About Environment New Mexico
Environment New
Mexico, the new organizational home of the New Mexico
Public Interest Research Group’s (NMPIRG) environmental work, is a state-wide advocate
for the environment. Representing more than 6,000 members state-wide, we focus
on protecting New Mexico’s air, water and open spaces, speaking out and taking
effective action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality
of our natural environment and our lives.
Curbing Global Warming
Global
warming is a profound problem threatening New Mexico's environment,
economy and way of life. But there are steps that we can take to combat
global warming, while curbing air pollution, cutting our dependence on
dirty fossil fuels and providing exciting economic opportunities to the
state. Environment New Mexico supports:
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Adopting the Utility Customer Demand Management bill, which will
require utilities to achieve a 10% energy savings by 2020, savings
consumers money on their utility bills, creating new jobs and reducing
global warming emissions. (HB 305, Speaker Lujan)
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Passing the Smart Investments in Public Buildings bill, which will
ensure a 50% energy saving throughout the life of new and retrofitted
public buildings through a 1-2% initial investment in the sustainable
design of each building. (SB 403, Sen. Campos)
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Solutions to subsidized sprawl and loss of local taxes associated with
tax increment development districts. (HB 451, Rep. Barela/SB 434, Sen.
McSorley)
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Promoting public transportation by setting up a regional transit
district in Santa Fe, Sandoval, Bernalillo and Valencia counties to
manage, bond and fund the Rail Runner. (HB 400, Rep. Silva)
- Providing an appropriation of $10 million for the Clean Energy Grants and Energy Innovation Fund.
- Providing funding to the Northern New Mexico State School to establish a Solar Energy Research Park. (HB 146, Speaker Lujan)
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Creating income tax credits ranging from $25 to $300 for energy
efficient appliances and equipment, like energy efficient furnaces, hot
water heaters, air conditioners and evaporative cooling systems. (SB
35, Sen. Feldman/HB 216, Rep. Gonzales)
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Creating the Alternative Energy for Schools Grant Act for New Mexico's
public schools and post-secondary institutions, rewarding school
projects that teach students about alternative energy. (HB 119, Rep. T.
Garcia)
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Appropriations, loan programs and enabling language for low-income home
energy assistance to provide home heating and weatherization for
low-income households. (SB 189, Sen. Lopez/ SB 210, Sen. Martinez/ SB
211, Sen. Martinez/ HB 246, Rep. Wirth)
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Funding for a green building certification training and education
program for builders, arcitects, building inspectors and others. (SB
36, Sen. Feldman)
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Expanding eligibility for the solar market development tax credit,
encouraging more solar energy development. (SB 100, Sen. Feldman)
Preserving New Mexico's Natural Environment and Limited Water Supply
New
Mexico's natural environment is integral to our culture and economy. We
must preserve New Mexico's open spaces, forests, deserts, rivers, rural
working landscapes and critical habitat. Environment New Mexico
supports:
- A special appropriation of $10 million for the River
Ecosystem Restoration Initiative, which funds projects state-wide to
restore ecosystem function and health on rivers threatened by sprawling
development, invasive species and grazing.
- Capital outlay
funding for the Rio Grande Trail, bringing new recreational and tourist
opportunities to New Mexico's communities while reconnecting people
with the river.
- Passing Leave No Child Inside, a bill that
would place a 1% tax on video games and televisions to pay for
children's outdoor education programs.
- $5 million for Land and Wildlife conservation projects.
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A taskforce to develop guidelines for environmentally-friendly
electronics procurement and recycling by state agencies. (SJM 11, Sen.
Feldman)
- Ensuring that oil and gas development is consistent
with the protection of public health and wildlife conservation. (HB
248, Rep. Wirth)
- A $345,000 appropriation to the Interstate
Stream Commission to support the regional water planning program. (HB
85, Rep. Nunez)
- A $450,000 appropriation to the New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology to conduct statewide aquifer mapping
and characterization. (HB 2, Sen. Cisneros)
- Prohibiting the
issuance of uranium mining permits within 1000 feet of existing
residences and requiring public notice and hearings prior to the
issuance of all mining operations. (SB 17, Sen. Lovejoy)
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Helping to protect New Mexico's water resources by providing the Office
of the State Engineer with authority over deep aquifers. (SB 262, Sen.
Cisneros)
- Allowing the Interstate Stream Commission authority
to acquire water rights without purchasing land to meet Pecos River
Compact obligations. (SB 227, Sen. Griego)
- A memorial resolving
that applications to export water from the Estancia basin should be
supported by proof that the importing basin needs the water and that
there is no alternative in-basin sources of water available in the
importing region. (SJM 17, Sen. Beffort)
No Rollbacks
Protecting
New Mexico's environment also means ensuring that past gains are not
eroded and rolled back. Environment New Mexico opposes:
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Rollbacks, including defunding or tying New Mexico Environment
Department funding to a rollback of the Clean Cars Program. The
program, adopted by the Environmental Improvement Board and the
Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board in November,
which will decrease global warming pollution by 30% from new vehicles
and reduce health hazardous smog-forming and toxic air pollution.
-
Tax subsidies or other incentivies for the proposed Desert Rock
coal-fired power plant near Farmington, New Mexico. If built, Desert
Rock would emit more than 12 million tons of carbon dioxide, mercury
and other pollutants into our air each year.
- Funding or policies that would promote development of the Gila River, New Mexico's last free-flowing river.
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Resolutions that would violate the separation of powers and threaten
key environmental protections by amending the New Mexico State
Constitution to allow the legislature to enact laws that prohibit
regulatory rules from taking effect until reviewed and approved by the
legislature and that would allow the legislature to annul rules that
they feel were not authorized under statute. (SJR 5, Sen. Ingle/ SJR 7,
Sen. Ingle)
- Creating a regulatory task force biased toward
industry that would review the State's regulatory authorities, possibly
leading to deregulation and a weakening of New Mexico's environmental
agencies and programs. (SB 57, Sen. B. Sanchez, Rep. Berry)
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Creating an Oil Conservation Division Oversight Committee that would
weaken the ability of the Oil Conservation Division to set strong
standards for protecting soil, water and public health from oil and gas
waste pits. (HB 125, Rep. Foley/ SB 394, Sen. Ingle)
- Hindering
the enforcement abilities of environmental agencies by prohibiting
agencies from submitting a budget increase if the source of funds for
the increase would be penalties collecting during the same fiscal year.
(HB 267, Rep. Gardner)
- Subsidizing sprawl by providing a $629
million tax increment bond for SunCal's sprawling development on
Albuquerque's west mesa. (HB 276, Rep. Silva)
- Requiring skewed
regulatory impact statements biased against protecting public health,
safety and welfare. (HB 310, Rep. Berry)
- A memorial urging the
U.S. Department of Energy to determine that more dangerous radioactive
waste can be stored at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). (HJM 8,
Rep. Heaton)
- Considering eliminating the coal surtax and providing a $6.9 million subsidy to the extraction industry. (HJM 7, Rep. Begaye)
