NM Environment Department Announces Record $24.5 Million Air Pollution Settlement

State announces $24.5 million air quality settlement

The New Mexico Environment Department yesterday announced a $24.5 million settlement with oil and gas company Ameredev II, LLC to settle alleged violations of state air regulations, which the state reports as the largest settlement the environment department has ever reached for a civil oil and gas violation. Most of the money will benefit the state’s general fund. NMED’s environmental protection division in June of 2023 issued a $40.3 million compliance order to the company after identifying five of its facilities that “could not accept or transport gas to downstream processors.” Subsequently, NMED says, between October 2018 and April 2020, Ameredev flared more than 3,219,402 thousand cubic feet of natural gas, “releasing an amount of CO2 equivalent to heating 16,640 homes for one year,” and resulting in the release of “over 7.6 million pounds of excess hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds” into the air. “This settlement makes one thing crystal clear,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says in a statement. “Companies that pollute our air will pay for circumventing New Mexico’s rules.” The Air Quality Bureau says it is unaware of ongoing non-compliance since Ameredev hired a third-party contractor to monitor its compliance with state regulations. “Let this serve as a wake-up call to the oil and gas industry,” Environment Secretary James Kenney says in a statement. “The Environment Department is using remote sensing technology, on-the-ground inspections, and responding to citizen complaints. The only option to avoid enforcement is to comply with state rules and permits.” The settlement also requires Ameredev to ongoing monitoring and compliance actions.

Gov appoints new EMNRD secretary

Following the departure of former Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst at the end of last year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham yesterday named Melanie A. Kenderdine as the department’s new secretary, starting May 8. A former member of both President Obama and Clinton’s administrations in the Department of Energy, Kenderdine currently works as principal and executive vice president for a Washington, DC nonprofit she co-founded: Energy Futures Initiative, described on its website as “dedicated to harnessing the power of technology and policy innovation to accelerate the clean energy transition.” The governor in a statement describes Kenderdine as “a strategic thinker in the realm of energy policy, and her expertise is this area is recognized both nationally and internationally. I look forward to the positive impact she will have in helping New Mexico shape our clean-energy future.” A graduate of both Albuquerque’s Manzano High School and the University of New Mexico, Kenderdine helped create the Obama-era clean energy initiative Mission Innovation and “was a primary architect of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil exchange” in the Clinton administration, the governor’s office says. In a statement, Kenderdine says she is “honored” to join Lujan Grisham’s administration: “The governor has committed New Mexico to be a national leader in the country’s journey to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions—I look forward to joining her outstanding team.”

DOH reports “tranq” in NM

The state health department yesterday reported the first official identification of xylazine—also known as “tranq”—in the state, following confirmation of its presence in three fentanyl samples tested through the state’s Adulterant Checking Program. The program, which started last year, allows people using services through the Harm Reduction Program to bring small amounts of substances for testing before use. A non-opioid central nervous system depressant, xylazine is not approved for humans and is most frequently used in veterinary medicine, DOH says. The drug has been commonly found in combination with heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl on the East coast (South Dakota, in February, classified xylazine as a controlled substance). “The identification of xylazine puts us on notice that an already dangerous drug supply has gotten that much more deadly,” Health Secretary Patrick Allen says in a statement. “Proactive measures like our Adulterant Checking Program serve as vital tools in our efforts to protect public health and empower individuals to make informed decisions about substance use. Still, there is no substitute for effective treatment and long-term recovery.” Currently, testing is offered at two sites, one each in Albuquerque and Española; the xylazine was found in fentanyl samples tested at each location and is not associated with an overdose. “We were hopeful xylazine would not find its way into New Mexico,” Joshua Swatek, DOH Hepatitis and Harm Reduction Program manager. “However, the Adulterant Checking Program exists in part to identify new drugs in illegal substances in real time. That has the potential to save lives.” Xylazine testing strips will soon be available at harm reduction sites statewide. Learn more about the state’s harm reduction program here.

Money doesn’t grow on trees

The City of Santa Fe’s Independent Salary Commission is seeking public comments today on the proposed salary for the city’s next mayor. The comments will be taken at the commission’s 5 pm meeting today, or can be submitted online by clicking on the comment bubble to the right of the meeting materials on this page. Current Mayor Alan Webber has made $110,000 since taking office in 2018; changes to the mayor’s salary, if adopted, will impact whomever becomes mayor in 2026 (no one has announced a candidacy as of yet). According to documents prepared for the meeting, the Santa Fe mayor’s salary is quite a bit lower than those of City Manager John Blair ($176,877); County Manager Greg Shaffer ($193,939) and Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez ($210,000).

In other hot-topic meeting news, PNM today will hold a 5:30 pm meeting to hear concerns about its plans to remove trees at Fort Marcy Park. The meeting will take place at the gazebo shade structure adjacent to the Arroyo Mascara. According to a news release, PNM and “two of its certified utility arborists” determined the company should remove the trees interfering with high-voltage lines to “resolve potential tree and power line issues along the edge of the arroyo,” with work anticipated to begin in mid-May and end in mid-June. SFR has received in the last two days several emails from residents expressing suspicion the tree-removal plan actually is intended to benefit Zozobra, which is held at Fort Marcy and whose chairman Ray Sandoval also works as a public spokesperson for PNM. Sandoval tells the Santa Fe New Mexican that Zozobra has no bearing on the tree-cutting plan and, in fact, won’t benefit Zozobra sight lines at all at the Aug. 30 100th anniversary burning.

Listen up

The nearly 40-year-old statewide advocacy group Voices for Children has a new executive director: Gabrielle Uballez, who began her new role earlier this month, replacing Amber Wallin, who left the group late last year to work on state public policy at the State Revenue Alliance. Uballez most previously worked at Asset Funders Network on initiatives focused on racial and economic justice in philanthropy. In a new segment on New Mexico In Focus, Uballez joins correspondent Russell Contreras to discuss fighting child poverty in the state.

Life’s a trip

Former Meow Wolf CEO and Santa Fe resident Vince Kadlubek serves as the entry point for a UK Independent story about the “tech bros” who love talking about microdosing psychedelics, and the legal messiness of such drugs. After he left his position as CEO, Kadlubek continued advising the company, the story notes, while “undergoing a ‘transformative’ healing process thanks to 5-MeO-DMT, a hallucinogenic chemical secreted by the Colorado River toad that is highly illegal in the US.” Kadlubek had never had trouble being open about his sexuality in the business world, but being open about his use of psychedelics was a different story, the Independent writes, citing Kadlubek’s apparent recent comments during a panel discussion at Discovery Sessions in San Francisco. “I was thinking to myself: man, I can’t even bring up the word ‘psychedelic’ at a board meeting without people getting freaked out,” Kadlubek said. “It’s so f***ed up. We’re very psychedelic—we’re inspired by LSD, mushrooms— and you can’t even talk about it.” Kadlubek’s experience, the story continues, “is emblematic of the strange border zone that psychedelic substances now occupy in American society,” as hallucinogens come “out of the shadows.” Microdosing has become more common, with “high-profile executives such as Elon Musk and Google co-founder Sergey Brin speaking openly about their use of ketamine and psilocybin respectively. Even Prince Harry, the younger scion of the British monarchy, has talked about how psychedelics helped him heal from trauma.” Moreover, the story details ongoing research from companies and governments into the potential beneficial use of psychedelics (including in New Mexico where, in the last session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill requesting the health department study the efficacy of psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic treatment).

Nuclear lessons—elsewhere

Lest one think New Mexico is the only state to benefit from post-Oppenheimer tourism, the New York Times reports Las Vegas (the other one) also has had an uptick of visitors interested in nuclear history. Visitors specifically are flocking to that city’s Atomic Museum, which explores the history and science of the country’s nuclear weapons program, and is one of 200 museums affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute, the Times says. The museum also provides an “emphasis on Nevada’s role as a former site for atmospheric and underground testing.” Which is not to say New Mexico’s role isn’t on display here. The museum includes a gallery dedicated to the Manhattan Project and the Trinity test Oppenheimer oversaw in July 1945 in New Mexico, where he was the director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Trinity exhibit actually opened in 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the test, but Joseph Kent, the museum’s deputy director and curator, says between Oppenheimer and Putin’s “nuclear saber-rattling” toward Ukraine, the museum drew 50,000 visitors last year—the most it’s had in the last five years. “After people watched Oppenheimer and they hear about what’s going on in the world, they realize they don’t know as much about this topic as they probably should,” he said. “Atomic bombs, nuclear weapons, Oppenheimer, the Soviet Union, the Cold War—they want to find a place where they can learn about them in an addressable form.”

Warm and breezy

The National Weather Service forecasts a sunny day, with a high temperature of 74 degrees and west winds 5 to 15 mph.

Thanks for reading! The Word recommends this Harper’s Magazine story about the impact of private equity in Big Sky, Montana.