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Morning Word
Feds recommend licensing nuclear waste storage facility in NM
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday issued its final environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s proposal to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County. The facility would be located approximately halfway between Carlsbad and Hobbs and the license would authorize the initial phase of the project to store up to 8,680 metric tons of uranium in 500 canisters for a license period of 40 years (although Holtec plans to request license amendments to expand the number of canisters). In response to the report, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement accusing the NRC of “effectively choosing profit over public interest,” noting the opposition to the project from herself, “tribal leaders, local governments and the people of New Mexico.”
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway and Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb, in statements issued by Holtec, praised the report saying, in the case of Janway, the report shows the facility “will have no negative impact on our community…Holtec has been a true partner on this important project, and we look forward to continuing to work together to bring jobs and economic growth to the area.” Lujan Grisham, on the other hand, says a 40-year license, with the option of renewal, threatens generations of New Mexicans’ health and safety. “The state of New Mexico will not become a dumping ground for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel due to Congress’s failure to identify a permanent disposal solution for commercial nuclear waste,” she says. “My message to the state Legislature is clear: Deliver a proposal to my desk that protects New Mexico from becoming the de facto home of the country’s spent nuclear fuel and it will have my full support.” Members of the state’s congressional delegation, including US Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, both Democrats, oppose the project as well. Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety provided an overview of the proposal in a recent podcast.
Water department determines brown water cause
City of Santa Fe officials yesterday identified the culprit in a recent spike of reports about discolored water: high concentrations of manganese, a non-toxic mineral. According to a news release, reports of water discoloration have declined dramatically from 109 on July 5 to just five on July 11. In a statement, Water Division Director Jesse Roach said the naturally occurring mineral “does not pose a threat to health” and the water department “continues to investigate the cause of the increases in concentrations of manganese that occurred in certain parts of the system early last week. We apologize for any inconvenience discolored water has caused.” City Communications Director Dave Herndon tells SFR via email, in response to follow-up questions, that the city tests approximately 20 different locations each week—80 locations total in a four-week cycle. “The normal locations typically indicate a manganese concentration of 0.01 mg/liter,” Herndon writes. “Due to this event we are also sampling at various locations where discolored water is reported. Sampling at these locations indicated some elevated levels of around 0.1 to 0.2 mg/l.” Customers experiencing discoloration of their water are advised to call (505) 955-4333. As a reminder, the city says customers with discolored water can flush their lines by turning on the cold water and letting it run for five minutes. If it doesn’t clear, wait 20 minutes and try again. Capture that water for plants! In other city news, the City Council met last night and received an update on the city’s audit woes (a new audit firm is ostensibly in the offing) and received a progress on planning at Midtown.
NM extends Rail Runner discount, adds express routes
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham yesterday announced a series of actions incentivizing use of the New Mexico Rail Runner: the 75% fare discount instituted in April will be extended through the end of the year; on Aug. 1, two additional trains will be added to both the weekday and the Saturday schedules; and the state’s Park and Ride shuttle system will expand on July 18 to make commuting easier for state employees. “Like the rest of the country, New Mexicans are dealing with higher prices—especially at the pump,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “This is one way we are helping to alleviate some of that burden for working families.” (A day-pass between the South Capitol station and downtown Albuquerque for an adult costs $2.25 with the discount). The additions to the train schedule, Executive Director of Rio Metro Regional Transit District Dewey V. Cave says, should accommodate both “the changing workday that many commuters are now experiencing, and also offer more options for shorter trips—which is something people have been wanting for years.” According to the governor’s office, Rail Runner ridership has nearly doubled from 800 roundtrips a day to averaging over 1,500 currently since the fare reduction went into place.
COVID-19 by the numbers
Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase will provide a COVID-19 update at 1 pm today, which will stream live on the DOH Facebook page and with Spanish translation on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s YouTube page.
New cases: 1,170; 575,279 total cases
Deaths: 16; Santa Fe County had 321 total deaths; there have been 8,006 total fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 176. Patients on ventilators: 22. The health department’s most recent weekly report on hospitalizations shows 119 people hospitalized in the seven-day period prior of July 11, comparable to the seven-day total the week prior, which was 112.
Case rates: According to the state health department’s most recent report on geographical trends, for the seven-day period of July 4-10, San Juan County had the highest daily case rate per 100,000 population: 63.4, followed by McKinley County at 60.9 and Lincoln County at 59.7; Santa Fe County’s case rate was 42.4, down from 49.4 last week and within the second highest category of case rates—red—in that report. The health department reports 5,889 cases in the last seven days, an approximate 7% decline from the prior week’s seven-day period.
