Trump’s push for Southwest uranium will face stiff state review — Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Recent federal activity suggests the Trump administration has two long-stalled uranium mines near New Mexico’s Mount Taylor on its radar.
Earlier this month, a federal infrastructure agency included Roca Honda and La Jara Mesa uranium mines on a new list of 20 projects nationally that advance “the President’s directive to take immediate action to facilitate domestic production of America’s vast mineral resources,” according to a statement from the council.
Then last week, the U.S. Interior Department announced that a proposed uranium mine in Utah would be subject to only a 14-day federal review period, shortening what is commonly a years-long process.
Source New Mexico spoke with state officials, outside experts and longtime anti-uranium advocates about what defense New Mexico will have against the federal government’s efforts to restart uranium mining here for the first time in 50 years. While experts said hard-fought cultural protections are unlikely to present much of an obstacle, they expressed confidence that state regulations will hold up against federal encroachment.
“I think that the realities weigh against the administration’s ignorant and uninformed policies that suggest to the public that these kinds of projects will happen overnight,” said Christopher Shuey, a public health researcher closely monitoring uranium developments here. “They won’t.”
HOLDING THE LINE
Private companies have sought to develop the La Jara Mesa and Roca Honda mines for more than a decade, though interest heated up with Trump’s executive order seeking to boost domestic energy production. Soon after, Cibola National Forest leaders named both mines priority projects, and then uranium company Energy Fuels then struck a controversial deal with the Navajo Nation that would allow it to transport ore from Roca Honda across the reservation. Meanwhile, Laramide Resources indicated on its state permitting application a desire to expedite the next step of its La Jara Mesa project.
DJ Ennis, program manager for the state’s Mining Act Reclamation Program, confirmed to Source NM there’s been a “renewed interest” from uranium mining companies seeking to break ground in New Mexico.
But even if the federal government tries to fast-track mining here, Ennis said the state will take its time and fully review both mine proposals, which it is empowered to do under the 1993 New Mexico Mining Act, and in lieu of a federal law.
“The feds are going to do what the feds are going to do,” Ennis told Source. “It does affect us, in that it would be good if the state and the feds were on the same pace and page of permitting. But if that is not the case, the default then becomes the state’s permitting process, and we have a robust permitting process.”
At the federal level, new uranium mines are subject to environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, which Trump’s recent orders have accelerated. But that has no bearing on the state’s ongoing review, Ennis said.
If it came down to it, Ennis said, the state could issue daily fines and potentially even deploy state police officers to stop uranium extraction at the Roca Honda or La Jara Mesa sites if the companies did so without a state permit.
So if Trump were to order a truncated federal review of the La Jara Mesa mine like he did the Velvet-Wood mine in Utah last week, and then the Forest Service issued a rushed environmental impact statement that selected its preferred alternative of extracting uranium, and then company proceeded to break ground, the state would step in and stop it, Ennis said.
“I’m not sure what that looks like, if it involves state police to enforce the order or courts,” Ennis said. “But it is a state law that we are enforcing.”
Eric Jantz, attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said the state’s permit review should offer the public some reassurance that nothing will happen immediately. He also suggested that his organization would consider suing if the federal government sought to fast-track New Mexico uranium mines.
“I suspect that if the Forest Service either ignores its obligations under NEPA because of this executive order or its own regulations, that litigation will probably ensue,” he said.
That’s because, Jantz said, he sees little basis for an “energy emergency” that Trump claims is the reason to fast-track the mines.
“If there’s one thing to impart, it’s that this whole notion of premising expedited environmental reviews on some sort of emergency is preposterous,” he said. “No emergency exists, and there’s no reason why the usual environmental reviews can’t continue.”
WHAT WILL TCP DESIGNATION MEAN?
While experts and observers expressed confidence in the state’s capacity to hold off a federal push to expedite mining, they said it remains unclear whether efforts by local Indigenous tribes and pueblos to protect Mount Taylor as a cultural and religious site will add another layer of protection.
In 2007, as several mining companies moved forward with plans to extract uranium from the Mount Taylor area, five tribes made the unusual step of sharing stories about their ancestral and spiritual connections to the mountain.
That rare disclosure of tribal creation myths marked an early milestone in a multi-year battle to create a 400,000-acre Traditional Cultural Property, drawing a line around Mount Taylor recognized by the state of New Mexico. Among other things, the designation aimed to give Indigenous people a voice in opposing uranium or other mining interests. After mining companies sued in 2009, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the designation should stay intact.
Since then, the pueblos have maintained opposition, with the All Pueblo Council of Governors in December issuing a resolution to state regulators that “Mount Taylor, known by various traditional names is a sacred landscape, central to the cultural identity, traditional practices, and religious activities of numerous Pueblos and other tribal nations.”
