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Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lujan Grisham signs bills for water quality, PFAS restrictions into law
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed four bills into law Tuesday, April 8, relating to water and PFAS. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday signed into law four bills she said better prepares New Mexico to address: water shortages from climate change; contamination from so-called 'forever chemicals;' and pollution in the state's waters. At a press conference at the Roundhouse joined by sponsors, advocates and several cabinet secretaries, the governor signed: House Bill 137, which will explore treatment of salty water from deep aquifers for future use. House Bill 212, which tasks state environment officials to create rules phasing out consumer products containing a class of toxic so-called 'forever chemicals,' called per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. House Bill 140 to expand New Mexico Environment Department's authority to require the cleanup of firefighting foams containing PFAS in response to litigation from the U.S. military over cleanup at military bases in New Mexico. Senate Bill 21, a bill to expand New Mexico's powers to address stream pollution and take over pollution permitting in surface waters from the federal government. 'When you talk about water to anyone, it's typically not a dialogue, it's a debate, because water is life,' Lujan Grisham said during the bill signing, adding that the Legislature and her office 'did about three decades worth of work' on the issue over the session. New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney called the four bills 'a big, bold package,' for the environment. 'This is a real turning point, I think, for taking back control of our water, of what consumer products are coming into our homes, of teaching people how to treat New Mexico and its environment,' Kenney said. Lujan Grisham also celebrated the passage of HB137, the much pared down Strategic Water Supply, crediting state Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo) for sponsoring the bill. HB137 addresses aquifer mapping and treatment of brackish water in deep aquifers, and funding for mapping the state's groundwater supplies. Previous and more controversial versions of the bill included efforts to treat oil and gas wastewater, which environmental, Indigenous and conservation nonprofits opposed due to potential health and logistical risks. A previous version of the bill also installed fees for oil and gas producers per barrel of oil and gas wastewater to help pay for the program, but those also were stripped from the bill. 'This is a monumental stake in identifying water and keeping our fresh water fresh and clean and making sure that we can do both economic development and create assurances for any number of industries, including ag in the future,' Lujan Grisham said of the bill, and noted she plans to push for developing treatment for oil and gas wastewater in next year's 30-day session. 'I think we should clean up every bit of contaminated water, wherever it exists, from uranium mill tailings to produced water, all of it,' Lujan Grisham said, adding that the costs should be paid for by the oil and gas industry. The governor also applauded the Legislature's work in passing SB21, a bill to enshrine the state's right to regulate pollution in surface waters like streams and rivers and continue the yearslong process to develop a state program for permits. New Mexico was one of only three states that allowed the federal government to handle all pollution permitting in surface waters. SB21 allows the state to reinstate protections for more than 90% of New Mexico's waters which were stripped by the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA. Paula Garcia, the executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, told Source NM the laws will reinstall meaningful protections for the tributary waters on which irrigators rely, but that the organization will ensure there's follow-through in the yearslong process for the state to take over permitting. 'We have to stay vigilant to ensure the state's environment department has the resources that the need to stand up this program,' Garcia said. It was a much warmer mood on the fourth floor, compared to the somber end of the legislative session, which occurred in the aftermath of the Las Cruces mass shooting on March 21 and prompted criticism from the governor on legislative inaction regarding juvenile crime reform. Lujan Grisham said on Tuesday a special session on juvenile crime is still under discussion, but a specific date has not been set. She said perhaps later this year after interim committee meetings begin. 'I'm still feeling like that's really necessary,' she said. In the upcoming 30-day session, the governor said she'd fight for a law codifying greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2050, which she issued as an executive order in 2019. This year's version, Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), failed to advance beyond Senate Finance this year. She emphasized that her administration is running out of time. 'It's the last chance, and people should expect me to have a little bit better than a scalpel approach, a little bit less than a sledgehammer about where we're going in climate change,' Lujan Grisham said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pair of PFAS bills clears final committee, heads to Senate floor
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney at the Roundhouse at Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Kenney said he was glad two bills related to PFAS cleared their final committee, but both still require a Senate floor vote to become law. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) A pair of bills to address current and future contamination from so-called 'forever chemicals' advanced through a final committee hearing Tuesday and now heads to the Senate floor. Both bills address per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances — better known as PFAS — a class of manmade chemicals with a myriad of uses in waterproofing, manufacturing and more. However, due to their ability to withstand breaking down in heat, sunlight, water or oil, the chemicals can accumulate in the bodies of people and animals. While research on the environmental and health threats PFAS pose remains ongoing, studies have shown increased risks for certain cancers, decreased fertility, developmental effects in children, reduced vaccine response and interference with hormones and cholesterol levels. House Bill 140 amends the definition of hazardous waste to include firefighting foams that contain PFAS. Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis) narrowed the bill's scope with an amendment during the debate on the House floor to only address PFAS, rather than other hazardous materials. Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) told the Senate Conservation Committee Tuesday that giving the New Mexico Environment Department the authority to treat PFAS as hazardous material and mandate their cleanup will boost the agency's position in legal fights over PFAS contamination in the water in and around military bases. New Mexico wildlife, plants around Holloman lake have highest PFAS contamination on record New Mexico is engaged in two separate court battles with the U.S. Department of Defense over its actions and cleanup of the PFAS contamination. New Mexico joined multi-state litigation in the North Carolina courts against the military's use of PFAS-laden aqueous film forming foam for fire fighting exercises. In a federal lawsuit, the U.S. military sued the New Mexico Environment Department, saying the agency went too far in mandating cleanup around bases, and contended the state lacks regulatory authority over PFAS. This law is a direct response to those arguments, Chandler said. 'As a result, they have been reluctant to come to the table to resolve that issue, so we are developing that authority for [NMED] so they may have that rare leverage in attempting to resolve that on behalf of citizens in that area as well as the state,' Chandler told the committee. The second bill, House Bill 212, would start a yearslong process phasing out of products with added PFAS and prohibit the sale of products containing PFAS, while allowing exemptions for electronics, cars and medical devices. Sponsor Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) held up a bottle of fabric protector during the committee hearing, illustrating PFAS presence in everyday products. 'While this bottle costs about $10, it can cost $18 million to remove and destroy a pound of PFA from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants,' She said. 'HB12 starts us down the path of sunsetting these harmful products.' If approved, New Mexico would be the second state to enact a PFAS ban on consumer products, following Maine's lead. New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney told Source NM he was speaking with Senate leadership to try and secure a floor vote as the session enters into its final four days. 'Having these discussions has precipitated a lot of good effort, but passing the bill will now hold everyone accountable to staying at the table,' Kenney said. 'And that has been missing from New Mexico on this topic.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pair of PFAS bills clears final committee, heads to Senate floor
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney at the Roundhouse at Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Kenney said he was glad two bills related to PFAS cleared their final committee, but both still require a Senate floor vote to become law. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) A pair of bills to address current and future contamination from so-called 'forever chemicals' advanced through a final committee hearing Tuesday and now heads to the Senate floor. Both bills address per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances — better known as PFAS — a class of manmade chemicals with a myriad of uses in waterproofing, manufacturing and more. However, due to their ability to withstand breaking down in heat, sunlight, water or oil, the chemicals can accumulate in the bodies of people and animals. While research on the environmental and health threats PFAS pose remains ongoing, studies have shown increased risks for certain cancers, decreased fertility, developmental effects in children, reduced vaccine response and interference with hormones and cholesterol levels. House Bill 140 amends the definition of hazardous waste to include firefighting foams that contain PFAS. Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis) narrowed the bill's scope with an amendment during the debate on the House floor to only address PFAS, rather than other hazardous materials. Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) told the Senate Conservation Committee Tuesday that giving the New Mexico Environment Department the authority to treat PFAS as hazardous material and mandate their cleanup will boost the agency's position in legal fights over PFAS contamination in the water in and around military bases. New Mexico wildlife, plants around Holloman lake have highest PFAS contamination on record New Mexico is engaged in two separate court battles with the U.S. Department of Defense over its actions and cleanup of the PFAS contamination. New Mexico joined multi-state litigation in the North Carolina courts against the military's use of PFAS-laden aqueous film forming foam for fire fighting exercises. In a federal lawsuit, the U.S. military sued the New Mexico Environment Department, saying the agency went too far in mandating cleanup around bases, and contended the state lacks regulatory authority over PFAS. This law is a direct response to those arguments, Chandler said. 'As a result, they have been reluctant to come to the table to resolve that issue, so we are developing that authority for [NMED] so they may have that rare leverage in attempting to resolve that on behalf of citizens in that area as well as the state,' Chandler told the committee. The second bill, House Bill 212, would start a yearslong process phasing out of products with added PFAS and prohibit the sale of products containing PFAS, while allowing exemptions for electronics, cars and medical devices. Sponsor Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) held up a bottle of fabric protector during the committee hearing, illustrating PFAS presence in everyday products. 'While this bottle costs about $10, it can cost $18 million to remove and destroy a pound of PFA from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants,' She said. 'HB12 starts us down the path of sunsetting these harmful products.' If approved, New Mexico would be the second state to enact a PFAS ban on consumer products, following Maine's lead. New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney told Source NM he was speaking with Senate leadership to try and secure a floor vote as the session enters into its final four days. 'Having these discussions has precipitated a lot of good effort, but passing the bill will now hold everyone accountable to staying at the table,' Kenney said. 'And that has been missing from New Mexico on this topic.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Returning homeless to the mainland could become permanent
