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With the EPA hamstrung by the Supreme Court and shaky state funding, New Mexico could face a future with reduced protections.
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A state Environment Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspection of oil and gas facilities in New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin found more than half may be violating air quality rules. Environment Secretary James Kenney said the results are “cause for alarm.”
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But a tax break for low-producing stripper wells gets slipped into a package with green energy breaks.
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New Mexico’s state government is testing the wastewater in high schools for illegal substances. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham claims the approach will help the state narrow in on where to put resources. Critics say it’s a waste of state money that stigmatizes students.
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Earlier this year, New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said the Environmental Protection Agency would declare parts of the Permian Basin in New Mexico and Texas an Ozone Nonattainment Area by the end of the year. However, as 2023 comes to a close, the EPA still hasn’t made its move.
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Environment Secretary James Kenney presented his agency’s budget request to a panel of lawmakers this week, which asks for an additional $9 million dollars. It would be the fifth straight budget increase for the agency. But members of the Legislative Finance Committee questioned whether the department should get more to work with when it didn’t spend down all of this year’s budget.
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State agencies are proposing new budgets to lawmakers ahead of next month’s legislative session. Environment Secretary James Kenney is seeking a more than $9 million increase in recurring funds. He told KUNM about the request and the risks he sees to lawmakers not meeting it.
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Racing against the clock, the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board approved a controversial environmental justice regulation to tighten the management of air pollution permits Monday.
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The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will be holding a rapid hiring event next Saturday September 23, 2023 hoping to fill over 40 positions. This comes after the department has rallied for months for more money to hire staff and now has a new mandate to test wastewater at schools.
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The New Mexico Environment Department’s database for alleged violations logged about 200 entries related to clean water last month. About 40% of the notices went to one organization, and a small water association was referred to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over continued violations.