Even though the Navajo Nation agreed to let uranium eventually be transported from Roca Honda across the reservation, it has also long opposed any new mines in the Mount Taylor area, Stephen Etsitty, the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency director, said recently.
Designation of Mount Taylor as a traditional cultural property has yet to emerge as an issue in the state permitting process, Ennis said. The designation requires federal and state parties to consult with tribes, but a collision awaits between private mining interests and cultural protections, Ennis said.
“The intersection of those two is a difficult question to answer,” he said. “I don’t know that we’ll know until we get to the end of the process.”
Shuey, who has advocated against the mines since 2009 as a researcher with the Southwest Research and Information Center, said the recent federal fast-tracking prompted him and colleagues to review what the TCP designation actually meant for protecting Mount Taylor.
“We’ve been asking this question for the last several weeks,” he said. “My understanding is that the impact of the TCP would be more of a, ‘Pay attention to this site from the standpoint of cultural resources, and make provisions to mitigate any types of impact to cultural resources’ type of thing.”
Even without an outright ban on mining or around the TCP, Shuey said, he expects greenlighting the mines to take years, during which time opponents will watchdog the process.
“A lot of these folks have lived through the 80 years of the uranium legacy. They’ve learned across generations of the impacts of mining,” he said. “And so I think there’s a lot of not only institutional memory but institutional knowhow of evaluating mining proposals and offering intelligent and compelling comments and testimonies.”
He likes their odds against a Trump administration that seems to “not be particularly interested in understanding or knowing the impacts of mining,” he said, but instead has a “weird, visceral notion that we just need more of these minerals for a variety of purposes, and we’re going to go get them.”
Albuquerque’s Gateway Sobering Center set to open after months of delays — Kevin Hendricks, NM.news
The Gateway Center in Albuquerque is preparing to launch its long-awaited Medical Sobering Center this summer.
The Albuquerque City Council recently approved a contract with California-based Horizons Services for $1.6 million in federal funds to operate the sobering center. Horizons Services, which currently operates two sobering centers in California, will provide a short-term space for individuals recovering from severe intoxication at the Gateway campus in Southeast Albuquerque. This campus already provides housing and behavioral health support.
Months of delays preceded the selection of Horizons Services. Construction of the wing intended for the sobering center was completed in November, with initial expectations of serving patients by the end of that year under a previous service provider, Listo Health, LLC. However, the city terminated its contract with Listo Health due to delays in hiring and training staff.
The Medical Sobering Center at Gateway is now expected to begin operations around late summer. The center aims to provide 24-hour care for those struggling with addiction, offering a safe space to recover from intoxication and relieving strain on hospitals and jails. Patients will be able to stay up to 24 hours and connect with longer-term substance use resources, such as Bernalillo County’s CARE Campus.
“Four years ago, we identified an urgent need for services that uplift people out of homelessness,” Mayor Tim Keller said. “Today, these services are being realized through the Gateway Network, where we’re building a continuum of care that provides several pathways to housing.”
The Center is one of only 60 in the nation and the only Medical Sobering Center in New Mexico.
“A key component of opening a first-of-its-kind service is finding the right provider, which we’ve found in Horizons Services,” said Health, Housing and Homelessness Director Gilbert Ramirez. “They have the experience required to safely and efficiently open up this needed service, and unlock access to vital services that will support our community.”
NMED unveils draft rule to reduce carbon intensity of transportation fuels — Hannah Grover, NM.news
The New Mexico Environment Department released a draft rule this week to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels and petitioned the Environmental Improvement Board to adopt these regulations.
The draft rule comes after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill in 2024 that required a gradual reduction in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.
The goal is to reduce the carbon intensity of fuel produced, imported or dispensed in New Mexico to at least 20% below the 2018 levels by 2030 and by at least 30% below 2018 levels by 2040.
“Under Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s leadership, New Mexico is diversifying its economy while addressing climate emissions — proving once again you don’t have to choose between the two,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement.
The draft regulations are intended to be technology-neutral and provide an offset market with credits to help businesses meet the requirements.
However, opponents say the clean transportation fuel standards could raise the price of gasoline and disproportionately harm low-income and rural communities.
Proponents say the regulations could help strengthen and diversify the economy by creating new opportunities in the alternative fuels market and by attracting investments in emerging industries such as hydrogen and propane produced from non-fossil fuel sources.
A public comment period will likely begin in mid-June and is anticipated to last 60 days.
States with similar regulations include California, Washington and Oregon.
‘Take a Ride on Us’ offering discounted Uber rides for Memorial Day weekend — NM.News
Three counties are once again partnering to offer free and safe rides for Memorial Day weekend through the “Take a Ride on Us” program.
