Landfill flooding delays trash pickups for Bernalillo County residents - Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
A line of trash trucks stretched more than half a mile at the Cerro Colorado Landfill on Wednesday after heavy rain ground operations to a standstill.
Due to Tuesday’s landfill closure, some Albuquerque residents have seen delays in trash pickups, and all three of the city's convenience center sites for trash drop-off have temporarily closed.
“We are asking for your patience — we know we can work through this in about seven days,” Mayor Tim Keller said at a news conference at the landfill Wednesday.
Although the landfill reopened Wednesday, progress is slow. The dirt road to the dumping site, called a cell, is excessively muddy, said Solid Waste Management Department Director Billy Gallegos, causing trucks to go one at a time.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
House GOP leader accuses Epstein truth commission chairwoman of using PR firm for politics - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
The political din surrounding New Mexico’s truth-finding commission on Jeffrey Epstein’s past ties to the state continues to grow louder.
House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, expressed outrage Wednesday after Republicans released an invoice from a public relations firm hired by the panel that appeared to show research into lawmakers’ political track records.
The top-ranking GOP lawmaker accused the truth commission’s chairwoman, Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, of ordering the research without the knowledge of the panel’s two Republican members.
“Chair Romero had a taxpayer-funded PR firm running political opposition research on members of the Legislature, digging into our backgrounds and our associates, just before an important election,” Armstrong said in a statement.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
New Mexico governor’s office releases up to $3.75M in emergency response to flooding - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Flooding across New Mexico prompted state officials Wednesday to release up to $3.75 million in emergency funds aimed at helping communities respond to and prevent damage.
Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is out of state, issued five executive orders, each authorizing $750,000, for the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
“Communities across New Mexico need help staving off these torrential floodwaters, and they need it now,” Morales said in a statement Wednesday.
Above average late-monsoon moisture has caused widespread floods. Over the last week, a National Weather Service database shows more than 80 reports of flood events in 14 counties, particularly those in southern New Mexico.
Flooding made numerous roads across the region impassable and even temporarily stranded a school bus in Lincoln County, according to the NWS database. Tuesday evening, Doña Ana County temporarily evacuated Rincon, Salem & Garfield in response to flooding and concerns about McLeod Dam. In Santa Fe County, officials set up a phone number for residents stranded due to closed roads.
Water also apparently breached the main gas line in Hatch, prompting the local police department to issue a warning on social media Wednesday afternoon not to “put gas” at pumps in the southern New Mexico town.
“The main gasoline line has been breached by water,” the police department wrote. “The gasoline is now mostly water and will damage your vehicle.”
A spokesperson for the Hatch Police Department did not immediately respond to Source NM’s request for further comment Wednesday.
Elsewhere, drainage pumps in Luna County were overwhelmed. Up to two feet of flowing water was reported in Socorro County; and “curb-to-curb” street flooding was reported in Artesia, according to the NWS database.
The governor’s office said the floods have damaged public infrastructure, disrupted transportation routes and threatened homes and businesses.
Officials noted that, with more rain in the forecast, local emergency response agencies might become overwhelmed, which is why the state funds are necessary.
As of publication Wednesday afternoon, NWS forecasters had issued a “flood watch” for most of northern New Mexico, warning that risks of additional flooding persist through midnight Wednesday due to a surge of moisture that will fall on “already rain-soaked soil” and potentially cause additional floods.
The NWS also issued flood warnings through 6 p.m. Wednesday for parts of San Miguel, Santa Fe and Lincoln counties.
The executive orders do not specify exactly what the funding will be used for but notes that it “may” be used to provide people with shelter, healthcare, food and transportation.
“The State of New Mexico stands with every county, city and village working around the clock to keep their neighbors safe, and we are bringing every resource to the effort,” Morales said.
Leah March, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, did not immediately respond to Source NM’s question about Lujan Grisham’s whereabouts, but she was scheduled to speak in Washington, D.C., on Thursday alongside Center For American Progress CEO Neera Tanden in a conversation about tackling the “biggest challenges facing America today, like healthcare, childcare, and housing access,” according to a news release.
Road closures remain following floods - Mark Haslett, KUNM
Following Tuesday’s heavy rainfall and flooding, a number of roads are closed around New Mexico.
The state website NMRoads.com reports that in the Enchanted Circle, State Road 38 is closed between Questa and Red River.
Elsewhere around Northern New Mexico, in Rio Arriba County, State Road 112 is closed between El Vado and Llaves.
And in Mora County, State Road 94 is closed at Ledoux.
In Central New Mexico, a long stretch of U-S Highway 60 is closed in Socorro County. Highway 60 is closed west of the Socorro airport, and continuing all the way to the village of Magdelena.
Evacuation orders lifted in Southern New Mexico - Julia Gentin, Las Cruces New Mexican
Sunny skies were a welcome change Wednesday following evacuation orders issued Tuesday for communities near Hatch in Southern New Mexico.
Flooding prompted local officials to issue the order due to fears that the McLeod Dam could fail under pressure from the waters.
The Las Cruces New Mexican reports that Garfield, Salem, Hatch and Placitas had evacuation orders lifted at 11 p.m. Tuesday. Locals earlier had reported seeing water pour through, out, and over the dam.
The McLeod Dam is a 25-foot-high, earthen flood-control dam located on the McLeod Arroyo in northwestern Doña Ana County. It was built in 1951.
