Governor declares flood emergency in Sandoval County - KUNM News
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared a state of emergency in Sandoval County.
The governor signed the executive order Tuesday. The emergency is related to flooding of the Jemez River related to spring snow melt.
The flooding has impacted the Village of Jemez Springs, where a water treatment facility was damaged, sending waste-waster into the river last week. It’s also impacted the Jemez Pueblo and Village of San Ysidro.
The governor’s emergency declaration opens up $750-thousand dollars to Sandoval County to mitigate damage, repair infrastructure, and quicken the surrounding communities’ recovery time.
The County is coordinating with state and federal agencies to ensure public safety in the flood zone, according to the Governor’s Office.
Southwestern US rivers get boost from winter snowpack - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Federal water managers have more room to breathe this spring as two Southwestern rivers that provide New Mexico and Texas with drinking water and irrigation supplies are seeing the benefits of record snowpack and spring runoff.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service delivered the good news Tuesday for water managers, cities and farmers as federal officials rolled out operating plans for the Rio Grande and the Pecos River.
The mountain ranges in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico that serve as headwaters for the two rivers last winter saw nearly double the snowpack of historic averages, resulting in runoff that will provide a major boost to reservoirs.
And even more of that snowmelt will reach streams and rivers since soil moisture levels were able to recover last summer during what was one of the strongest monsoons the region had seen in 130 years.
"This is really good news for us because one of the big things that's been killing water supply for the last 10, 15 years is really dry soils soaking up a lot of that runoff before we could ever get any of it. That is not going to be the case nearly as much this year," said Andrew Mangham, a senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service. "We're going to have a much more efficient runoff coming out of this."
The same story is playing out around the West. In California, most of that state's major reservoirs were filled above their historical averages at the start of spring thanks to one of the massive snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. In neighboring Nevada, the snowfall was so overwhelming that the final day of the high school ski championships had to be cancelled.
Many of the officials gathered for Tuesday's river briefing were combing their collective memories, trying to recall when they last saw hydrology graphs this favorable.
"We're in better shape than we've been for a real long time," Mangham said.
New Mexico's largest cities that rely on diverted water from the San Juan and Chama rivers are expected to get a full allocation this year — the first time since 2019.
The Carlsbad Irrigation District on the southern end of the Pecos River opted to allocate a bit more to farmers this year due to the increased runoff.
"With the snowmelt coming in and still the chance for the monsoon season, things are looking pretty good," said Coley Burgess, the irrigation district's manager.
Still, he said farmers have had to be economical about how they use what amounts to just a little over half of a full allotment. Some have left fields unplanted so they can shift their share of water to their best alfalfa crops.
On the Rio Grande, managers say they have enough water stored in Elephant Butte — the largest reservoir in New Mexico — to avoid restrictions that prevent storing water in some upstream reservoirs. Under a water sharing agreement with Colorado and Texas, New Mexico is required to deliver a certain amount to Texas each year.
The states also are tangled up in litigation over management of the Rio Grande that is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. A special master is considering a proposed settlement that would resolve the decade-long fight.
Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in New Mexico said whether the state can keep enough water in Elephant Butte later this year will depend on the monsoon season.
Farmers across southern New Mexico and in West Texas will be crossing their fingers, too.
Navajo Nation to get federal funding following disaster declaration- By Shondiin Silversmith, AZ Mirror
People across the Navajo Nation were hit with severe winter storms in January, resulting in heavy snow, flooding and mud that blocked and destroyed roads and isolated families from resources.
Because of the impact of those severe winter storms, the Navajo Nation will receive federal emergency aid to help the tribe recover.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the Navajo Nation on April 11in response to the severe winter storms and flooding the Navajo Nation experienced from Jan. 14 to Jan. 17.
This declaration makes federal disaster assistance available to supplement the tribe’s recovery efforts in the areas affected by the storms and flooding.
Following the declaration, federal funding is set to go to the tribe and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis, for emergency work and repairing or replacing facilities damaged by the storms and flooding, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Biden’s announcement is a significant step forward for the tribe’s effort to secure reimbursements of those funds and additional resources to support its communities, said Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley.
“We are very grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration, FEMA, the Navajo Nation Washington Office, and all of our Navajo Nation employees for their efforts to help our Navajo communities,” Curley said.
The declaration comes months after the reservation was hit with winter storms that resulted in a state of emergency on Jan. 19. The state of emergency was established to cover the impacts of heavy snow, high winds, mud and flooding events across the Navajo Nation.
During its winter session in January, the Navajo Nation Council prioritized responding to the winter weather conditions impacting its communities.
The council passed legislation approving $3 million for the 110 Navajo Nation chapter governments’ emergency response accounts, and the Navajo Nation president signed the legislation into law on Jan. 27, which made the funds available to the chapter houses.
The Navajo Nation has the largest tribal land mass in the country, with more than 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, and is home to more than 170,000 people.
“We are grateful to the Biden Administration for issuing this disaster declaration,” said Justin Ahasteen, executive director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office. “This winter was particularly hard on the Nation, and the flooding blocked roads and isolated many families. We are hopeful that with the federal government’s help, we will now be able to rebuild.”
Benigno Ruiz of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been appointed to coordinate federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
“Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the tribe and warranted by the results of further assessments,” the White House said in a statement.
