ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman says the state's Environment Department has been awarded $1.75 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a clean water project.
The grant awarded Thursday will support the NMED's Clean Water Action Plan, which seeks to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act.

Funding can be used for education and outreach, water quality monitoring, best management practices for surface and ground water activities, among other things.

Bingaman, a Democrat, says the funding will help the Environment Department continue to restore and protect New Mexico's water resources.

By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

1/22/10

SANTA FE, N.M.—A company that manufacturers sustainable building products for the construction industry is moving to the Gallup area, which state officials claimed as proof they're making good on their word to bring more jobs to New Mexico's rural areas.
Gov. Bill Richardson gathered economic development officials at the state Capitol on Thursday to announce that C/D2 Enterprises is setting up shop north of Gallup. The company plans to start manufacturing this spring and will hire about 40 workers over the next three years.

"These are exactly the kinds of jobs that we're working to attract to New Mexico, especially in the more rural parts of the state," the governor said. "Our doors are open. New Mexico is open for business."

Richardson used the opportunity to send a message to legislators meeting for a 30-day session to continue supporting tax credits and other incentives that attract companies and jobs.

"These are working, they're bringing jobs," Richardson said of the incentives. "Let's not mess with these."

Despite the economic downturn and the state's budget woes, the governor said the state has announced 200 jobs for rural New Mexico in recent weeks and plans to announce an additional 100 soon for southeastern New Mexico. He declined to offer additional details.

Richardson's administration contends the incentives are responsible in part for creating jobs and keeping the state's unemployment rate below the national level.

New Mexico's unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month but up from 4.6 percent a year ago. The national rate is around 10 percent.

Statistics from New Mexico's labor department show, however, that job growth in New Mexico has declined by 3 percent over the past year, representing a loss of more than 25,000 jobs.

New Mexico is not alone. All states have reported declines in job growth over the past year, the department said.

State lawmakers are being cautious as they consider how to deal with a $600 million budget shortfall while being pressured by the administration and industry groups to continue providing tax credits and other incentives. Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, said the state must ensure it is getting a return on its investment.

"The problem isn't whether or not these incentives work. The problem is ... there is no way of quantifying how much the incentives are costing per job created and retained," he said.

Griego said the incentives are beneficial when companies pay a living wage, offer benefits and have a long-term commitment to staying in the community. When companies pay low wages and have no commitment, Griego said: "Frankly, they're just using the taxpayer."

The owners of C/D2 Enterprises said their jobs will pay as much as $23 per hour and they are committed to the Gallup community. The location near Interstate 40 allows quick transport of their products to military bases and other customers in the Southwest.

State officials said the company is benefiting from more than $367,000 in job training funds, capital outlay money and high-wage tax credits.

1/21/10

Managers of a southeastern New Mexico nuclear waste disposal site are struggling to deal with rising levels of hazardous vapors seeping out of waste drums.

The vapors are not radioactive, and no radioactive material has escaped, according to federal reports on the problem. A senior official at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant said the vapors, of the chemical carbon tetrachloride, have not reached levels that would pose a threat to worker or public health and safety.

But the vapors could violate state regulatory standards if they continue at high levels, forcing WIPP's operators to prematurely close down one of the site's waste disposal areas to comply with New Mexico Environment Department rules.

"It's an issue from a compliance standpoint, but it's not an issue from a health or safety standpoint," said Roger Nelson, WIPP's chief scientist, in a telephone interview Wednesday.

WIPP watchdog Don Hancock, of the Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque, agreed that there is not current health or safety threat. But if the levels continue to rise as they have over the last six months, it could pose a problem as WIPP's managers are forced to modify operations to keep levels from reaching dangerous levels, Hancock said.

The carbon tetrachloride, a solvent, was used in processing of plutonium at the Rocky Flats plutonium factory outside Denver, Nelson said. Inhalation of high levels of carbon tetrachloride has been linked to liver, kidney and nervous system damage, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Levels of carbon tetrachloride in the air underground have reached one-twenty-fifth the federal worker safety level, according to Nelson.

WIPP, a 2,150-foot-deep salt mine beneath southeastern New Mexico, is the permanent disposal site for dangerously radioactive plutonium waste from nuclear weapons research and production. In addition to the radioactive material, the waste also contains other hazardous chemicals, which are regulated by the state to protect worker and public health and safety.

Waste drums at WIPP have a filter designed to allow potentially explosive hydrogen gas to escape while keep the plutonium in, according to Nelson. The carbon tetrachloride is apparently seeping out of those filters, he said.

