Sierra Club statement on appointment of Ken McQueen as EPA Region 6 administrator
On Monday 8/5/2019, the EPA announced the appointment of former oil and gas executive, climate denier and former New Mexico Energy Secretary Ken McQueen as EPA Region 6 administrator. Read the statement from the Rio Grande Sierra Club ...
Sierra Club statement on PNM abandonment filing
In response to PNM’s abandonment filing at the Public Regulation Commission on Monday, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Director Camilla Feibelman released this statement ...
Udall leads lawmakers in challenging Trump gutting of methane protections

For immediate release: June 20, 2019

Amicus brief makes case that Interior’s rollback violates federal law by authorizing waste of public oil and gas resources, harming the public interest
Every year, an estimated $330 million of natural gas is wasted by the oil and gas industry on public and Tribal lands

WASHINGTON – On Thursday morning, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies,  and U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, led a group of 51 lawmakers in filing an amicus brief challenging the Trump Interior Department’s decision to revise and effectively reverse the Bureau of Land Management’s 2016 Methane and Waste Prevention rule.

A copy of the full amicus brief ...

Methane Waste and Prevention Act introduced
On May 14, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) introduced the Methane Waste and Prevention Act of 2019, a bill that would enact commonsense and cost-effective solutions to reduce methane waste and pollution from oil and gas operations on public lands, protect taxpayers, safeguard public health and mitigate climate change ...
NRC panel rejects all objections to proposed NM nuclear dump
On May 7, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that its Atomic Safety and Licensing Board had rejected every objection made by intervenors challenging Holtec International’s application to build a storage facility for high-level nuclear waste in southeast New Mexico ...
Albuquerque moves beyond plastic bags
On April 15, 2019, the City Council of Albuquerque voted to ban single-use plastic bags. It goes into effect January 2020 ...
Sierra Club responds to PNM announcement of 100% carbon free by 2040
Sierra Club response to PNM's announcement that the power it provides New Mexico will be 100% carbon-free by 2040 ...
Greater Chaco Coalition responds to Congressional visit on oil and gas impacts
Members of the Congressional House Natural Resources Committee visited New Mexico from April 13 to 15 to learn more about the negative impacts of oil and gas drilling on sacred sites and air quality, especially in the Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico ...