Rio Grande Chapter

Nation’s largest grassroots environmental group praises work to protect New Mexico’s environment Albuquerque. The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club on Thursday announced that it has endorsed Teresa Leger Fernandez for the open U.S. House seat in New Mexico’s Third Congressional District.  “We are very pleased to endorse Teresa Leger Fernandez for Congress in Northern New Mexico,” said Rio Grande Chapter Political Chair Richard Barish. “The Sierra Club has a rigorous endorsement process. We send out questionnaires, interview candidates, and ...
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The Sierra Club joined an uncontested comprehensive agreement in a proceeding before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, which will determine whether Xcel Energy can change electricity rates. The agreement includes commitments by Xcel Energy, a subsidiary of Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS) to retire the 1,050 megawatt, coal-fired Tolk power plant in Texas in 2032 ...
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Tri-State Generation and Transmission, owner of the Escalante coal-fired power plant in McKinley County, announced that it will close the plant this year. Additionally, Tri-State said it will commit $5 million in transition funds for the community impacted by Escalante’s shuttering. Our response urges them to increase its transition funding ...
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The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club issued its early 2020 endorsements of incumbent legislators who are leading environmental champions. There are many legislators with excellent environmental voting records, however, this list is limited to those candidates who also were sponsors of the Sierra Club’s priority bills ...
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Community leaders across New Mexico applauded the Oil Conservation Commission for acting to protect the state’s air and water resources from oil and gas pollution by adopting new enforcement rules under legislation adopted in the 2019 session ...
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Read the Santa Fe New Mexican article, dated January 11, 2020, about a report generated by Gov. Lujan Grisham's Methane Advisory Council ...
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Join us at the Roundhouse on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 8 AM – 3 PM, for Environment Da ...
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It was a wild year. We had major victories – The Energy Transition Act – and notable losses ...
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The Sierra Club’s position is that not enough is known about fracking wastewater to determine if it is safe for outside use, even after it is treated.  Along with high levels of salt, there are many hundreds of potential other chemicals, heavy metals, and even radionuclides in produced water. Before even considering treatment standards, we need much peer-reviewed research testing how the contents of the wastewater might impact crops, soil quality, or surface and groundwater ...
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The 2020 Legislative session kicks off on Jan. 21, and this year Environment Day will be on Jan. 28. As you may know, 2020 will be a short 30-day session, the purpose of which is to enact the state’s budget. This year, though, because our governor has made climate a priority, the Legislature will be hearing several clean-energy-related bills in addition to the state budget ...
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