http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/index/ en jcolon@nmelc.org Copyright 2012 2012-05-13T16:20:23-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/new_mexico_is_in_the_process_of_making_its_protective_regulations_much_weak/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/new_mexico_is_in_the_process_of_making_its_protective_regulations_much_weak/#When:15:32:42Z Right now, states like Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming and Texas are making their oil and gas regulations tougher. At the same time, New Mexico is in the process of yanking the teeth from it’s most important oil and gas regulations. Industry groups are petitioning the State to rewrite the protective “Pit Rule.“ The Pit Rule regulates the disposal and storage of oil and gas drilling wastes. (Go to case page) If you don’t want the oil and gas industry to gut the Pit Rule, you need to take action now. See our Action Alert and find out how to BE HEARD! The public hearing begins May 14th in Porter Hall at the Wendell Chino Building in Santa Fe. (Get map). News 2012-05-09T15:32:42-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/tell_the_epa_to_do_the_right_thing/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/tell_the_epa_to_do_the_right_thing/#When:15:28:26Z Don’t Sacrifice Navajo Water for Uranium Mining Recently, something unprecedented happened: the EPA agreed to revisit its 1989 decision to grant Hydro Resources Inc.‘s “aquifer exemption” permit. We hope the EPA reconsiders all the facts and revokes this permit, but we need your help. Revoking this permit could be our last chance to protect Navajo communities’ aquifer from uranium mining. YOU CAN HELP! Find out more. News 2012-04-24T15:28:26-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/groups_urge_epa_to_revoke_exemption_for_uranium_mining_operation_in_western/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/groups_urge_epa_to_revoke_exemption_for_uranium_mining_operation_in_western/#When:15:20:23Z Environmental groups are hopeful that a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider a permit for a uranium mining operation in western New Mexico could lead to the end to the project. Members of Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center had voiced concerns to the EPA about deficiencies in the decades-old permit application. The Republic Go to The Republic to read full story. NMELC News 2012-05-13T15:20:23-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/state_regulators_consider_revisions_to_oil_gas_rules/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/state_regulators_consider_revisions_to_oil_gas_rules/#When:15:01:32Z Schreiber says in his experience, industry simply wasn’t cleaning up after itself, and the pit rules helped change that. “In exchange for the benefit our land delivers to the state, we expect the state to responsibly regulate industry,“ Schreiber said. Eric Jantz, attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, predicts what will happen after next week’s hearing. He said the oil and gas industry is calling in favors on Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and the Oil Conservation Commission she hand-picked. “We expect [the Oil Conservation Commission] to give industry everything they want,“ he said. “Bottom line is, if the pit rule is gutted, we’re going to have increased incidences of groundwater and surface water contamination.“ Santa Fe New Mexican Go to Santa Fe New Mexican for full story. NMELC News 2012-05-13T15:01:32-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/nmelc_questions_oil_conservation_commission_members_bias/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/nmelc_questions_oil_conservation_commission_members_bias/#When:15:48:42Z Commission Set to Hear Petition to Amend Pit Rule SANTA FE, NM - On Tuesday, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC) filed a Motion to Recuse on behalf of its client, Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP) in New Mexico’s new oil and gas “Pit Rule” hearing.  The motion asks for one member of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Commission to withdraw from the decision-making process, and for another to disclose her previous dealings with the oil and gas industry. The motion is based on public documents indicating that some Commission members may have already made up their minds to remove most of the substantive environmental protections found in New Mexico’s Pit Rule. Go to case page. Press Releases 2012-05-10T15:48:42-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/activists_mount_campaign_for_epa_to_scrap_n.m._uranium_mine_permit/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/activists_mount_campaign_for_epa_to_scrap_n.m._uranium_mine_permit/#When:16:30:35Z Environmental advocates are pressing U.S. EPA to revoke a key permit for a planned uranium mining facility in northwestern New Mexico adjacent to the Navajo Nation. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center and Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining say EPA is reconsidering a 23-year-old aquifer exception for Uranium Resources Inc.‘s project in the community of Church Rock, N.M. It is an area already polluted by past mining activities. Eric Jantz, an attorney for NMELC, which has been helping ENDAUM fight new mining for years, said it “would contaminate potable water with radiation and heavy metals, making it unfit for consumption forever. The EPA has both the legal authority and moral obligation to revoke the aquifer exemption.“ Red Lodge Clearing House Go to Red Lodge Clearing House for full story. NMELC News 2012-05-09T16:30:35-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/epa_revisits_permit_for_what_could_be_first_in_new_wave_of_uranium_mines/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/epa_revisits_permit_for_what_could_be_first_in_new_wave_of_uranium_mines/#When:15:47:23Z But Eric Jantz with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center says the permit was based on limited and misleading water quality data. And now the Law Center is helping the group Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining petition for a revocation of the permit.  So far, the groups’ online petition has gathered close to 10,000 signatures. Jantz says he thinks speculation in uranium may be overblown. “That said, even if only a few materialize, based on history, those mines could do a lot of damage to state resources and public health.“ KUNM Go to KUNM for full story. NMELC News 2012-05-09T15:47:23-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/listen_to_eric_jantz_talk_to_ksfr_radio_urging_the_epa_to_protect_navajo_wa/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/listen_to_eric_jantz_talk_to_ksfr_radio_urging_the_epa_to_protect_navajo_wa/#When:16:04:28Z Eric Jantz talks to KSFR about the aquifer exemption permit the EPA must revoke to protect a Navajo aquifer from uranium mining. The interview begins at 7:25. Listen now at KSFR. NMELC News 2012-05-08T16:04:28-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/epa_may_throw_wrench_in_plans_to_build_highly-contested_uranium_mine/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/epa_may_throw_wrench_in_plans_to_build_highly-contested_uranium_mine/#When:16:32:54Z SANTA FE, N.M.