STAR-ADVERTISER / JUNE 28 Homeless encampments large and small are an ongoing issue on Oahu's streets. 1 /2 STAR-ADVERTISER / JUNE 28 Homeless encampments large and small are an ongoing issue on Oahu's streets. JAMM AQUINO / SEPT. 10 With a new bill, the state would pay half the cost of airfares of those homeless with mainland ties who are willing to return home. Above, a man sleeps on the pavement near Ward Village. 2 /2 JAMM AQUINO / SEPT. 10 With a new bill, the state would pay half the cost of airfares of those homeless with mainland ties who are willing to return home. Above, a man sleeps on the pavement near Ward Village. STAR-ADVERTISER / JUNE 28 Homeless encampments large and small are an ongoing issue on Oahu's streets. JAMM AQUINO / SEPT. 10 With a new bill, the state would pay half the cost of airfares of those homeless with mainland ties who are willing to return home. Above, a man sleeps on the pavement near Ward Village. Popular and successful efforts that have returned over 800 homeless people to the mainland since 2015 would become permanent if either of two bills in the state Legislature becomes law this session. In 2024, 6, 389 homeless people were counted as homeless across the state, with most of them—4, 494—on Oahu. The overwhelming majority are from Hawaii. But House Bill 212 and Senate Bill 360 would focus on people with mainland ties who ended up homeless in the islands and are willing to go back, with the state paying half the cost of their airfares. There remains a common belief that 'most ' of Hawaii's homeless are from the mainland and that mainland cities, counties and states are 'dumping ' them in Hawaii with no resources. Angie Knight of the Institute of Human Services—which operates Hawaii's largest homeless shelters and helped launch Hawaii's initial 'repatriation ' efforts in 2015—has been surprised by the attention on sending homeless people back to the mainland, when the majority are actually from Hawaii. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. But IHS nevertheless supports the state making a 'Return to Home Program ' and funding it through HB 212 and SB 360. She called 'the Return to Home Program one solution to homelessness. This relocation program is just one part of a more complex problem that we're all working together to solve.' Rep. Adrian Tam (D, Waikiki ) introduced HB 212, which would focus on the specific segment of Hawaii's homeless population with ties to the mainland who agree to go back to families and support, including in-patient treatment. 'Everyone acknowledges that there are homeless people here from the mainland, ' Tam said. 'It doesn't solve the big, overarching problem of homelessness, but it is a start. It's a proven success. It's all voluntary and has reunited the homeless here with family on the mainland.' In the House, Tam said HB 212 has received widespread support from both Republicans and Democrats, who continue to hear concerns about homelessness from their frustrated constituents. Neither House nor Senate bill proposes a specific dollar amount for funding a permanent program. The exact amount, if legislators approve the idea, would be decided during budget negotiations at the end of the legislative session as part of overall state spending. In February 2014 the state took over what had been ad hoc 'repatriation ' programs and created a pilot project that has since returned 137 people to the mainland in one year. When he served in the House, now-state homeless coordinator John Mizuno dipped into his own wallet to fly homeless people from the mainland back to families who would welcome them. In his new role, Mizuno continues to urge legislators to make Hawaii's pilot project permanent and ensure a steady source of state funding that would include a salary for a full-time staff member to help administer it. HB 212 and SB 360 also would require homeless people who volunteer to have 'the necessary and proper preparations for travel, including obtaining proper identification, accessing public transportation to the airport, providing orientation relating to airport security, and ensuring sufficient personal hygiene.' IHS originally joined forces in 2015 with the Hawai 'i Lodging and Tourism Association, along with donations from a private foundation, to relocate homeless people in Hawaii back to the mainland. HLTA then also contributed money to start a relocation program with Maui's tourism industry, and a third effort began on Hawaii island, Knight said. But subsequent funding was sometimes inconsistent, even as homeless people continued to return to the mainland. For homeless people in Hawaii, or their families on the mainland, who cannot afford their half of the airfare, Knight said, 'for the special cases we're able to cover it.' 'This program is for helping to reunite homeless people among communities of support, such as families, ' Knight said. 'This program is not about sending homeless individuals to be homeless in other locations.' There is no shortage of reasons why people from the mainland find themselves homeless in the islands, they have told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser over the years. Some arrive as happy couples, or as an effort to restart their relationships in 'paradise, ' only to break up, leaving neither able to afford Hawaii's high cost of housing and able to survive financially on their own. Others wore out their welcomes with family and friends on the mainland through behavior including theft, violence, substance abuse and mental health issues and were offered one-way tickets to anywhere else and chose Hawaii. Some tourists fell in love with Hawaii and decided to stay but struggled to survive and ended up homeless. And several others arrived as new employees from more affordable states and did not calculate that their salaries could not keep up with Hawaii's high cost of living, and got financially underwater. Among the homeless people who have been flown back home, Knight said, 'some were here for 15 years, and some a few weeks, two weeks, two days.' In written testimony in support of HB 212, IHS' Knight said : 'Currently, over 60 % of new intakes at our men's shelter are recent arrivals from out-of-state. Moreover, over the past year, we've seen an increase in demand for relocation services for individuals receiving care at behavioral health crisis centers and our own triage and treatment center, individuals voluntarily wishing to participate in in-patient programs in the mainland. A partnership with Waikiki community partners has also helped identify more candidates for this program more efficiently.'
