NM congressional delegation backs Caja del Rio becoming a national monument — By Nash Jones, KUNM News
In a letter on Thursday, New Mexico’s congressional delegation urged President Biden to designate the Caja del Rio a national monument in his administration’s final days.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez’s office released the letter signed by fellow Reps. Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez, along with Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján. Heinrich had previously declared his support for the move.
It calls the designation a,“Urgent need to protect one of New Mexico’s most ecologically, historically, and culturally significant landscapes.”
The push from the state’s federal lawmakers comes as tribes, land grant communities and conservationists have been working tirelessly to preserve and protect the area in a years-long fight over Los Alamos National Laboratories’ plans to build a controversial transmission line over it.
In their letter, the delegation asks, “That existing and proposed uses, such as grazing and power transmission, be included in the designation process.” It is unclear whether that would mean the designation would not block the proposed LANL line.
MacKenzie Scott donates $25M to NM nonprofit Homewise - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
Santa-Fe based nonprofit Homewise announced Thursday that it has received a massive $25 million infusion from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
In its announcement, Homewise called the donation from Scott’s Yield Giving project “a transformative investment” for the organization that supports New Mexicans in achieving homeownership.
The organization also welcomed a $10 million investment from northern New Mexico’s Anchorum Health Foundation according to the announcement.
Homewise vowed not to spend any of the windfall on its operational costs, saying in a statement that all of the money will, “Directly fund programs that create pathways to affordable homeownership.”
Those include building new affordable housing in Santa Fe and Albuquerque and expanding lending programs for first-time homebuyers and energy efficiency upgrades.
Harmful gas billowing from Texas and New Mexico comes mostly from smaller leaks, researchers say - By Tammy Webber, Associated Press
The blob on the satellite image is a rainbow of colors. An analyst digitally sharpens it and there, highlighted in red, is the source: a concrete oil pad spewing methane.
In the 75,000-square-mile Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico, the most productive oil and gas region in the world, huge amounts of the powerful greenhouse gas escape from wells, compressor stations and other equipment.
Most efforts to reduce emissions have focused on so-called "super emitters" like the one in the satellite image, which are relatively easy to find with improving satellite imaging and other aerial sensing.
Now researchers say much smaller sources are collectively responsible for about 72% of methane emissions from oil and gas fields throughout the contiguous U.S. These have often gone undetected.
"It's really (important to) approach the problem from both ends because the high-emitting super emitters are important, but so are the smaller ones," said James Williams, a post-doctoral science fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund and lead author on a new study that took a comprehensive look at emissions within the nation's oil and gas basins.
Addressing methane is important because it accounts for about one third of all greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Tackling methane emissions in the Permian is especially challenging because there are more than 130,000 active well sites owned by everyone from family operators to international conglomerates, experts said. Each site can have multiple oil wells.
"The Permian is in many ways the most complicated basin in the world; it's incredibly dense there ... with big, small and everything in between," said Steve Hamburg, chief scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.
What's more, pipelines, processing and other activities often are owned by different companies — with tens of thousands of points where methane might escape, either through leaks or intentional venting.
An Israeli company that used satellite data and artificial intelligence to look for leaks in Midland County, Texas, the heart of the Permian Basin, found 50 separate plumes emanating from 16 of 30 sites it monitored. Most were bleeding over 4,500 kilograms of harmful gas per hour and five exceeded 10,000, far above the Environmental Protection Agency's super emitter threshold of 100 kg/hr.
But the biggest surprise, "was seeing a lot of small emissions in this very crowded place ... so close to each other, so close to an area where people actually live," said Omer Shenhar, vice president of product at Momentick, which provides satellite-based monitoring to oil and gas companies.
Methane traps over 80 times more heat close to the Earth than carbon dioxide does, ton for ton. What's more, concentrations have almost tripled since pre-industrial times.
A powerful new satellite called MethaneSAT that launched this year will be able to detect small emissions over wide areas that other satellites can't. Researchers will also be able to track methane over time in all the world's major oil-producing basins.
"We've never had that," said the EDF's Hamburg, who leads the project.
Although the satellite cannot pinpoint those smaller sources, "you don't need to" because operators on the ground can find the sources, Hamburg said.
In the U.S., oil and gas companies will be required to routinely look for leaks at new and existing sites, including from wells, production facilities and compressor station under a new EPA rule.
The rule also phases out the practice of routinely burning off excess methane, called flaring, and requires upgrading devices that leak methane.
States have until 2026 to develop a plan to implement that rule for existing sources.
Oil and natural gas companies also would have to pay a federal fee per ton of leaked methane above a certain level under a final rule announced last month by the Biden administration, although the incoming Trump administration could eliminate that.
Methane — the primary component of natural gas — is valuable commercially, yet many operators in the Permian regard it as a nuisance byproduct of oil production and flare it because they haven't built pipelines to carry it to market, Duren and Hamburg said.
Neither the Permian Basin Petroleum Association nor the U.S. Oil & Gas Association responded to requests for comment.
Riley Duren, CEO of the nonprofit Carbon Mapper, who was not involved in the study, said it's always important to tackle super emitters because they have such an outsize impact. They are often fleeting but not always. Some continue for weeks, months or years.