Community levels: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly community levels report, which uses case rates along with two hospital metrics in combination for its framework, for the seven-day period of June 30-July 6, 11 counties—including Santa Fe for the second week in a row—have “red” or high levels (one more than last week). Among other recommendations, the CDC recommends indoor masking for communities with high levels. Twelve counties are “green,” aka low—three more than last week—and the rest are “yellow,” or medium. The CDC will update the map later today.
Resources: Vaccine registration; Booster registration Free at-home rapid antigen tests; Self-report a positive COVID-19 test result to the health department; COVID-19 treatment info: oral treatments Paxlovid (age 12+) and Molnupiravir (age 18+); and monoclonal antibody treatments. Toolkit for immunocompromised individuals. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453. Vaccines for children: Parents of children ages 6 months to 5 years can now schedule appointments for vaccinations at VaccineNM.org.
You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.
Listen up
KUNM’s Let’s Talk New Mexico program this morning drills down into one facet of the country’s gun violence crisis: school shootings. The show will examine New Mexico’s current gun laws, as well as the psychological effects of gun violence on students, teachers and staff—and potential solutions. Email LetsTalk@kunm.org or call in live to (505) 277-5866 during the show to share your thoughts and feelings. The show airs live at 8 am online and at 89.9 FM. Guests include State Rep. Pamyela Herdon, D-Albuquerque, and New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence Co-President Miranda Viscoli.
Home sweet upside-down home
If you’ve enjoyed spotting local environs in the fourth season of Stranger Things, perhaps you would enjoy staying in the Byers’ house. Well, the house used in the show as the set for the Byers’ house. That house is now on AirBnb in a listing for a four-bedroom, four-bath, 4,000 square foot residence that reads: “Welcome to the NM upside down” (it was $388 a night when we checked). The Albuquerque owners of the home, Ryan and Karen Asher, tell Newsweek they have tried to keep the home’s interior true to the show: “The only challenge is finding similar décor used throughout the house,” the Ashers said. “We have been rewatching certain scenes, pausing every frame within hopes to replicate the rooms as close as possible. It’s not an easy task but definitely a fun one.” The basement, for instance, includes an alphabet painted on the wall, with fairy lights above, as “a throwback to one of the iconic plot-lines in the first season”; Joyce (Winona Ryder) communicated with Will (Noah Schnapp) using the set-up. As may be clear, the Ashers are fans of the show and Season 4 is their favorite so far. “All of it is pure genius. We are Gen Xers so to go back in time and be able to showcase this time capsule of a house has been an incredible experience.” They also like it when fans stop by: “We love watching the Stranger Things fans’ excitement when they stop by to take a peek in the house or ask to take a photo.” Time will tell if that continues— the owners of the Breaking Bad house in Albuquerque certainly haven’t appeared to enjoy their fame. And speaking of Breaking Bad, the City of Albuquerque will soon unveil bronze statues of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, which the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, commissioned in 2019.
Remembering the Roswell Incident
ICYMI, the Washington Post took a deep dive into how Roswell became known as the home of extraterrestrials. The story began in July of 1947 when rancher WW Brazel walked into the sheriff’s office in Corona and reported a “‘flying disk’ he might have found on his property, about 100 miles northwest of Roswell Army Air Field.” The following day, July 8, a public information officer at the base issued a news release the US Army Forces had recovered a “flying saucer” at the ranch. Though quickly retracted, a legend was born. Military experts identified the debris found by Brazel as a crashed weather balloon and for a while that explanation sufficed. Until 1978 when the National Enquirer ran a story about the Roswell incident that added new details, including alien bodies and a government cover-up. From there, the Post notes, “the story evolved with a seemingly endless array of articles, books, movies and documentaries about what ‘really happened’ in the New Mexico desert.” And, of course, questions about UFOs or “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” as they are now called, continue today, with US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, last year calling for more resources and transparency about them.
Hotter, dryer
The week began looking wet and wonderful and winds toward the weekend looking...less so. According to the National Weather Service, today and tonight carry a 20% chance for showers and thunderstorms after noon. Otherwise, it will be sunny with a high near 90 degrees and north wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Thanks for reading! The Word enjoyed perusing the 2022 Audubon Photography Award winners (and you’ll find one New Mexico photograph in the top 100 collection).
