store in there, or maybe to make it some sort of community asset with respect to both grocery or even housing and things of this nature,” he said.
State lawmakers secured $2 million in capital outlay funding that could go toward this future project.
The site is currently owned by Walmart.
Video: Police shoot man after responding to wrong address — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Authorities in northwestern New Mexico on Friday released body camera footage of police officers opening fire and killing a homeowner after they showed up at the wrong address in response to domestic violence call.
The video released by the Farmington Police Department — just over a week after the April 5 nighttime shooting — showed officers arriving at the home. They walked up to the front door, passing the address that was posted on the home and illuminated by an exterior light, knocked on the door and announced themselves.
While knocking twice more, the officers can be heard asking a dispatcher to confirm the address and to tell the caller to come to the door. The dispatcher states the address of a home across the street.
It was soon after that the homeowner, armed with a handgun, opened the door and the officers immediately began shooting, firing multiple rounds as they backed away. The man can be seen dropping to the ground.
About a minute afterwards, a woman can be heard screaming inside the home and more shots ring out.
Authorities have said the man's wife returned fire from the doorway, not knowing who was outside, prompting the officers to fire again. She was not injured but could be heard screaming and crying after the second volley of shots were fired.
Dispatchers also received a frantic call from the man's daughter, saying she heard bangs and then gunfire and that her dad needed help. She and two other children were inside the home at the time of the shooting.
The video showed a chaotic scene erupting about 4 minutes after officers first arrived at the wrong address. Once the gunfire stopped, sirens could be heard blaring as more officers arrived.
The homeowner's wife can be heard pleading with officers. "Help! Somebody shot my husband. Please! Please! My kids are upstairs," she said.
Officers were asking her to come outside and one yelled to put her in handcuffs as she was led away from the home.
Why officers approached the wrong address remains part of an ongoing investigation, Farmington police said.
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said Friday that the department was releasing the video out of a desire to be forthcoming and transparent about what he has called a dark day for the police force and for the family of homeowner, who was identified as Robert Dotson, 52.
The department said the video also was reviewed by the Dotson family and their attorney before it was publicly released.
"All of us — the men and women of the Farmington Police Department — recognize the severity of this incident. We will do everything possible to more fully understand what transpired here," Hebbe said.
"Once again, we wish to express our condolences to the Dotson family and as your chief of police, I wish to convey how very sorry I am that this tragedy occurred. We will continue to provide updates as we are able."
Three officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation. The officers have not been identified.
The case comes amid an ongoing reckoning across the country over use of force by law enforcement officers.
The State Police Investigations Bureau continues to review the case, saying findings will be shared with the district attorney for further review.
An experienced investigator in officer-involved shootings who viewed the footage said he understands why Dotson would have a gun ready after getting a knock unexpectedly late at night. However, the officers believed they were going into a domestic violence situation and they are taught domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous, said Edward Obayashi, who is also deputy sheriff and policy advisor for the Plumas County Sheriff's Office in California.
He said officers on domestic violence calls can find themselves facing people "hell-bent" on killing officers or being killed by officers themselves.
"I'm not saying this is the situation here," Obayashi said. "But the officers definitely based on their training and experience nationwide are taught this. As soon as they saw the gun, instinctively that's exactly what went through their mind."
How law enforcement ended up at the wrong address is what Obayashi has more questions about. Investigators will be looking at all 911 calls and other communications to figure out how much information officers had going in, he said. They'll want to know how serious the reported domestic violence incident was and whether officers had information about weapons or prior history with police, he said.
"It's tragic. Was it a justified shooting? Excessive force? Here, it's not an issue for me," Obayashi said. "It's what led up to that is the issue. Who screwed up here?"
___ Associated Press writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report.
New Mexico taxpayers getting rebates due to budget surplus — Associated Press
A multibillion-dollar surplus due to a surge in oil income will allow New Mexico to send rebates to eligible taxpayers as the state moves to return more than $673 million to residents' pockets, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday.
The Taxation and Revenue Department says any New Mexico resident who filed a 2021 state tax return and was not declared as a dependent on someone else's return will receive their rebates automatically starting in June.
Taxpayers who received a refund by direct deposit on their 2021 return will have the rebate deposited into their bank account. Everyone else will get a check in the mail. Single filers will get $500, while married couples filing jointly will get $1,000.
Lujan Grisham noted that prices remain high in a state with elevated poverty rates and low workforce participation, but said New Mexico "is in a fantastic financial position."
Surging oil prices and output have created an estimated $3.6 billion annual surplus over budgeted spending for the coming fiscal year.
While supporting the rebates, the Democratic governor earlier this month scaled down a tax relief package backed by Democratic-led Legislature that she worried could hurt government spending on public education, heath care and law enforcement.
