Anita Gonzales, a Las Vegas resident and Rio Grande Chapter board member, wrote this account for a national Sierra Club email to raise funds for community members impacted by New Mexico’s devastating fires. You can donate to the Las Vegas Community Foundation’s fire-relief fund here.
As I write this on May 19, 2022, today is Day 44 of the largest fire in New Mexico history. The Hermits Peak Fire began on April 6 with a prescribed burn and combined with the Calf Canyon Fire on about April 22. The combined megafire has now expanded to over 301,000 acres, has over 2100 fire personnel, is only 34% contained, and has evacuation warnings in 4 counties throughout Northeast New Mexico.
...
Utility agrees to drop hydrogen-blending pilot, cut proposed rate increase in half, advocate for legislation enabling low-income utility rates
For immediate release: May 23, 2022
On Friday, Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, Western Resource Advocates, PRC staff, the New Mexico attorney general, New Mexico Affordable Reliable Energy Alliance, New Energy Economy, and Incorporated County of Los Alamos reached an agreement with New Mexico Gas Company on its rate case, which had included plans to charge customers for a pilot to blend hydrogen into its gas supply and for compressed-natural-gas (CNG) fueling stations.
The settlement included:
- Agreement that NM Gas will not provide any customers a blend of hydrogen and natural gas without seeking the PRC’s approval in a future ...
Commenters demand more meaningful protections for Greater Chaco and greater involvement of impacted communities
For Immediate Release: May 6, 2022 (Photos)
Santa Fe, NM – Today, the Greater Chaco Coalition/Frack Off Chaco, composed of environmental justice advocates, Indigenous grassroots organizations, tribal community leaders, and members of the public, rallied and delivered nearly 80,000 comments to the Bureau of Land Management demanding greater protections for the Greater Chaco Landscape and surrounding communities from expanded oil and gas activities.
Today’s rally coincided with the deadline to submit comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s proposal to stop new oil and gas leasing for a 20-year period on roughly 350,000 acres of land within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park ...
