SunZia lines make bird snare
Rio Grande crossings sited at sensitive places
BY CECILIA ROSACKER, SOCORRO FARMER, DIRECTOR, RIO GRANDE AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST GINA DELLO RUSSO, LIFELONG SOCORRO COUNTY RESIDENT, BOARD MEMBER, SAVE OUR BOSQUE TASK FORCE AND ALAN HAMILTON, DIRECTOR RIO GRANDE RETURN, STATE CONSERVATION CHAIRMAN, INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOINT VENTURE
Kevin Robinson-Avila’s article, ”SunZia Riles Environmentalists,” on July 17 turned a multifaceted issue of numerous concerns into a simplistic, “enviros” vs. corporations issue. It was actually several grass-roots organizations that have worked together with New Mexico’s middle Rio Grande communities, agencies and Native tribes to protect the Rio Grande ecosystem for over 20 years who expressed concerns regarding bird impacts due to SunZia’s proposed two 500kV transmission lines crossing the Rio Grande.
A critical missing part of the story is that SunZia’s wildlife expert testified that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) did not address the chosen Escondida Rio Grande crossing. This was revealed at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission hearing held in June. PRC hearing transcripts are available to the public.
The migratory bird map gives a clear visual of the importance of the middle Rio Grande as the only quality corridor for migratory birds in this arid desert environment and shows why SunZia’s transmission lines will act as a bird snare, maximizing bird kills at the proposed Rio Grande crossing at Escondida, the narrowest passage between three wildlife refuges. The Rio Grande is a fragile ecosystem, and the proposed line location on the Rio Grande has a very high concentration of migrant birds: summer nesting birds, wintering birds like the sandhill crane, and threatened and endangered birds species. Some of the largest wetland complexes left in New Mexico are found in the area of the proposed location at New Mexico’s Ladd Gordon Bird Complex and Sevilleta and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Reserves, making it a crucial area to protect.
Through the collaborative efforts of grass-roots organizations, Native tribes and communities this unique middle Rio Grande riparian wetland complex has benefited from funding from multiple conservation sources. For example, $5 million in federal funding through USFWS-North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants to protect migratory bird habitat in the middle Rio Grande, including projects in Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval and Socorro counties. Some of the conservation projects included restoration and enhancement on tribal lands, Bosque del Apache NWR, and included $500K for purchasing Valle del Oro and creating wetlands on the urban refuge. The NAWCA grants also included 23 Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust conservation easements that protect private land near the proposed Rio Grande crossing. SunZia’s transmission lines will not only directly impact migratory birds but will compromise the conservation value of this area’s crucial migratory bird habitat. This will make it difficult to obtain conservation funds for the entire middle Rio Grande through programs like NAWCA and others that look at the broader landscape.
Since 2008, many local organizations, individuals, and agencies have been tracking SunZia’s process. All of us tracking and responding to this project have found it to be a challenging game of bait and switch. As late as 2014, alternate alignments were discussed, yet public hearings ended in 2012. During the public comment period, requests were made for line burial under the river in order to minimize bird impacts. SunZia’s response at the time was that the technology did not exist to make this possible, yet it agreed to go underground for 5 miles adjacent to White Sands Missile Range. We continue to uncover additional inconsistencies in information provided to the public.
SunZia is being marketed as a “renewable energy” transmission line. The permit request to PRC only states the line will transmit a “substantial amount of energy generated by renewable sources.”
We are asking that SunZia consider an alternate Rio Grande crossing and that any river crossing is buried under the river. We are also asking for permitting agencies to require an EIS and NEPA process that thoroughly addresses the chosen route, private property owner concerns, and Socorro County concerns in a thorough and transparent process. We request that it define “substantial” with a committed amount and there be a legal agreement to ensure renewable energy is transmitted through these interstate lines.