Everything adds up.
"I think ... what percentage of the total comes from a large number of small sources versus super emitters is less important than what do you do with the information," said Duren. There are "literally thousands and thousands of pieces of equipment and they can blow a leak at any time."
New Mexico housing authority board pulls plan to increase income limits for home-buying programs - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The chair of New Mexico’s housing authority board decided to hold off on considering a significant increase on income caps to qualify for various affordable housing programs.
The Housing New Mexico board did not describe the reason for the policy change at its meeting Wednesday, and no justification was provided in materials provided to the board ahead of the meeting.
The board did so because members heard in the last couple days that state lawmakers and others were concerned about the change, said housing authority spokesperson Kristie Garcia.
“We want to be sure we understand their concerns,” Garcia said. “We’d like more time to provide more information to legislators on how funds are allocated throughout the housing continuum so there is a better understanding of where and how resources are used.”
Housing New Mexico, which recently changed its name from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, spends tens of millions of dollars a year on multiple programs to make housing affordable, including down payment assistance, first-time homebuyer programs, weatherization funding and more. But those programs are limited to those whose incomes fall below a certain percentage of the area median income.
The authority was hoping to revise regulations to increase the cap from 150% of area median income to 200%. For example, the 2023 area median income for a four-person household in Albuquerque was $79,900. The current policy would allow that household to qualify if they made $119,850 a year. The new proposed policy would mean they could earn $159,800 a year and still qualify.
Under the new proposed policy and current average 30-year mortgage interest rates of 6.89%, that same household, if they had no debts and made a $20,000 down payment, could comfortably afford a $577,000 home, according to an affordability calculator from real estate website Zillow.
The area median income is higher or lower in different areas of the state. In Los Alamos, for example, it’s $151,300 for a four-person household, so the new cap for them would be a little more than $300,000. In Mora County, a four-person household could earn up to about $141,000 and still qualify.
The proposed change came about a year after the authority raised it from 120% to 150%.
Although there wasn’t public discussion Wednesday, at a meeting of the authority’s legislative oversight committee in November, authority officials said the change was necessary amid rising home prices, among other reasons.
“This change is based on some projections and some analysis that we’ve done related to increases in housing costs, interest rates remaining at higher levels, more recently, the limited inventory of housing on the market,” said Robyn Powell, director of the authority’s policy and planning. “We’ll want to provide additional resources and flexibility where possible.”
Lawmakers at the committee ultimately approved Housing New Mexico’s proposed income limit increase, but it still needed to be approved at the meeting Wednesday to go into effect. Despite approving the change, lawmakers raised questions about data showing the increase was necessary.
Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho) asked Powell for more data, because it seemed to her that the increase would make the vast majority of New Mexicans eligible for subsidized housing.
“I want to subsidize housing, but this just seems to be a big step in only one year,” she said. “If you had some data to be able to back up that: ‘Hey, we’re in a crisis, and we have to move fast, and here’s the data,’ then I would be more comfortable with this.”
Authority officials noted that the rule would not apply to federal housing subsidies, which has a lower cap, and they suggested they could change the rule in the future if it turns out to be benefiting the wrong people. But amid rising home prices and efforts to allow working people to live in their own communities, they felt the increase gave them better flexibility.
The proposed policy concerned others outside the legislative committee, as well. Daniel Werwath, who leads Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s newly created Office of Housing, said Wednesday he was happy to see the board pull the proposal.
“In general, we feel that extending limited public resources to higher income groups isn’t the best way to address the historic housing shortage,” Werwath told Source New Mexico in a statement. “Instead, we’d like to see a concerted effort to close the supply gap with a focus on creating new starter homes New Mexicans can afford without subsidies.”
During the last legislative session, the authority received a one-time payment of $50 million for its Housing Trust Fund, which funds many of the programs that would be subject to the new increase. It also received about $38 million in recurring severance tax revenue for the same fund.
The authority is asking the Legislature for $500 million at the upcoming session beginning in January. Lujan Grisham’s recent budget proposal mentions at least $100 million to be spent on affordable housing and anti-homelessness initiatives, amid a statewide housing crisis.
Flushable facilities on the way to balloon park — Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
Balloon Fiesta Park is getting a long-sought upgrade, city officials announced Monday.
Construction is underway on a new, permanent restroom building at the park, where the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is held each year.
According to a press release announcing the construction, park visitors have for years been wishing the park had toilets that flush. City officials are hoping the $3.2 million project will be completed before the 2025 Balloon Fiesta in October.
The park has mobile non-permanent — but flushing bathrooms — now, Balloon Fiesta Spokesperson Dan Mayfield said.
“Balloon Fiesta Park is home to our state’s most iconic event and welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors every year,” Mayor Tim Keller said. “Now, it’s finally getting flushable toilets and modern upgrades to make visitors more comfortable and turn it into the modern, world-class facility it should be.”
The restroom project, which the city and state are jointly financing, is expected to be finished by September 2025 and will include 36 women’s stalls, 20 urinals and 12 toilets for men and four family restrooms.