Judge seals Alec Baldwin settlement terms in fatal shooting — Morgan Lee, Associated Press
The judge hearing the wrongful death lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin and an array of producers and crew linked to a fatal film set shooting agreed Monday to seal from public view the terms of a proposed settlement agreement in the case that benefits the son of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The New Mexico judge said the right to privacy for Hutchins' 10-year-old son overrides obligations for public disclosure and ordered that settlement documents and approval hearings be sealed in the civil lawsuit that argues that Baldwin and other film crewmembers ignored industry gun safety standards on the set of the Western film "Rust" ahead of the 2021 shooting.
"What is driving my decision is really the interests of the minor child. And that is one of the very most powerful reasons to seal a matter," District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a videoconference hearing of the Santa Fe-based court.
Baldwin, an actor and coproducer of the film, was pointing a pistol at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the film's set outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. He and other defendants have disputed the accusations that they were lax with safety standards.
Widower Matthew Hutchins filed the wrongful death suit last year against "Rust" producers, including Baldwin, as well as members of the film crew with safety responsibilities and an ammunition supplier. Son Andros Hutchins, who was 9 at the time of the shooting, is also named as a plaintiff.
Attorneys for they boy said Monday that secrecy provisions are paramount to protect his privacy and finalize a settlement with "Rust" producers.
Knowledge of the settlement terms also will be off limits to people beyond "Rust" producers who were named as defendants in the lawsuit, including weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Several of those defendants objected to being left in the dark on details of the settlement, though approval of the agreement should end their involvement in the wrongful death suit.
Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin are also confronting criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter in separate court proceedings and have pleaded not guilty, with two weeks of evidentiary hearings scheduled in May.
Matthew Hutchins outlined a proposed settlement agreement in October that opened the way for filming of "Rust" to resume in Montana. He'll serve as a producer.
Tribal colleges tap US energy funds to build 'living labs' — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Tribal colleges and universities around the U.S. will be able to tap nearly $15 million in grant funding to boost clean energy development as part of the federal government's latest investment in creating more reliable and sustainable electricity generation for Native American communities.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the new funding opportunity last week. It comes on the heels of another $50 million round of grants for deploying clean energy technology across Indian Country, where many communities have long been without basic services such as running water, electricity and broadband internet.
"We know that there is a huge need for energy reliability but also for energy access in Indian Country," said Wahleah Johns, director of the agency's Office of Indian Energy.
Johns, who is from the Navajo Nation, described it as an energy crisis in which families — and tribal governments — often have to be creative when finding ways to operate on the fringes of major grids that supply Phoenix, Las Vegas and other cities with power.
That means developing micro-grids or installing solar panels so residents can power refrigerators or charge up cellphones and laptops, she said.
With the latest grants, officials at the Office of Indian Energy said the idea is to use tribal colleges and universities as a conduit to build systems that can cut down on campus electricity costs while training Native American students who can support a renewable energy economy in tribal communities.
The Blackfeet Community College in Montana already has found success with construction of a smart building that houses math and science classes and the installation of solar panels on campus buildings.
"The way I tend to see it is that we have a living lab here," said Melissa Little Plume Weatherwax, director of institutional development at the college. "Tribes are looking to deploy commercially, and that workforce is going to grow. So we need to be ready as the ones who need to train them. I think we're on the right track."
Thelma Wall was a student when she helped to install solar panels on campus. Now she works as a tribal design associate with a large nonprofit, having worked on projects in New Mexico, Colorado and South Dakota.
Weatherwax said the training program also is translating to other parts of Montana's rural economy as more farmers use solar to operate systems that provide water for livestock.
Johns said tribes have been leading the way when it comes to renewable energy development, and it's been out of necessity given the lack of infrastructure in rural areas. Many small projects have led to commercial-scale projects, with the next step being tribal ownership of the power that is produced, she said.
Between 2010 and 2022, the Office of Indian Energy has invested more $120 million in over 210 tribal energy projects across the U.S.
This year's funding marks a significant boost, Johns said, adding that her office serves as a hub for tribes to access new money or connect with other agencies as they navigate the challenges of development and deployment.
Tommy Jones, a deployment specialist with the office, pointed to the Moapa Band of Paiutes in Nevada, who have already developed several hundred megawatts of solar power and are looking to develop more.
The glimmer of the panels in the desert outside of Las Vegas looked like a mirage to officials with the Office of Indian Energy during a recent visit. Along the dirt roads crossing the facility were speed limit signs warning about the possible presence of desert tortoises.
"There's a lot of important factors related to sacred sites and cultural resources that folks, rightly so, are concerned about protecting, particularly when you're talking about a really large-scale solar project," Jones said. "And so having the community buy-in is critical to land use planning, making sure that what's important, the vision of energy fits with the community."
Johns said that has been a consideration for the Moapa Band of Paiutes as well as for the Navajo Nation, which signed an agreement with the federal government in December that calls for charting out that tribe's transition to renewable energy as more coal-fired power plants and coal mines in the Southwest are shuttered.
The infrastructure needed to address the energy crisis for Native American communities stretches into the billions of dollars, with access being just one part of the equation, Johns said. She also pointed to mounting pressures from climate change and the need to be culturally sensitive to developing projects in Indian Country.
"On our end. we are all about trying to come up with a long-term strategy that will support the energy resilience of tribes and their planning process, and that's going to take a huge investment," she said.