After making his case to state Representatives for boosting New Mexico Environment Department funding to meet federal mandates, improve enforcement and retain staff, Sec. James Kenney said a House-approved spending proposal leaves the department with “an even larger budget hole.”
Kenney said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is going to come down on the state for poor air quality in the oil-rich Permian Basin by the end of the year, declaring it an Ozone Nonattainment Area. Once that happens, “There is a clock that starts under the federal Clean Air Act and we’ll have certain milestones we have to meet," he told KUNM. "We’re trying to get ahead of it."
Kenney and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked lawmakers for around $2 million dollars for the work. The executive budget proposal also requested about $4 million for climate-related infrastructure, including matching funds for a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
The House passed its proposed budget on a 52-17 vote last week. It appropriated $3.5 million for both projects, just over half of what Kenney said the agency needs.
Spokesperson Mattew Maez said in a statement that, if these line items aren’t changed, permitting will slow or pause altogether, and the state could also lose out on those federal infrastructure dollars.
Kenney said these, plus “numerous” other unfunded items, including employee raises, amount to $9 million in unmet requests.
While the agency would get a boost in general fund dollars compared to the current fiscal year under the proposal, Kenney said it’s “entirely disingenuous” for lawmakers to consider that a gain for the department, considering “the staggering unfunded mandates.”
He called the proposal “baffling” amid record revenues, and said it could lead to “even less oversight and enforcement, the closing of local offices across the state and a possible reduction in staff.”
The spending package is now being heard in the Senate Finance Committee. While committee chair Sen. George Muñoz promised significant changes to the House bill in its first hearing Monday, it’s unclear if the Environment Department will end up with what its top official said it needs by the time the state budget reaches the governor’s desk.