The carbon tetrachloride showed up in routine monitoring of air coming out of WIPP's exhaust system, Nelson said. WIPP is required to routinely sample for a wide range of hazardous chemicals and report the findings to the state.

The first sign of elevated carbon tetrachloride readings showed up in July.

If carbon tetrachloride levels continue to be high for several more months, WIPP operators could be forced under state regulations to prematurely close down the underground room where the drums are currently being disposed of.

New Mexico Environment Department officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

By Steve Lynn The Farmington Daily Times
9/10/2009

FARMINGTON City councilors, arguing late into Tuesday night's meeting, blasted two oil and gas companies accused of commissioning construction of an illegal fence that a man contends blocked access to his property.
"Quite frankly, I'm mad about it," Councilman Jason Sandel said. "It's astounding to me that this goes on inside our community."

Despite chiding from Sandel and other councilors at Tuesday's meeting, the city will let Energen Resources Corporation and XTO Energy Inc. relocate the fence they are accused of commissioning Fence Tech LLC to build around their natural gas wells without a permit in May 2008.

The decision also lets the oil and gas companies keep changes to the wells they allegedly made without permits from the city of Farmington.

City law requires companies to seek a permit before they expand wells, and then they must seek building permits for fences.

The narrow 3-2 vote reversed a decision last month by councilors to deny permits for the companies. Councilors agreed to reconsider last month's decision after a request by Mayor Bill Standley, who said he did not receive adequate information before he cast his original tie-breaking vote.

"There's no question that this is an emotional topic for the surface owner and members of the council," Standley said.

Emotional indeed: Councilman George Sharpe left the room after he aggressively questioned councilors' vote last month. He apologized.

Tuesday night Sharpe rebuffed Sandel for harshly criticizing the companies.

"You need to be careful, councilor," Sharpe told Sandel.
When councilors were split Tuesday night, Standley reversed his original vote and sided with councilors Dan Darnell and Sharpe at Tuesday night's meeting. Sandel and Councilwoman Mary Fischer voted against granting the permits.

"This is probably one of the toughest tie-breaking votes I've had because I can see both sides," Standley said.

Standley said similar situations would not occur in the future and he called for tougher penalties for people who build without permits.

Energen and XTO allegedly commissioned construction of the illegal fence on property owned by Dr. Robert Lehmer and Tom Dugan, president of Dugan Production Corp.

Dugan said neither Energen nor XTO contacted him before the fence was built on land he has owned for 50 years.

"You think somebody would come talk to me, wouldn't you?" Dugan said. "It's not a big thing. We're all friends. But they have been kind of sloppy about this little thing."

The adjoining wells, one operated by Energen and drilled in 1980 and the other operated by XTO and drilled in 1998, existed on the property with a fence before the city of Farmington annexed the land into its boundaries, according to the city. The new fence enclosed a greater amount of land around the wells, near Pi-on Hills Boulevard and Daybreak Drive.

Neither company was ticketed and Fischer asked city staffers why.

"I can't understand why the city took the position that it took in saying, "It's OK to break the law,'" Fischer said. "To me, it's just completely unacceptable."

Sharpe defended city staffers, saying the city's policy is to work through violations with people before giving tickets and requiring fences to be removed.

Energen and XTO built the new fence for public health and safety reasons and the equipment was moved for employees' safety, Energen attorney Rick Tully said.

XTO believed it legally could make changes to its well without the city's permission, said Kyla Vaughan, of XTO. She acknowledged the company made mistakes.

"It's not acceptable to us that we did not get a permit to build that fence," she said. "We want to do what we need to do to make things right."

The companies agreed to relocate the fence almost 30 feet away from the road on Lehmer's property, and XTO could pay a portion of attorneys fees Lehmer accumulated fighting the fence. Energen has declined to reimburse Lehmer for legal costs, Lehmer said.

Lehmer has declined to say how much he has spent on the battle. He asked councilors to require the companies to return the fence to its original location unless Energen reimbursed him for his legal expenses, according to a Sept. 2 letter he wrote Standley.

Councilors should vote against the permits also to punish the companies, he wrote.

Requiring the companies to return the fence to its original location would be counterproductive, Sharpe said.

Councilors should base their decision on the fact that Lehmer and the companies agreed where the fence should be relocated, he said.

"I feel Energen should step forward and compensate the Lehmers," he said. "Unfortunately, that's not our decision."

Councilors could not order the companies to pay the Lehmers' legal bills, City Attorney Jay Burnham said.

Sandel criticized Fence Tech LLC, the Farmington company that built the fence.

"We ought to be a community of law-abiding citizens," he said.