New Mexico residents have until May 31, 2024, to file a 2021 return and still qualify for the rebates. Those who don't have to file a state tax return because of their income can apply for relief payments on a first-come, first-served basis through the state's Human Services Department.
NM ready to defend new nuclear waste bill against industry and federal opposition — Source New Mexico
The future is uncertain for a privately owned high-level nuclear waste facility halfway between Hobbs and Carlsbad due to a new state law poised to go into effect June 15th.
Source New Mexico’s Danielle Prokop reports, Senate Bill 53 prohibits the state or other New Mexico authorities from issuing permits, contracts or leases for a disposal site for high-level nuclear waste, like the one proposed by Holtec International.
The ban is lifted under two conditions.
The state must approve the facility and that the federal government adopts a permanent underground storage site for nuclear waste.
But not everyone is so certain.
In testimony before lawmakers, lobbyists for Holtec International said that New Mexico was overreaching with the law. Federal laws trump any state laws that conflict with federal code – called ‘pre-emption’ in legal terms.
The questions on preemption were repeated by committee members on both sides of the aisle. Sponsors Democratic Representative Matthew McQueen and Democratic Senator Jeff Steinborn responded that New Mexico is within its rights and authority to limit permits for constructing the facility.
Spaceport America makes moves to build reception center — Source New Mexico
An effort to design and build a new reception center in southern New Mexico at Spaceport America is underway, although the bidding process is still under wraps.
Source New Mexico Danielle Prokop reports that in 2019, lawmakers awarded $10 Million dollars in capital outlay funds for the centerpiece building and other New Mexico Spaceport Authority improvements.
The agency put the project out for bid in 2022, two years after the governing board approved spending $9 Million dollars to construct the new building.
The current facilities outside Truth and Consequences used $220
Million dollars of public money in construction between 2006 and 2012.
Spaceport officials declined an interview this week, saying the project is confidential until a contract is signed. A final contract could be signed by April 15.
What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?
By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration floated two ideas this week for how Western states and Native American tribes could reduce their water use from the dwindling Colorado River. In recent years, an imbalance between the river's flows and how much water users are promised has forced federal officials to consider steps never taken before. A multi-decade drought worsened by climate change is adding to the urgency. The Interior Department's analysis considers two different ways to force cuts to Arizona, Nevada and California. The two options mean varying impacts for cities, farms and people living in the Southwest.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration floated two ideas this week to reduce water usage from the dwindling Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people.
The 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river is a lifeline for seven U.S. states, dozens of Native American tribes, and two states in Mexico. It irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres (about 2.2 million hectares) of farmland in the U.S. and Mexico and generates hydroelectric power used across the West.
In recent decades, drought, climate change and an imbalance between the river's flows and how much water users are promised has forced federal officials to consider new steps.
Tuesday's analysis from the Interior Department considers two ways to force cuts in the water supply for Arizona, Nevada and California: use the existing water priority system or the same percentage across the board. California and some tribes with senior rights to water benefit more under the first option. Arizona and Nevada, largely with junior rights, don't feel as much pain under the second.
Federal officials haven't taken a stance.
WHAT PROMPTED THE ANALYSIS?
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, under the Interior Department, made a bombshell announcement last June as levels in the Colorado River's key reservoirs dropped to historic lows. Federal officials said water use in the basin would have to be cut by 15% to 30%.
States scrambled to meet consensus, tensions rose and, ultimately, no deal was reached. But the challenges on the river persisted, and federal officials said they'd need to consider changing the operations at Hoover Dam that holds back Lake Mead and Glen Canyon Dam, which controls Lake Powell. The reservoirs on the Colorado River are the largest built in the U.S.
States regrouped and came up with competing ideas in January for reducing use. California proposed a plan separate from the other six states — Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
The proposals released Tuesday built on some of those ideas and rejected others.
HOW WOULD EACH PLAN AFFECT CALIFORNIA?
California is entitled to 4.4 million acre feet of water annually, more than any other single state in the Colorado River basin. California's rights also are among the most secure.
Shares of water for California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico come from Lake Mead.
Under current rules, California doesn't lose any water until Lake Mead falls below 1,045 feet (318 meters) — about a foot lower than it is now. Even under the worst-case scenario, California would fare better than its neighbors in the Lower Basin.
The priority-based proposal would benefit cities and farm districts in California like the Imperial Valley. It's a vast farming region in the southeast part of the state that grows a significant amount of the nation's winter vegetables. The valley would lose no additional water under this proposal based on its senior rights.
California is far worse off if cuts are spread more evenly. As Lake Mead dips lower, it would have to cut more water, eventually up to about one-fifth of its allocation.
Its farming regions would be hard-hit, likely meaning growers would leave some fields unplanted. Cities like Los Angeles and San Diego have other sources of water, but a loss of river water could spur conservation rules that limit activities like watering grass.
