LOS RANCHOS, N.M. – It’s business as usual on 4th Street and Osuna as crews continue construction on a 12-acre multi-use center in Los Ranchos.

“In the face of the allegations of not complying with the law, and in the face of the planning and zoning commission that they shouldn’t be doing this, even today after the judge has ruled, they are still doing construction,” said Mel Eaves, who is a member of Friends of Los Ranchos.

However, some Los Ranchos residents say there is a lot more happening behind the scenes. Developers started construction in late 2022 which came as a surprise to many residents who say they never held the proper public meetings to get approval to break ground.

“Those procedures require public notice to the residents, and they require that decisions be made in open public meetings,” said Eaves.

Eaves is also a retired attorney and has helped Friends of Los Ranchos pursue legal action. He said when they noticed the construction they warned the Village leadership and developers that they were planning to pursue legal action if they did not follow procedure.

“During that time, we filed briefs, cited the law and told them we were opposed to it. They really didn’t pay any attention to us if anything I think they speeded the construction up,” he said.

More than a year later a district court judge has ruled that developers and village leadership did in fact violate the Open Meetings Act and none of the plans drawn up this far for the project are valid.

“All actions, all approvals previously done in violation of the law are invalid. That means they do not have valid authority to do what they are doing today,” said Eaves.

The victory for Los Ranchos residents is now dimmed as construction continues at the site. Eaves said they will continue to put pressure on new village leadership to put an end to it.

“The board of trustees and the mayor now have the authority and I say the duty, to go to district court and stop construction and to assess a penalty and they ultimately can ask the court to remove the construction,” Eaves said.

KOB 4 reached out to developers and Los Ranchos leadership about the judge’s ruling. They shared the following statement:

“We want a chance to review with Legal Council and the Board, the case finding and implications. We have a posted special meeting to get that understanding.”

They will have a closed meeting on Monday, May 6 to discuss their options moving forward.

Central New Mexico Community College announced on Thursday that it will build a quantum science lab and develop a training boot camp as a means to bolster workforce needs in the field of quantum computing. 

The new lab and workforce development program at the community college are supported by more than $800,000 in federal funding and through partnerships with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico. The community college has deployed other “deep dive” bootcamps, which consist of 10-12 week courses focused on coding, data science, digital media and other technical areas. 

“Quantum computing may seem like science fiction, but it is a reality and New Mexico will be a leading center for its practical applications across a multitude of fields,” said Kyle Lee, who leads workforce development programs at the college, in a press release. “We will be one of the first and most accessible programs to build out this exciting opportunity for individuals and companies who want to harness quantum systems’ extraordinary capabilities.”

Students will be able to learn about quantum computing processes through a 10-week boot camp program and leave with skills to build, operate, maintain quantum systems and enter the workforce, the release said. Brian Rashap, an instructor with the college’s workforce training program, said that the lab is projected to welcome its first cohort of students in spring 2025. 

“There are very few formal quantum training programs like this, so it’s incredibly special that CNM is paving the way in that sense,” Rashap said. “We’re designing this program to serve employers and students in a really cutting-edge way, so if you’re interested in this kind of hands-on, innovative training this is the place to be.”

Water is New Mexico’s most precious resource. We must ensure it is conserved and utilized to the greatest extent and encourage innovative technologies that result in safe, responsible water reuse. As directed by the 2019 Produced Water Act, state officials are working diligently to create a framework for water reuse through the Water Quality Control Commission rulemaking.

All viable and safe options to address our declining water availability should be considered, including finding ways to safely use treated produced water. The oil and gas industry is truly one of the few industries capable of attaining “net positive” water balance by saving more fresh water than it uses. Achieving this is a win for all New Mexicans.

In New Mexico, oil and natural gas production uses less than 1 percent of the state’s annual freshwater consumption, while the vast majority of water continues to be consumed by individuals or other water-necessary industries.

Produced water is mostly naturally occurring, highly saline water brought to the surface as part of oil and gas production. Leading universities, like New Mexico State, New Mexico Tech, and Texas Tech, are on the forefront of treated produced water use research. Developments in water recycling technology show that high-quality water can be extracted from produced water for appropriate and regulated reuse. With additional treatment, the water can be cleaner than some natural river ecosystems.

Currently, produced water is injected back into deep subsurface formations as one of the few approved disposal methods. The reinjection of produced water can contribute to seismic events. Coupled with depleting water supplies, it is crucial to find ways to best utilize produced water.

Due to technological advancements, produced water could be used for industrial applications such as municipal landscaping, road construction, and irrigation for non-edible agriculture like cotton. To ensure its safe utilization in approved applications, the use of any produced water will be extensively tested and monitored to guarantee it meets stringent water-quality standards.

Every gallon of treated produced water used for irrigation or industrial uses frees up a gallon of native fresh water.

Concerns that the oil and gas industry introduces Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances – or PFAS – into its produced water are unwarranted. To be clear, the oil and gas industry is not a source of PFAS in produced water. A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey found PFAS concentrations in the Pecos River near Artesia (upstream of oil and gas fields) averaged 15 nanograms per liter. Water from the Pecos River downstream of oil and gas fields had the same or lower levels. The trace amounts of PFAS found in the surface water are introduced before water reaches the Permian Basin. The study also found PFAS levels in the Pecos River were lower than samples taken from the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.

We urge state officials to make data- and science-based decisions in the upcoming WQCC rulemaking hearing to ensure proper utilization of all our water resources, preserve our limited supply of fresh water for future generations, and enable economic diversification. To learn more about the rulemaking and treated produced water facts, we urge you to visit NM Environment Department, the WQCC, NMSU, NMT, and TTU sites to learn more the safe usage of produced water and its benefits to New Mexico’s future.

Missi Currier is a Carlsbad native, and President and CEO of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.