New Mexico appeals court upholds rule aimed at curbing ozone pollution - Associated Press
The New Mexico Court of Appeals has upheld regulations aimed at cracking down on emissions in one of the nation's top-producing oil and gas states.
The case centered on a rule adopted in 2022 by state regulators that called for curbing the pollutants that chemically react in the presence of sunlight to create ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog. High ozone levels can cause respiratory problems, including asthma and chronic bronchitis.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration has long argued that the adoption of the ozone precursor rule along with regulations to limit methane emissions from the industry were necessary to combat climate change and meet federal clean air standards.
New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said the court's decision on Wednesday affirmed that the rule was properly developed and there was substantial evidence to back up its approval by regulators.
"These rules aren't going anywhere," Kenney said in a statement to The New Mexican, suggesting that the industry stop spending resources on legal challenges and start working to comply with New Mexico's requirements.
The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico had argued in its appeal that the rule disproportionately affected independent operators.
"The administration needs to stop its 'death by a thousand cuts' hostility to the smaller, family-owned, New Mexico-based operators," the group's executive director, Jim Winchester, said in an email to the newspaper.
The group is considering its legal options.
Under the rule, oil and gas operators must monitor emissions for smog-causing pollutants — nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds — and regularly check for and fix leaks.
The rule applies to eight counties — Chaves, Doña Ana, Eddy, Lea, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia — where ozone pollutants have reached at least 95% of the federal ambient air quality standard. Some of those counties include production hot spots within the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico and the Permian Basin, which straddles the New Mexico-Texas line.
The industry group had argued that Chaves and Rio Arriba counties shouldn't be included. The court disagreed, saying those counties are located within broader geographic regions that did hit that 95% threshold.
Report shows clean energy jobs are surging in New Mexico - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
A new report shows that New Mexico has experienced some of the fastest growth in clean energy jobs in the country.
The report, released by E2 and the Renewable Energy Industry Association of New Mexico, ranks the state as top in the nation for growth in energy efficiency jobs and third for clean energy jobs.
This job growth is in part due to the $2 billion of private investments since the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
There are now more than 13,400 clean energy jobs in the state and New Mexico added 770 clean energy workers in 2023.
“The historic policies and incentives created by the IRA are transforming New Mexico’s clean energy industry, and workers and businesses in every part of our state are benefiting,” Susan Nedell, the senior western advocate for E2, said in a press release. “This report clearly shows clean energy continues to be an important economic driver for the state, demonstrating the need for continued leadership at the state level to attract even more jobs and investments to New Mexico as the sector grows across the country.”
The report uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. This shows that clean energy jobs in New Mexico grew 6.1 percent last year, which is more than double the pace of economy-wide job growth in the state. In fact, the clean energy sectors accounted for 19 percent of all energy-related jobs added in New Mexico in 2023.
““New Mexico’s economic growth due to clean energy is a major win for the Mountain West,” Jim DesJardins, executive director of REIA-NM, said in a press release. “Solar is an outstanding renewable energy source for states with an abundance of sunshine, like New Mexico. We need to continue to foster collaborative efforts between renewable energy companies, state governments, communities and landowners, as we seek to lower our carbon footprint and to create new career opportunities.”
Taos woman earns bronze in global horse archery championship — Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
A woman from northern New Mexico has placed third at an internationally renowned horse archery competition.
As the Santa Fe New Mexican reports, Taos resident Gemma DiFerdinando won the bronze medal in the eighth annual Korea Masangmuye Championship of Horseback Martial Arts.
There, around 50 people from nine different countries put their martial arts and concentration skills to the test in various archery marksmanship challenges. The competition takes place over three days in a town nestled in southeastern South Korea.
Masangmuye is a martial art performed primarily on a running horse – focusing on several different shooting competitions like ground archery, shooting from a horse-drawn wagon and on horseback.