The 5,029-square-foot building will also have its own heating and cooling system, according to the announcement.
“To every mom or dad that has changed a diaper on a cold morning at Fiesta, help is on the way,” city Parks and Recreation Director Dave Simon said.
The restrooms are part of a larger set of infrastructure improvements at the park; also included are upgraded lighting, a new parking area and a new public-address system.
“My administration is proud to support upgrades at Balloon Fiesta Park that enhance the experience for more than one million people who visit these facilities every year,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “Initiatives that boost tourism in New Mexico help local economies, and Albuquerque and surrounding areas will benefit from the substantial upgrades made at Balloon Fiesta Park.”
Balloon Fiesta executive director Julie Morgas Baca said she’s thankful for the effort Lujan Grisham and area legislators put into securing the money for the project.
Haaland and Heinrich both eye run for NM governor — Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
As the Biden administration comes to a close, Interior Sec. Deb Haaland is considering running for New Mexico governor. But, she’s not the only New Mexican in Washington D.C. eyeing the state’s executive branch.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a senior Democratic strategist confirmed Haaland has been planning a run for governor. Before becoming the first Native American cabinet secretary in U.S. history, Haaland represented New Mexico in the U.S. House and chaired the state Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, senior Democratic sources tell the Journal that U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is also interested in the role. That’s despite winning reelection to another 6-year Senate term last month.
Neither Democrat has formally announced their campaigns. It’s unclear whether Haaland and Heinrich will decide to run against each other in the primary election.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is termed out. Her successor will be elected in November 2026.
No Republicans have yet signaled an interest in running for the job.
Stansbury withdraws from ranking member bid, Heinrich secures his - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
New Mexico U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury has stepped aside in her bid to be the top-ranked Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the move comes after the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee put more support behind California Rep. Jared Huffman for the role. After Stansbury stood down, Democrats unanimously elected Huffman to the post.
Stansbury had boasted several key endorsements, including from the committee’s last ranking member, Democratic U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who had stepped down for health reasons.
Meanwhile, New Mexico U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has secured the top Democratic spot on a committee in that chamber, according to an announcement from his office. He’ll serve as ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Biden signs law to clean up abandoned mines across the western U.S - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
A new federal law may speed up local government, tribal and nonprofit efforts to clean up abandoned mining projects threatening waters across the West, including in New Mexico.
The law establishes a pilot program in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to permit the decontamination of 15 low-risk, abandoned mines established before 1980, and give out waivers from federal laws that had been blocking cleanups.
It would also allow federal regulators to certify a nonprofit, state agency or tribal government to do the work. Under the law, these entities designated as “Good Samaritans” would also not have to assume legal responsibility for that work.
Any company with ownership of the mine or a hand in pollution would be barred from qualifying, according to the new law.
“For more than 25 years, Good Samaritans have tried to clean up abandoned mines but have faced significant hurdles and liability rules that hold them responsible for all the pre-existing pollution from a mine — despite having no involvement with the mines before their cleanup efforts,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said in a written statement.
Heinrich sponsored the bill – whose full title is the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act – with Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho). They had numerous bipartisan cosponsors in the House and Senate. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law Tuesday.
Hardrock mining refers to digging out minerals outside of coal. Abandoned mines have left a legacy of pollution spills and disasters which cost taxpayers nearly $3 billion to clean up in the last decade – just a scratch on the estimated $50 billion price tag to clean all contamination. Leftover pools with sludges and toxic wastes like heavy metals can seep into soils and be washed into nearby rivers and streams during floods or snowmelt.
A government watchdog puts the number of abandoned mines at 390,000 on federal land in 13 states in 2020.
THE STAKES
About 40% of Western headwaters for rivers and streams have been contaminated after mining, according to EPA estimates, but laws around legal responsibility would have required groups volunteering to do the cleanup to assume legal risk under federal laws for the pollution they didn’t create.
Projects that would be excluded include highly contaminated mines where federal agencies are supervising the cleanup, or projects that require digging.
The law opens up more mine cleanup projects that couldn’t be attempted before, said Jason Willis, an environmental engineer with Trout Unlimited who leads a program to clean up mining contamination around the West.
Local and tribal governments, states and nonprofits can already clean up certain types of pollution, like runoff from mine waste piles or tailing piles, which would pollute streams during snowmelt or flooding.
But remediating pollution coming from a single place, like a pipe or outfall, placed too many legal obstacles on a third-party cleanup, said Wills. Federal requirements meant to hold polluters accountable, also applied to volunteer third parties trying to clean up. These requirements included assuming legal responsibility and to continue tracking and potentially cleaning the water for the foreseeable future.
The hope is that these pilot projects, which received waivers on federal laws for polluter punishments, can show the proof of concept for future permanent program.
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good,” said Willis. “We can potentially do like a 70% improvement in water quality that would then support aquatic life, as opposed to 100% water quality that would be unachievable both financially and long term.”
Finding the right projects across the West will take careful consideration, Willis said, but shrinking water resources from climate change and development make the cleanup all the more important.
“I think these projects are going to be more important in the future to ensure that we have some of those water resources available,” he said.