The initiative encourages residents in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties to plan ahead and avoid driving under the influence during the holiday.
From 10 a.m. on May 23 through 2 a.m. on May 27, riders can open the Uber app, tap “Vouchers”, and enter the code NMMD25 to receive up to $10 off two trips. The offer is valid for up to 2,500 rides and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The discount is limited to Uber rides and does not apply to Uber Eats orders or cover driver tips.
Created by Cumulus Media Albuquerque, “Take a Ride on Us” is made possible through a public-private partnership that includes Bernalillo County, Sandoval County, Santa Fe County, Glasheen Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers, Sandia Resort & Casino and the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Since launching in 2017, the program has provided more than 61,000 safe rides in the Albuquerque metro area, helping to reduce impaired driving and keep local roads safe during holidays and special events.For more information about Bernalillo County’s DWI prevention program, click here.
UNM Regents approve student fee increase in effort to bolster investment in Lobo Athletics – Geoff Grammer, Albuquerque Journal
On the heels of the New Mexico Legislature approving a $3.2 million increase in its annual appropriation for University of New Mexico Athletics — $11.7 million for the coming fiscal year, up from $8.5 million this fiscal year — more investment help is on the way.
This time, it’s the students who will be footing the bill.
As part of a broad, multifaceted push by university leadership to bridge the financial gap between UNM Athletics and the peer universities the Lobos are expected to compete with, the Board of Regents on Tuesday approved a student fee increase of $45 more per semester next year and an additional $60 in two years (a total jump of $105 per semester for undergraduates in two years) going directly to athletics.
Five Mountain West schools last fall announced they would be departing the league ahead of the 2026-27 season to rebuild the old Pac-12. UNM was one of the schools not invited, essentially being viewed as a financial liability because of a lack of investment in athletics. Schools still in the Mountain West potentially stand to generate less revenue in media rights deals moving forward.
It’s a position UNM President Garnett S. Stokes, who was the chair of the Mountain West Board of Directors at the time the five defecting schools made their announcement, doesn’t want to be in for the next wave of conference realignment.
“This university has suffered greatly from a failure to invest in athletics,” Stokes said. “I think that we’ve been able to see with some of the successes (in men’s basketball, in particular) and some of the investments that we can be competitive, but we’re now operating in an environment where the need for continued investment is very important.
“What we tell the world about what it is we want to be in athletics, is very important.”
UNM Athletic Director Fernando Lovo in his presentation requesting the fees increase made it clear the new revenue was a significant help, but so, too, are the optics that the entire UNM community has “skin in the game” on wanting athletics to succeed, also pointing out that state lawmakers earlier this year bumped state funding for UNM Athletics.
Students fees earmarked specifically for Athletics will increase $45 more per semester ($90 per year) in the 2025-26 academic year and then an additional $60 ($120 per year) in 2026-27. This is in addition to the $120 already going to Athletics from student fees.
Graduate student fee increases are a little less, but also don’t qualify to be covered by such things as the Opportunity Scholarship, which the school has reported covered 85% of in-state, undergraduate students — meaning this fee increase won’t technically be coming out of pocket for those students.
The increase will generate approximately an additional $1.7 million in FY26 for Athletics and $4.1 million in FY27.
It is the largest of three student fee increases for the coming school year at UNM, joining previously approved increases of $10 per year for undergraduate and graduate student government associations and a $60 per year bump for a “Technology Fee” going toward IT.
UNM student fees for an instate, undergraduate student this school year are $2,706. These three increases push that to $2,866 next year and then $2,980 in 2027-28, barring any other changes.
While student leadership thanked Lovo and Athletics for an inclusive, transparent approach to explaining the fee increase proposal to them and didn’t disagree an increase was needed, they objected to the amount and short time frame for the increase.
“I do want to support athletics, and graduate students do as well. And we see that value,” said Travis Broadhurst, Graduate and Professional Student Association president, who spoke at Tuesday’s Regents meeting via Zoom while out of the country working on fieldwork for his graduate degree. “But frankly, this increase is too steep, too drastic, and I think needs a little bit more explanation to the student body to justify such an increase.”
Athletics initially requested a moderately higher increase (about $30 more next year and the same increase in two years).
Student Regent Victor Reyes echoed he wasn’t opposed to student fees being increased for athletics, but not by as much as was requested and not as quickly. He succeeded in getting the request lowered moderately, but it will still be a two-year, phase-in on the new fees.
Based on 2023 fiscal year data, UNM ranked eighth out of 12 Mountain West members (11 fulltime member schools and football-only member Hawaii) in the amount of student fees going toward Athletics.