DiFerdinando won gold in the Bosa ground archery event where contestants are tasked with firing five arrows from different stances at three targets in just under a minute.
When not competing, Diferdinando runs a wildlife conservation ranch in El Prado where she teaches horseback archery and survival skills.
New Mexico’s acequias outline 2025 legislative priorities - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
After unprecedented disasters, local governments in charge of centuries-old community ditches in New Mexico are asking state lawmakers for tens of millions of dollars more than usual to maintain and rebuild acequias.
The New Mexico Acequia Commission and the New Mexico Acequia Association outlined their joint legislative priorities for the upcoming session last week.
There are more than 700 acequias across New Mexico, and these irrigation ditches support communities and families rooted in the practice. Some of the ditches are decades, if not hundreds of years old, and the practices are ancient – as Pueblo peoples used irrigation methods before Spanish colonization. Acequias are often loosely and locally governed, often by volunteers.
But a rapidly changing climate making water more scarce and disasters like fires and flood increasingly devastating is putting the traditional practices at risk.
Lawmakers in 2003 empowered acequias to approve or deny water transfers without having to go through state officials first, and in 2019 set aside $2.5 million per year to build and maintain irrigation infrastructure.
However, that is not enough, acequia advocates say. According to a rough estimate, in the coming decades, acequias will need about $68 million to maintain or improve their irrigation infrastructure, said Paula Garcia, the executive director for the grassroots Acequia Association.
“We don’t have complete data on all the infrastructure needs across the state but with that snapshot, I’m confident the need is in the tens of millions every year,” she said.
There is no one state agency devoted to acequias, instead, there’s responsibility held across multiple state departments – including the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer or the New Department of Agriculture.
Acequias will likely face challenges in getting the funding they need from the Legislature’s budget hawk, Sen. George Muñoz, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee. In September, as state agencies were preparing their budget requests for next year, he called for “a disciplined approach” to spending public money.
COST SHARING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, DISASTER ASSISTANCE
The acequias are urging lawmakers to give $10 million to the Interstate Stream Commission to help pay for infrastructure repairs, which require local governments to pay a 25% cost-share, Garcia said. Acequias need the state to step in because they do not have the power to tax.
Acequias’ inability to pay for debris removal has become more urgent since 2022, and resulted in “astonishing” delays in rebuilding acequias destroyed by wildfires, Garcia said. She called for debris removal after flooding to be more institutionalized and not just a reaction to emergencies.
For example, Garcia’s own acequia in Mora County is in its third year without water and won’t be rebuilt until 2026.
“It seems like every time we have a disaster, we’re reinventing the wheel,” Garcia said. “It’s not good for our state.” Paula Garcia, director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, drives through the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon burn scar Sept. 13, 2022. (Photo Patrick Lohmann / Source NM)
After the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire, the state Department of Transportation quickly hired contractors to remove debris, Garcia. But the debris removal process is uncertain, she said, and not easy to stand up in real time when disaster strikes.
“Unless we figure this out as a state, there are going to be communities that are left behind because they can’t do that cost-share,” Garcia said.
Acequias are supporting the Interstate Stream Commission’s request to double the Acequia and Community Ditch Infrastructure Fund from $2.5 million per year to $5 million. The fund is used to pay for planning, designing and building irrigation systems or matching funds for other state and federal programs.
The current $2.5 million alloted is only meeting about half of the requests coming through the program, Garcia said.
While there are state funds for tribal infrastructure and colonias, there is no comparable fund for acequias, said Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo).
These water systems which allow small farming and ranching operations to exist almost entirely rely on volunteers, and they can’t be maintained or fixed using only one-time money, Herrera said. Those volunteers are also getting older and the number of people who can work on a ditch is getting smaller, she said.
“I’ve told my volunteers: if you want to shut down the state, everybody can go on strike in the north and not do water systems for a year. See what happens,” Herrera said.
SETTLING WATER RIGHTS DISPUTES
The acequias are supporting the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s request to increase its Acequia and Community Ditch Fund from about $830,000 per year to $1.5 million.