WHAT ABOUT ARIZONA?
Arizona is in a tough spot regardless of what proposal moves forward because much of its water has a junior status in the priority system.
The state's water users are entitled to 2.8 million acre feet of Colorado River water annually. Native American tribes along the Colorado River and farmers near Yuma in southwestern Arizona hold priority over cities.
The Central Arizona Project, which manages a canal system that delivers water to metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, oversees roughly 1.6 million of those acre feet. It already has absorbed two rounds of mandatory cuts and would be hard-hit under the priority-based proposal.
If the cuts are spread based on the priority system, Arizona would be at risk of losing nearly two-thirds of its total river water in 2024. Under the proportional system that requires California to contribute more, Arizona would lose about one-third.
Under both options, some Arizona water users could have their allocations cut to zero if Lake Mead falls low enough to risk hydropower production.
It's not clear exactly how either plan would affect farmers and cities. The Colorado River isn't the only source of water for Arizona's most populous areas. Many have been banking water underground for years.
WHAT ABOUT NEVADA?
Nevada has the smallest amount of Colorado River in the Lower Basin, 300,000 acre feet, that serves metropolitan Las Vegas.
Water recycling and other measures in southern Nevada have safeguarded the water supply. The state doesn't use its full allocation. It would face some relatively small cuts, but it's unclear how deeper cuts would affect residents.
WHAT ABOUT THE UPPER BASIN?
None of the plans would affect water deliveries to Colorado, Utah, New Mexico or Wyoming.
The four states get water directly from the river and, in most years, do not use the full 7.5 million acre feet appropriated to the Upper Basin.
WHY DOES THE ANALYSIS MATTER?
The analysis provides water users some fresh starting points in negotiations over cuts.
"The question will become 'how bad that pain is and who it falls on,'" said Jay Weiner, an attorney for the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe.
The tribe along the Arizona-California border has senior rights to water and has opposed sidestepping the priority system, as has California and its irrigation districts.
Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, says the two proposals will spur renewed efforts to reach consensus over the next 45 days. That goal has been elusive for nearly a year.
WOULD DOING NOTHING RISK DISASTER?
Yes.
Doing nothing raises the risk that Lake Powell and Lake Mead drop so low that hydropower from their dams is threatened. Power production has already been affected with low lake levels. Voluntary water conservation can help. Precipitation, runoff from the Rocky Mountains and temperature also play a role.
The priority-based proposal would protect Lake Powell's water levels — but could result in lower capacity at Hoover Dam. Sharing percentage-based cuts would help stabilize power production at both dams.
Everyone agrees that relying on the existing rules and guidelines that expire in 2026 is not a real option.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
States, tribes and other water users have until May 30 to comment. Federal officials are expected to announce a formal decision this summer. If states and tribes don't reach consensus, that deadline could be delayed.
Meanwhile, representatives from the U.S. and Mexico will meet in the coming weeks and months to discuss Mexico's role. The treaties governing Mexico's voluntary water savings are separate from any agreements reached between U.S. states and Native American tribes.
Federal officials will announce how much water is available for 2024 in mid-August, along with any reductions in the Lower Basin states and Mexico.
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This story corrects that Glen Canyon Dam controls Lake Powell, not Lake Mead, in paragraph 8.
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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
On Nevada trip, Haaland celebrates 'new era' of conservation — Associated Press
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined members of Nevada's congressional delegation and tribal leaders on Friday to celebrate Avi Kwa Ame, the state's newly designated national monument, saying the recognition of the desert mountain heralds a "new era" of environmental conservation in which the federal government and tribal nations will work together to maintain protected areas.
Haaland, the nation's first Native American Cabinet member, said she visited Avi Kwa Ame on Friday to watch the sunrise and was moved by the desert mountain's rich history.
"I was struck by the power and presence of the ancestors in tribal communities who have prayed on, protected and drawn strength from this special place for thousands of years," Haaland said later in Las Vegas at a celebration attended by tribal leaders and members of Congress.
President Joe Biden established the monument last month, nearly a year to the day after U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, introduced legislation to permanently protect the desert mountain region considered sacred by some tribes.
The area stretches more than 500,000 acres (202,300 hectares) in southern Nevada and includes Spirit Mountain, a peak northwest of Laughlin called Avi Kwa Ame (ah-VEE' kwa-meh) by the Fort Mojave Tribe and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Titus, in her remarks at the private Las Vegas event, described Avi Kwa Ame as a crown jewel. "It just doesn't get any better than that," she said. "So we celebrate today on this gorgeous southern Nevada day all the things that Avi Kwa Ame means to the tribes."
Tribal leaders in Arizona said earlier this week they hope to build on the momentum of Avi Kwa Ame's national monument designation to persuade the the Biden administration to create similar protections for areas adjacent to the Grand Canyon, which they also consider sacred.