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Two PFAS bills scheduled for Saturday House Energy and Natural Resources committee
U.S. Geological Survey scientist Kimberly Beisner retrieves a water quality sensor on the Rio Grande for a PFAS study in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) Legislation to eventually ban the sale of consumer goods containing so-called 'forever chemicals,' and a second bill New Mexico officials hope will help advance cleanup, will be heard Saturday by the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee. New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney supports both bills, and told Source that per-and-polyfluoroalkyl—aka PFAS—contamination is the 'thing that keeps him up at night.' PFAS has contaminated waters across New Mexico, with separate plumes surrounding army bases in Alamogordo and Clovis from use of firefighting foam, along with the Rio Grande below Albuquerque and an airport in southern Santa Fe, according to a 2024 U.S. Geological Survey report. Kenney said as climate change reduces how much water the state has, limiting pollution will be even more important. New Mexico wildlife, plants around Holloman lake have highest PFAS contamination on record PFAS are hard to break down with heat, water, sun exposure or other environmental factors. Their longevity in the environment and water means they can move up and down the food chain. While still being studied, PFAS exposure has been linked to certain cancers, fertility issues, low birth weights or fetal development issues, hormonal imbalances and limiting vaccine effectiveness. House Bill 212 aims to phase out products with intentionally added PFAS in New first phase would be for cookware, food packaging, firefighting foams, dental floss and 'juvenile products,' followed by items such as cosmetics, period hygiene products, textiles, carpeting, furniture and ski wax. The Environmental Improvement Board would adopt rules for exceptions such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electronics and cars. The bill includes civil fines for violations. 'This bill works to prevent future contamination,' Kenney said. NMED said in an analysis of the bill that prevention over the next three years would cost $3.6 million, compared to the $2.7 to $18 million cost of destroying one pound of PFAS from water systems. If approved, New Mexico would be the second state to enact a PFAS ban on consumer products, following Maine's lead. HB 212 also establishes a 'PFAS producer responsibility organization' that would create a state-run program to ensure manufacturers, retailers and disposers share in limiting the environmental impacts of any products with PFAS, modeled on similar programs for disposing of tires or mattresses. The bill has four Democratic sponsors on the House side: Las Cruces' Rep. Joanne Ferrary; Albuquerque's Dayn Hochman-Vigil and Debra Sariñana, and Kathleen Cates from Rio Rancho. Ferrary, who chairs the interim committee studying Radioactive and Hazardous Waste materials, said PFAS contamination is already hurting New Mexicans, citing the euthanization of 3,600 dairy cows in Clovis. 'PFAS are used daily in household goods,' Ferrary said in a phone call with Source NM. 'We feel like we have a responsibility to protect our citizens in New Mexico from these products.' New Mexico to receive $18.9M in federal money for 'forever chemical' detection House Bill 140, sponsored by Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), doesn't just focus on PFAS, but includes other hazardous chemicals, and redefines how substances meet the definition of 'hazardous waste.' The bill also removes a section of the law that limits the Environmental Improvement Board's power when federal officials have not listed a substance as hazardous waste. New Mexico is engaged in two separate court battles with the U.S. Department of Defense over its actions and cleanup of the PFAS contamination. New Mexico joined multi-state litigation in the North Carolina courts against the military's use of PFAS-laden aqueous film forming foam for fire fighting exercises;in the Denver-based federal courts, the U.S. government is suing New Mexico, claiming the state overreached in efforts to mandate cleanup of PFAS in and around military bases. This bill is a direct response to the federal litigation, Kenney said. 'It will establish and reinforce our state authority to address PFAS, which is at the heart of the defense department's challenges,' Kenney said. 'They're trying to erode the little authority we have.' Kenney said he's meeting with lawmakers on both appropriations committees to seek additional funding for addressing PFAS. 'The short answer is we want to do more,' Kenney said, though he noted that the department's $8 million dollar request for PFAS is zeroed out in the proposed Legislative Finance Committee budget so 'I don't know that I'm funded to do more.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