The fund is used to pay for attorneys and experts in determining who has the right to what water. There were a total of $1.3 million in requests for help in the previous fiscal year, according to the acequias’ presentation.
The acequias are also supporting the State Engineer’s $40 million request to help pay costs resulting from court settlements over water rights, which finalize the oldest water rights in the state held by the Pueblos and also acequias’ water rights, Garcia said.
Water rights agreements between sovereign nations and American governments must be approved by Congress.
Congress has approved final settlements in four separate cases involving Native nations in New Mexico, and there are still four where Congressional approval is pending but federal legislation has been introduced, according to the acequias’ presentation.
OTHER ACEQUIA PRIORITIES
· Amend the Community Governance Attorney Act so the state Department of Justice and acequia-serving nonprofits can hire attorneys specializing in land grants, acequias and colonias.
· Boost funding for community and youth education programming about acequias from $492,000 to $750,000, and codify it into state law.
· Increase the Acequia Commission’s annual budget from $88,000 per year to $160,000, which would allow them to hire a full-time worker.
· Set aside $500,000 for the State Auditor’s Office so they can hire accountants to help acequias audit their finances, rather than requiring the acequias to hire the accountants themselves.
City Council creates committee in attempt to solve city, county boundary area issues — Elizabeth McCall, City Desk ABQ
An Albuquerque city councilor is pushing to create a committee that she says would clear up confusion between the different city and county jurisdictions. The proposal could also open the door to land annexations.
Councilors approved Councilor Klarissa Peña’s proposal to create a Boundary Area Advisory Committee during their Nov. 18 meeting.
Peña said the committee would help identify areas where there is a mix of city and county-owned property — referred to as “checkerboard areas” — and which agency is responsible for services and maintenance in the areas.
“So this really goes a long way to help an underserved community to be able to identify that… and then look at areas where we can just maybe incorporate it into the city, or incorporate it into the county, where it makes the most sense,” Peña said.
Some councilors deal with jurisdiction issues more than others because their districts butt up against the county areas in question.
Tom Menicucci, a policy analyst for the council, said the confusion with the boundary areas has been a long-term problem in the city — especially in Districts 2, 3 and 4, where next door neighbors can be on either side of county and city boundaries.
“[The legislation] is basically just trying to pull people together to begin dissolving these long-term issues,” Menicucci said.
Peña recounted a time in District 3 when streetlights were only installed on one side of the street because the other side was outside of city limits.
Councilor Joaquín Baca said he has had similar issues within his district and constituents have called him confused about why their trash has not been picked up, unaware they reside in the small parcel of county land.
“There are sections in District 2 where every other house is city, county, city, county — It’s ridiculous,” Baca said.
Council President Dan Lewis said he was concerned with the provision that would allow the committee to evaluate and recommend land annexations.
“I am uncomfortable with a county commissioner bringing an agenda to this advisory committee on an area in my district,” Lewis said. “I don’t see a whole lot of accountability here to the council in evaluating and talking about land swaps in my district.”
The committee would include staff from the city, Bernalillo County, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, Albuquerque Metropolitan Flood Control Authority and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District.
The city’s chief administrative officer and the county manager, “if the manager so chooses, will provide staff and resources, as necessary and appropriate, to assist the committee,” according to the bill.
The committee would meet quarterly and its duties include the following:
· Study and advise member agencies on best practices to provide coordinated and effective services for boundary areas.
· Receive and review testimony from residents of the boundary areas as to the manner that infrastructure deficiencies and service delivery issues impact their businesses, homes, neighborhoods and properties.
· Propose plans and processes to improve infrastructure and service delivery to the boundary areas.
· Evaluate and recommend areas for possible land swaps and annexations for the purposes of streamlining services.