— The New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC) and Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) are urging the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke an ill-advised permit they gave to uranium mining company, Hydro Resources, Inc. 23 years ago. After ENDAUM and NMELC brought deficiencies in the permit application to EPA’s attention, the EPA took the unprecedented step of revisiting its decision to grant the permit. “The permit is an ‘aquifer exemption,’ which allows Hydro Resources to conduct uranium mining in a groundwater aquifer under the community of Church Rock, NM,” says Eric Jantz, NMELC Staff Attorney and lead counsel on the case. “The type of uranium mining it is proposing would contaminate potable water with radiation and heavy metals, making it unfit for consumption forever. The EPA has both the legal authority and moral obligation to revoke the aquifer exemption.” Learn more about the case. Press Releases 2012-05-07T16:32:54-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/super_sucker_smackdown/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/super_sucker_smackdown/#When:19:11:46Z At the end of March, the State Engineer agreed with them and denied Augustin Plains Ranch’s request. But this story may not be over. On Monday, April 9, the company announced it would appeal the decision in District Court. Asking for permission to pump without saying how the water will be used treats water like a mineral resource, such as gold or copper, says Bruce Frederick, attorney with the Environmental Law Center. But under the Constitution, water belongs to the public. Augusta Plains Ranch “clearly just wanted to hold onto the water until the best price came along,” he says. Alibi Read full story. NMELC News 2012-04-12T19:11:46-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/a_tale_of_two_cites/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/a_tale_of_two_cites/#When:20:04:10Z Southern NM courts Pegasus Global Holdings’ elusive “ghost town” test site State Land Commissioner Ray Powell does have to consider the impact to any state land leased for such a project, however, notes Bruce Frederick, staff attorney with the 
New Mexico Environmental Law Center. Although Powell is charged with maximizing income for the state, he also must make sure the land isn’t damaged and that the state isn’t incurring any liability, Frederick notes. And Powell has a lot of autonomy, because he acts independently of the governor. “It’s hard for people to come in and challenge the things that [Powell] does because he has so much power and discretion,” Frederick says. Santa Fe Reporter Read full story. NMELC News 2012-04-11T20:04:10-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/augustin_plains_ranch_files_appeal/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/augustin_plains_ranch_files_appeal/#When:18:56:34Z A partnership that wants to pump groundwater from its high desert ranch in west-central New Mexico to the Rio Grande Valley went to court Monday to appeal a state decision to deny its water rights application. “We believe this is a great project that deserves a hearing,” said Tom Carroll, spokesman for Augustin Plains Ranch LLC, in a statement issued Monday afternoon. Bruce Frederick, the attorney for many of the area residents fighting the project, said the court should throw out the Ranch owners’ appeal. “I am not surprised,” he said, “however I think the appeal has no merit and should be dismissed.” El Defensor Chieftain Read full story. NMELC News 2012-04-11T18:56:34-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/state_rejects_ranchs_water_application/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/state_rejects_ranchs_water_application/#When:19:39:13Z An application for a permit to pump massive amounts of groundwater from beneath the San Agustin Plains in west-central New Mexico was denied by the New Mexico State Engineer last Friday. “I’m very happy about the state engineer’s decision,” said Bruce Frederick, an attorney with the Environmental Law Center who represented about 80 of more than 200 protestants. “We think it was compelled by law and absolutely correct. We only wish that the application was thrown out a few years ago when the application was first submitted. There was really no definite project that application wanted to do. They just wanted to stake a claim to a bunch of water.” El Defensor Chieftain Read full story. NMELC News 2012-04-04T19:39:13-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/state_denies_sale_of_groundwater/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/state_denies_sale_of_groundwater/#When:22:58:07Z The Augustin Plains Ranch LLC investment group proposed drilling a field of wells on the ranch, near Datil in the high county west of Socorro, and piping the water to somewhere in the Rio Grande Valley to meet long-term shortages there among farmers, cities and the state. But the project team never said who would use the water and how. By failing to be specific about where the water was going, the project’s backers failed to meet the requirements of state law, Verhines ruled. The project amounted to water speculation, which is illegal, said Bruce Frederick with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, one of the lead attorneys for a group of rural residents who fought to block the project. It is the second recent state ruling to conclude speculation is not allowed under state water law. “All this ruling does is confirm what anybody who knows about water law and cares about water law already knew,” Frederick said Monday. Albuquerque Journal Read full story. NMELC News 2012-04-03T22:58:07-07:00 http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/official_rejects_request_to_pump_water_from_catron_county_to_santa_fe/ http://nmenvirolaw.org/index.php/site/more/official_rejects_request_to_pump_water_from_catron_county_to_santa_fe/#When:20:29:41Z A New Mexico hearing examiner recommends denial of a permit to a New York company seeking to pump millions of gallons of groundwater from Catron County in Southwestern New Mexico and make it available to cities including Santa Fe. Bruce Frederick, who handled the case for the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said the application sought rights to the largest amount of water he knows of from a private entity… Frederick said the application should never have been accepted by the state engineer. “We could have saved the state and the parties tens of thousands of dollars if someone at the [State Engineer’s Office] had recognized the application was invalid on its face,“ he said. Santa Fe New Mexican Read full story. NMELC News 2012-04-03T20:29:41-07:00