After two years of negotiations, Del Oro Dairy in Anthony, NM, has agreed to several modifications to its original plan to capture polluted shallow groundwater from beneath its facility. This revised plan is the culmination of efforts between the New Mexico Environment Department’s Groundwater Quality Bureau, the New Mexico Citizens Dairy Coalition and Del Oro. It represents the hope that this plan spells the end for the shallow-water pollution plume that is already under residential neighborhoods and has been contributing to the larger pollution plume produced by the dozen or so dairies along Dairy Row on I-10 around Anthony. ...
For over 900 miles, the Pecos River stretches from its high-elevation headwaters in the Pecos Wilderness south through Tecolote, Santa Rosa, Roswell, Carlsbad and across the border to Pecos, Texas. It is the life-blood of eastern New Mexico towns, ranches, farms and natural landscapes. Permitted use of the water for industrial development has been low ever since the Terrero Mine and Molino closed in 1950 and was designated as a “Superfund-level” site in 1995. Over $38 million and 20 years of reclamation later, the Pecos River is again threatened by Australian mining company New World Resources to start exploratory drilling ...
Many uncertainties surrounding the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” have plagued the regulatory landscape since 2001 and ultimately resulted in the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Also known as the “Dirty Water Rule,” the Trump administration’s rule has impacted New Mexico more than any other state in the nation ...
Fishermen and river-running enthusiasts in New Mexico are the targets of a stealthy and well-funded campaign to bar recreational access to segments of the Rio Chama and Pecos Rivers, among others, where they cross private land. The principal battleground is the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, where five wealthy private landowners have pending applications for “certificates of non-navigability.” These certificates empower them to outlaw recreational entry to private property via the rivers. The Game Commission has postponed its decision on the new round of non-navigable applications to its regular meeting on August 12 ...
On Nov. 19, the Navajo Nation, Western Albuquerque Land Holdings (WAHL) and Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility announced an agreement on a pipeline easement to allow the Village of To’hajiilee to access desperately needed water. ...
The Diné (people) of Tó’hajiilee Chapter have an opportunity to get drinking-quality water to their community of approximately 2,000 families and children. We need your help to make this happen ...
Sierra Club and allies intervened this summer to shore up inadequate safeguards on oil and gas wastewater, or “produced water,” for reuse in drilling operations ...
Efforts are underway to better protect the entire Albuquerque Basin aquifer at the state level with an Executive Order. ...
