Rio Grande Chapter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 12, 2016 Contacts: Camilla Feibelman, 505-715-8388, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org
Mike Eisenfeld, 505-360-8994, mike@sanjuancitizens.org
Joan Brown, 505-266-6966, joankansas@swcp.com
Molly Sanders, 505-554-4115, molly@cvnm.org
Tom Singer, 505-231-1070, singer@westernlaw.org JOINT STATEMENT FROM NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Albuquerque, NM – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized standards for methane pollution, a component of natural gas, from new and modified sources in the oil and gas sector. These safeguards are the first-ever national standards for methane pollution, a greenhouse gas that is 87 ...

By Mona Blaber,
Rio Grande Chapter communications coordinator Last year, PNM proposed a 187-megawatt natural-gas plant as part of its replacement for the power lost when it shuts two units of coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in 2017. PNM issued a request for proposals for the project. But they limited the proposals only to natural gas. Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, of which the Rio Grande Chapter is a member, and New Energy Economy intervened in the case before the ...

By Mona Blaber, 
Chapter communications coordinator We all know utility rate cases can make a big impact on our pocketbooks. But from the lifespan of San Juan coal plant to rooftop solar, the PNM rate case being decided now will have a big impact on our climate. PNM wants to raise the base service fee on every residential bill from $5 to $13, a 160% increase. This hurts low-income and energy-efficient ratepayers, who would have to pay a larger bill no ...

By Mona Blaber El Paso Electric’s proposed rate increase for El Paso customers is moving forward to administrative-law judges and the Texas Public Utilities Commission after a non-unanimous settlement with the city of El Paso, which had rejected the company’s rate proposals last year. Yet to be litigated are terms regarding solar charges and the costs to exit Four Corners Power Plant. The orginal proposal would have raised most EPE customers’ rates by about 10% but put solar customers into ...

Thanks to the energetic volunteerism of many long-time leaders and a couple of new ones, the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club is pleased to offer you the following fantastic smorgasbord of hikes and other outings, completely free and open to the public. Please note that, new this quarter, we’re offering several weekday morning and evening hikes in Santa Fe. Continuation of these depends on your participation, so please try one out and return often if you like it.  ...

Albuquerque, N.M. — On Thursday, May 12, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first nationwide safeguards limiting dangerous methane pollution from new and modified sources in the oil and gas industry. These standards are projected to reduce 460,000 metric tons of methane pollution per year by 2025 – the equivalent of 11 coal-fired power plants – and save Americans $100 million annually in costs related to methane and toxic air pollution. “As a city commissioner, but more essentially as a ...

Mark Allison,
Executive Director, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance A broad-based coalition of conservationists, sportsmen, businesses and pueblos continues to build public support for protecting 120,000 acres of roadless areas adjacent to the existing Pecos Wilderness. This citizen proposal seeks to permanently protect these special areas from commercial development and extractive industry through federal legislation through a combination of Wilderness and Special Management Area designations. The proposal area includes federal public lands within the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests ...

Martin Heinrich,
NM Senator In the Southwest, water is the lifeblood of our economy and culture. Access to adequate clean and affordable water means that our cities can bustle with activity, our farmers can grow local food, and our rivers can sustain the cottonwoods and wildlife we all know and love. In exchange for developing water downstream in the Colorado River watershed, the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004 (AWSA) gave the State of New Mexico money to fund ...

For Immediate Release
May 4, 2016 Citizen Groups Challenge Fracking in Santa Fe National Forest
Legal Push Part of Broader Effort to Safeguard Greater Chaco from Oil and Gas Industry Contacts:
Kyle Tisdel, Western Environmental Law Center, 575-613-8050, tisdel@westernlaw.org
Samantha Ruscavage-Barz, WildEarth Guardians, 505-401-4180, sruscavagebarz@wildearthguardians.org
Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens Alliance, 505-360-8994, mike@sanjuancitizens.org
Rachel Conn, Amigos Bravos, 575-770-8327, rconn@amigosbravos.org
Teresa Seamster, Sierra Club, 505-983-2703, ctc.seamster@gmail.com 
Carol Davis, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, 928-221-7859, caroljdavis.2004@gmail.com SANTA FE, NM — In a ...

By Mona Blaber The battle between the citizens of Sandoval County and oil and gas developers has seen many twists and turns in the past three months. The county’s Planning and Zoning Commission initially appeared prepared to recommend to the county commission an application from financially troubled SandRidge Energy to drill an exploratory oil well just 2 miles outside of Rio Rancho. But after a surge of citizen activism, including thousands of messages to commissioners and hundreds of residents packing ...