The city "red-tagged" the fence in July 2008 when city staffers learned about it, according to the city. Fence Tech then sought a permit, but the city denied the company.

A Fence Tech representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Seth Bingham, Lehmer's attorney, told councilors they would send a message to oil and gas companies to follow the law by voting against the permits and requiring the companies to start over.

"It's a matter of principle," Bingham said.

Councilman Dan Darnell disagreed, saying the same problems would resurface if the companies had to reapply for permits.

"Do we want to create another hassle?" he said.

Senate President denies Conservation Committee is stacked with anti-environmentalists

By Steve Terrell | The Santa Fe New Mexican
9/1/2009

Even though New Mexico voters last year elected several new environmentalist lawmakers, an advocacy group said Tuesday, state Senate leaders were able to push through an "unprecedented number of the most extreme anti-conservation bills." 

In their 2009 Legislative Scorecard, Conservation Voters New Mexico said Senate leaders stacked the Senate Conservation Committee — which deals with environmental bills — with senators "openly hostile to environmental protection." 

That is only one example of how Senate leaders used the committee process and legislative maneuvers, the report says. 

"It is abundantly clear that the composition of many critical Senate committees has dramatically shifted power to special interests — to those industries that advocate de-regulation and increased exploitation of natural resources," the report says. 

"In the end, the House of Representatives was forced to defeat attacks on our environment launched by the Senate. Fortunately, for the most part, the House held the line and chose clean air and water over exploitation of our Land of Enchantment." 

Senate President Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, on Tuesday denied that he purposely put anti-environmentalists on the Conservation Committee. "That's just silly," he said in a phone interview. He said he tried to give senators the committee assignments they wanted and tried to maintain a geographic balance. 

Jennings noted that most Democrats on the Conservation Committee backed Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa — and not Jennings — in the selection of the Senate president pro-tem. 

He also said that the legislative goals of Conservation Voters of New Mexico aren't supported in rural parts of the state. 

Sandy Buffett, executive director of Conservation Voters, pointed out that the average score for members of the Senate Conservation Committee fell by 24 percentage points from last year to this year. The scores are based on several votes on specific pieces of legislation dealing with environmental protection, wildlife, growth and health issues. 

After freshman Sen. Steve Fischmann, D-Las Cruces, who scored 100 percent, the Conservation Committee member with the highest score was Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, who scored 46 percent on the CVNM scorecard. The average score for committee members was 32 percent. 

Examples of "attacks on our environment" by the Senate cited in the CVNM report include SB732, a bill which would have required state agencies to gives applicants for licenses, including environmental permits, exact time frames for issuing the license. The state Environmental Department and other agencies said the bill would prove expensive and would impair the state's ability to process applications. CVNM argued the bill would cripple the enforcement of environmental regulations. 

"From a conservation perspective, this appeared to be a calculated attempt to keep the public from weighing in on this grave threat to their families and their quality of life," the CVNM report says. The Senate passed the bill 20-12, but it died in a House committee. 

Two Santa Fe legislators — Sen. Peter Wirth and Rep. Brian Egolf, both Democrats, received 100 percent scores. Rep. Jeanette Wallace of Los Alamos, who had a score of 63 percent, was the highest-ranking Republican on the 2009 scorecard. 

Of the others in the Santa Fe-area delegation, all Democrats, Sen. Nancy Rodriguez scored 83 percent; Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela had 75 percent, House Speaker Ben Luján received a 60 percent rating; Rep. Jim Trujillo got 56 percent; and Sen. Phil Griego received a 20 percent rating. 

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com. 

ON THE WEB 

• Download Conservation Voters New Mexico's 200 Legislative Scorecard

HOW THEY SCORED 

Here is how local legislators rated on the Conservation Voters New Mexico 2009 Legislative Scorecard released Tuesday: 

Santa Fe-area legislators:
• Rep. Brian Egolf, 100 percent
• Sen. Peter Wirth, 100 percent
• Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, 83 percent
• Rep. Lucky Varela, 75 percent
• Rep. Jeannette Wallace, 63 percent
• House Speaker Ben Luján, 60 percent
• Rep. Jim Trujillo 56 percent
• Sen. Phil Griego 20 percent

Senate Conservation Committee
• Sen. Steve Fischmann, D-Las Cruces, 100 percent
• Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, 46 percent
• Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, 41 percent
• Sen. David Ulibarri, D-Grants, 38 percent
• Sen. Bernadette M. Sanchez, D-Albuquerque (chairwoman), 36 percent
• Sen. Clinton Harden, R-Clovis, 27 percent
• Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, 20 percent
• Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, 15 percent