New Mexico

New Mexico to receive $18.9M in federal money for ‘forever chemical' detection • Source New Mexico

Published

2 years ago

May 24, 2024

New Mexico to receive .9M in federal money for ‘forever chemical' detection • Source New Mexico

Big check energy at the Roundhouse.

National and state environmental officials celebrated a $18.9 million federal grant for most of New Mexico’s water systems to use over the next two years to detect “forever chemicals,” in the state’s drinking water.

State officials say they hope to pull down a total of $47.2 million in the next five years in additional rounds of federal grants. The first two years will focus on detection and subsequent phases will address removal of Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS for short) in drinking water.

More than 496 systems serving 231,000 New Mexicans are eligible for the funding, state officials said.

A check of this size will help the state “fund its way” out of pollution, said New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney from the Roundhouse Rotunda.

“These forever chemicals will not be a forever legacy. We will address these chemicals and New Mexico will be the leader in the way we do that,” he said.

What are PFAS?

This class of synthetic chemicals are ubiquitous, present in the blood of most people in the U.S. They are toxic and extremely hard to break down. There are nearly 15,000 types of these chemicals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA looks to limit toxic ‘forever chemicals.’ Here’s what New Mexicans should know

Their resistance to breaking down in sunlight, water, oil and fire over time makes them useful in fabrics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, in our carpets, clothes and firefighting foam. It also means they build up in our bodies, linked to cancer, heart and liver problems, developmental damage, vaccine resistance and other health issues.

Despite decades of rising concern about the dangers of these chemicals, the EPA only implemented drinking water limits for only the five most-common, releasing the final rule in April 2024.

These drinking water limits for the two most-studied and common chemicals – PFOA and PFOS – is 4 parts per trillion, the lowest limit the EPA believes to be technologically possible. The new rule requires water systems to be compliant by 2029.

The size of the problem will require billions of dollars in spending, with an estimated cost of $1.5 billion to implement the drinking water rules.

And that’s just the low estimate. The U.S. military estimated PFAS clean-up just on military bases and surrounding communities to be at least $31 billion.

New Mexico context

As the nation grapples with the reality of these contaminants’ omnipresence – in rainwater, in our bodies, in animals – New Mexico water systems are already struggling.

In 2021, the environment department found PFAS in at least 15 water systems in New Mexico, according to tests performed with federal assistance.

The most impacted communities are in Curry County and Otero County, according to that data. That’s also where PFAS plumes from firefighting foam infiltrated the groundwater for decades next to military bases. The state tested more than three dozen cities and water systems for 28 compounds. Only five compounds are subject to the proposed limits.

A Clovis dairy had to euthanize more than 3,600 cows after Cannon Air Force base contaminated water sources infiltrated wells on the dairy.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury described hearing about the moment, saying that the disaster made PFAS not just an economic issue, but a personal one for New Mexico.”

“It’s a big day for New Mexico. it’s a big day for families, it’s a big day for ranchers, and it’s a big day in our fight to really tackle the chemical contaminants that affect our communities,” Stansbury said.

Rebecca Roose, acting as the infrastructure czar in the governor’s office said addressing PFAS is part of a larger plan to address water scarcity in the arid state.

“When we talk about our water being polluted and contaminated and not safe, there’s few things we take more seriously than that,” Roose said. “Perhaps right up there with it is protecting the water so that it never becomes polluted, contaminated or unsafe, because there is not a drop of water to spare.”

The federal grant is funded from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which contained at least $9 billion earmarked for addressing PFAS contamination.

This is the first grant of its kind in the region, said Earthea Nance, who oversees EPA Region 6, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Nance said there are no set plans for enforcement for holding PFAS polluters accountable in Region 6, but said that could change with more information.

“I don’t want to say no, because we mean, tomorrow, we could start putting a plan together,” she said.

Nance said the EPA Region 6 office is relying on state officials to help determine how large the enforcement response will be.

“Because we’re giving this money to the state of (New) Mexico, some of that will fall on them in terms of assessing the situation so that we can then figure out how to identify enforcement issues,” Nance said.

EPA R6 Director Earthea Nance, right, sits with NMED Secretary James Kenney at Thursday, May 23, 2024 event in the rotunda. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

How does the program work?

The grant has the unwieldy name; Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Program (EC-SDC). Name aside, it will allow for New Mexico’s environment leaders to spend up to $18.9 million over the next two years.

The program’s first phase will oversee water sampling, creating a statewide database and outreach to water systems, according to environment department officials.

Public water systems with 10,000 or fewer connections, or communities where the median household income falls between $56,828 – $75,770 are eligible to opt in, using this form.

“The great thing about this grant is we will be hiring and controlling a lot of the contract work and actually implementing it, which does take a little bit of a relief off the water systems,” said Kelsey Rader, the deputy division director for Water Protection with the state.

Rader said further federal money, two years from now, would offer more than testing, but also water treatment.

“That’s what’s really special about this grant is that it covers everything from the testing, from the design to the actual remediation, in paying for the necessary upgrades,” she said.

When asked if the $18.9 million is close to addressing the scope of PFAS in New Mexican’s water systems, Rader said the department doesn’t have a date set on when they’ll be able to test every New Mexico system.

“It’s difficult to say when that’s going to happen,” she said.

More work to do

Kenney said the state is still working to address current contamination, noting the environment department recently sent a letter asking for the federal government to commit to clean up water surrounding the Cannon Air Force base, not just beneath it.

A contentious court fight continues on, as the New Mexico Environment Department is still attempting to require the U.S. Air Force to follow state testing and treatment protocols over contamination at Cannon Air Force base. The case has stretched on for years in federal district court and now is in the 10th Circuit Appeals Courts.