New Mexico offers low-income residents Black Friday rebates for green appliances - KRQE-TV, KUNM News
On the biggest shopping day of the year, the state of New Mexico is hoping residents with low incomes will consider boosting their home’s energy efficiency with new appliances.
KRQE-TV reports the state’s Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, or EMNRD, will begin offering rebates Friday for ENERGY STAR products, including electric stoves, ovens and dryers.
The offer is part of the department’s Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate (HEAR) program. The rebates range from $840 to $4,000 and are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and Inflation Reduction Act.
Each household can receive up to $14,000 in rebates. To qualify, New Mexico residents must earn 80% of the Area Median Income or be enrolled in assistance programs like SNAP or Medicaid.
It's almost time for Spotify Wrapped. When can you expect your 2024 recap? - By Bridget Brown Associated Press
It's almost that time of year: Spotify is gearing up to release its annual Wrapped, personalized recaps of users' listening habits and year in audio.
Spotify has been giving its listeners breakdowns of their data since 2016. And each year, it's become a bigger production — and internet sensation. Spotify said its 2023 Wrapped was the "biggest ever created," in terms of audience reach and the kind of data it provided.
So, what will 2024 have in store? Here's a look at what to know ahead of this year's Spotify Wrapped.
WHAT EXACTLY IS SPOTIFY WRAPPED?
It's the streaming service's annual overview of individual listening trends, as well as trends around the world. Users learn their top artists, songs, genres, albums and podcasts, all wrapped into one interactive presentation.
The campaign has become a social media sensation, as people share and compare their Wrapped data with their friends and followers online.
Past iterations have provided users with all kinds of breakdowns and facts, including whether they're among an artist's top listeners, as well as a personalized playlist of their top 100 songs of that year to save, share and listen to whenever they're feeling nostalgic.
Spotify also creates a series of playlists that reflect national and global listening trends, featuring the top streamed artists and songs. In 2023, Taylor Swift was Spotify's most streamed artist, unseating Bad Bunny who had held the title for three years in a row.
Each year has something new in store. In 2019, Wrapped included a summary of users' streaming trends for the entire decade. Last year, Spotify matched listeners to a Sound Town based on their artist affinities and how it lined up with those in other parts of the world.
WHEN IS THE EXPECTED RELEASE DATE?
So far, the streaming platform has kept the highly anticipated release date of Wrapped under … er, wraps.
In past years, it's been released after Thanksgiving, between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6.
Each year, rumors tend to swell on social media around when Spotify stops collecting data in order to prepare their Wrapped results, and this year was no exception. Spotify quickly squashed those presumptions, assuring on social media that "Spotify Wrapped doesn't stop counting on October 31st."
A representative for Spotify did not respond to a request for comment on when the company stops tracking data for Wrapped.
WHERE CAN I FIND MY SPOTIFY WRAPPED?
When Wrapped is released, each user's Spotify account will prompt them to view their interactive data roundup. It can be accessed through the Spotify smartphone app, or by logging on to the Spotify website. Wrapped is available to users with and without Premium subscriptions.
WHAT ELSE CAN I LEARN WITH MY SPOTIFY DATA?
There are a handful of third-party sites that you can connect your Spotify account to that will analyze your Wrapped data.
How Bad is Your Spotify is an AI bot that judges your music taste. Receiptify gives you your top songs on a sharable graphic that looks like, yes, a receipt. Instafest gives you your own personal music festival-style lineup based on your top artists. How NPRCore Are You assesses how similar your music taste is to NPR Music's.
WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE SPOTIFY?
Other major streaming platforms such as Apple Music and YouTube Music have developed their own versions of Wrapped in recent years.
Apple Music's Replay not only gives its subscribers a year-end digest of their listening habits but monthly summaries as well — a feature that helps differentiate itself from the one-time Spotify recap. That's released at the end of the calendar year.
YouTube Music, meanwhile, has a similar end-of-the-year release for its listeners, as well as periodic seasonal releases throughout the year. It released its annual Recap for users earlier this month.