New Mexico

“Systematic failures” found by New Mexico Environment Department in CRRUA investigation – KVIA

Published

2 years ago

January 13, 2024

“Systematic failures” found by New Mexico Environment Department in CRRUA investigation – KVIA

SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) — The New Mexico Environment Department has released their findings from their investigation into the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, better known as CRRUA.

The investigation stems from a treatment plant mishap in late November that caused the PH level to rise to unsafe levels in thousands of people’s drinking water in Santa Teresa and Sunland Park.

The 132-page report says that pH sensor malfunctions and operation failures by CRRUA’s staff led to excess sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, to be dumped into the water.

“The sensors, that actually monitor the acidity of the water, were reading that the pH levels were negative, and that’s what caused that system to call the caustic soda to be dumped in to bring the pH level back up,” said John Rhoderick, the director of NMED’s Water Protection Division.

The official cause of the incident from the NMED’s report is different than the explanation that CRRUA officials gave to ABC-7.

Former CRRUA executive director Brent Westmoreland originally told ABC-7 that a pump failure caused excess amounts of sulfuric acid to be dumped into the water, causing it to feel slimy.

However, Rhoderick says sulfuric acid would have reduced pH levels, not cause them to rise.

“I don’t know why [CRRUA] continued to talk about it being the acid, it was in fact just the opposite,” he added.

ABC-7 spoke with CRRUA’s interim director, Juan Carlos, Friday.

We asked him to comment on the investigation’s findings, and he told us to send him a list of written questions that will be answered within “one-to-two days.”

As for consequences CRRUA may face, Rhoderick says the utility company may be forced to re-train operational staff, and adds that there’s “additional enforcement acts coming.”

The investigation also found that seven violation notices were sent to CRRUA in 2023. As of this publication, only one has been resolved according to the NMED.

ABC-7 will bring you CRRUA’s response to the investigation both on-air and online at KVIA.com as soon as it’s provided to us.

A copy of the investigation report is linked to this story.

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New Mexico

New Mexico deserves speedier game commission appointments

Published

4 hours ago

January 9, 2026

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New Mexico deserves speedier game commission appointments

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New Mexico

What bills have been filed for New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session?

Published

16 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

What bills have been filed for New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session?

The governor sets the agenda for the session, including for the budget, so here is what they are looking at so far.

SANTA FE, N.M. — As the regular session of the New Mexico Legislature is set to begin Jan. 20, lawmakers have already filed dozens of bills.

Bills include prohibiting book bans at public libraries and protections against AI, specifically the distribution of sensitive and “Deepfake” images

Juvenile justice reform is, again, a hot topic. House Bill 25 would allow access to someone’s juvenile records during a background check if they’re trying to buy a gun.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sets the agenda and puts forth the proposed budget lawmakers will address during the session. The governor is calling for lawmakers to take up an $11.3 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which is up 4.6% from current spending levels.

Where would that money go? More than $600 million would go to universal free child care. Meanwhile, more than $200 million would go to health care and to protect against federal funding cuts.

There is also $65 million for statewide affordable housing initiatives and $19 million for public safety.

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New Mexico

Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

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Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion

Paul Gessing, Rio Grande Foundation
| Las Cruces Sun-News

After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively use the oil and gas revenues to grow the economy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with the help of her Economic Development Secretary Rob Black have lured no fewer than three large data centers to New Mexico. These data centers are being built to serve the booming world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they will have profound impacts on New Mexico.

It is our view that having these data centers locate in New Mexico is better than having them locate elsewhere. While we have many differences of opinion with this governor, we are pleased to see her get serious about growing and diversifying New Mexico’s oil-dependent economy albeit quite late in her second term.

Sadly, the governor and legislature have chosen not to use broad based economic reforms like deregulation or tax cuts to improve New Mexico’s competitiveness. But, with the failure of her “preferred” economic development “wins” like Maxeon and Ebon solar both of which the governor announced a few years ago, but haven’t panned out, the focus on a more realistic strategy is welcome and long overdue.

Currently, three new data centers are slated to be built in New Mexico:

Oracle’s Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa with an investment of $165 billion.
Project Zenith slated to be built in Roswell amounts to a $11.7 billion investment.
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. While the overall investment is unclear, the energy requirement is the largest of the three at 7 gigawatts (that’s seven times the power used by the City of San Francisco).

What is a data center? Basically, they are the real-world computing infrastructure that makes up the Internet. The rise of AI requires vast new computing power. It is critical that these facilities have uninterrupted electricity.

That electricity is going to be largely generated by traditional sources like natural gas and possibly nuclear. That contravenes New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act of 2019 which was adopted by this Gov. and many of the legislators still in office. Under the Act electrical power emissions are supposed to be eliminated in a few years.

With the amount of money being invested in these facilities and the simple fact that wind and solar and other “renewable” energy sources aren’t going to get the job done. In 2025 the Legislature passed and MLG signed HB 93 which allows for the creation of “microgrids” that won’t tax the grid and make our electricity more expensive, but the ETA will have to be amended or ignored to provide enough electricity for these data centers. There’s no other option.

New Mexicans have every right to wonder why powerful friends of the governor can set up their own natural gas microgrids while the rest of us face rising costs and decreased reliability from so-called “renewables.” Don’t get me wrong, having these data centers come to New Mexico is an economic boon.

But it comes tempered with massive subsidies including a 30-year property tax exemption and up to $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. New Mexico is ideally suited as a destination for these data centers with its favorable climate and lack of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We shouldn’t be giving away such massive subsidies.

Welcoming the data center boom to New Mexico better than rejecting them and pushing them to locate in other states. There is no way to avoid CO2 emissions whether they happen here or somewhere else. But, there are questions about both the electricity demand and subsidies that must be addressed as New Mexico’s data center boom begins.

What will the Legislature, radical environmental groups, and future governors of our state do to hinder (or help) bring these data centers to our State? That is an open question that depends heavily on upcoming statewide elections. It is important that New Mexicans understand and appreciate these complicated issues.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

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