Battle between New Mexico and US Air Force to track toxic chemicals drags on

The state is currently in mediation with the U.S. Air Force over the litigation and has been for over a year, said Bruce Baizel, the compliance and enforcement director for the environment department. The parties just extended that mediation period through late June.

The $18.9 million for clean-up would go farther, if people’s contact with PFAS in everyday items were reduced, said Kenney.

“In our legislative session, I’d like to see a bill introduced that bans PFAS but for essential uses, like medical devices,” he said. “But if given the choice of having a toxic chemical in your house that then becomes a toxic chemical in your body, I would choose not to have it in my house, or my body.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Source link

Click to comment

New Mexico

Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Published

7 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Phoebe Bridgers played her first solo show in three years on Friday night at The Liberty in Roswell, New Mexico. And if reports are to be believed, the singer’s next album/creative era could truly be out of this world.

The intimate, 13-song set at the 400-capacity venue served as Bridgers’ first solo performance since May 2023 when she opened for Taylor Swift at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. According to posts from several attendees, Bridgers described the evening (which strictly forbid all recording devices) as a “test” for her third album (and follow-up to 2020’s excellent Punisher).

In addition to hits like “Motion Sickness” and “Kyoto,” Bridgers debuted three to four new songs. One attendee described the new music, which included one track tentatively-titled “This is Gonna Kill Me,” as “very sad folk.” Harmonica arrangements were also featured prominently across the new music, provided by Christian Lee Hutson, who served as part of Bridgers’ band.

New Mexico

New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County

Published

19 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

LAS CRUCES, N.M (KFOX14/CBS4) — A gun-tracking program that uses shell casings to connect shootings is already helping investigators link crimes in Doña Ana County, according to new numbers released by the New Mexico Department of Justice.

The effort is part of New Mexico’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, which uses ballistic evidence such as shell casings to track guns believed to be used in multiple crimes. The program relies on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, a national database that compares ballistic evidence to determine whether shell casings may have come from the same weapon.

In April, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described how the technology can connect cases across jurisdictions.

“There may be a shooting that occurs in Deming that’s actually connected to a crime gun that’s recovered in Las Cruces. We may find shell casings in Silver City that are connected to something that happened in T or C,” Torrez said.

Four months into the program, the Department of Justice said 210 bullet casings have been analyzed in Doña Ana County. Those casings helped link 32 incidents to 13 guns.

Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County (Credit: KFOX14)

Statewide, more than 700 casings have been entered into the system, connecting 74 shootings to 31 guns.

One person reacting to the numbers said, “That’s crazy. Honestly, all those shootings all coming from that little amount of weapons is crazy.”

New Mexico officials say the system is designed to help law enforcement share information faster and build cases more efficiently.

Also in April, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart pointed to a local case she said the technology helped resolve quickly.

“We resolved a homicide with a suspect arrest in four days. We know that those casings may lead to another 1 or 2 incidents in another city,” Stewart said.

Some residents said the technology alone will not solve gun violence, but they see it as a step forward. One person said, “I mean, growing up, like hearing gunshots in the distance. That wasn’t something crazy. I have stories of, like, friends who’ve gone to parties that had guns go off there. So, yeah, I would say guns are a problem there.”

Another person said, “I would think that it’s a good thing. I’m personally like, just anything to help the gun crimes, you know?”

KFOX14/CBS4 contacted Las Cruces police and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to ask how the leads are being used in local investigations, but we are awaiting a response.

RECOMMENDED: New statewide crime gun intelligence center delivers leads, officials say in Las Cruces

RECOMMENDED: Las Cruces farmers warn tight margins, rising fuel and fertilizer costs threaten future

Source link

New Mexico

New Mexico AG seeks $3.7B from Meta over alleged ‘public nuisance’ claims

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico AG seeks .7B from Meta over alleged ‘public nuisance’ claims

(Photo Credit: FotoField/Shutterstock)

Who: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez brought a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc.
Why: The state claims Meta misrepresented harms to minors and created a public nuisance through its social media platforms.
Where: The lawsuit is pending in New Mexico state court.
How to get help: Has social media impacted the mental health of you or your child? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit against the platform.

New Mexico’s attorney general is asking a state court to order Meta to pay approximately $3.7 billion to address what the state describes as a “public nuisance” caused by the company’s social media platforms.

The request comes after a jury previously found Meta misrepresented the risks its platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — pose to underage users. The jury also imposed a $375 million penalty in the first phase of the trial.

The case has now moved into a second phase, where the court will determine what additional remedies, if any, Meta must provide.

According to the state, the proposed $3.712 billion abatement plan would fund a 15-year effort to address the alleged harms caused by Meta’s platforms. The plan includes funding for public education, school resources, law enforcement support and mental health services for children affected by issues, such as online bullying and sexual exploitation.

“This request recognizes the scope of the public nuisance that Meta has caused,” counsel for the state argued in court.

The lawsuit alleges Meta concealed or downplayed the extent of harmful activity on its platforms while publicly portraying them as safe for younger users.

Meta disputes liability, challenges proposed abatement plan

Meta denies the allegations and argues there is no legal basis for the sweeping relief requested by the state.

Attorneys for the company contend the proposed abatement plan does not directly address or stop the alleged harmful conduct and instead seeks compensation for downstream effects.

“What no court has ever allowed … is payment for the downstream effects,” Meta’s counsel argued, describing the request as “damages masquerading as something else.”

The court is expected to hear additional testimony during the second phase of the trial before determining whether to approve any form of injunctive relief or financial remedies.

In March, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for mental health harms suffered by plaintiff Kaley G.M., who became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, awarding $6 million in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.

What do you think about the claims against Meta in this case? Let us know in the comments.

The state is represented by Raul Torrez of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.

The Meta lawsuit is New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements: