Make solar easier to access across New Mexico

As someone fortunate to have solar panels for the past 16 years, I know how they can help with electric bills. I live near the sewage treatment plant where all the energy to operate it comes from the surrounding solar panels. House Bill 108, the Local Solar Access Fund, which is being debated in the Roundhouse, would provide municipalities, counties and tribes access to funds for technical expertise, grant writers and to fund planning for solar projects. Many tribes and counties lack funding to plan and pursue solar projects, and HB 108 would fill that gap, saving money in the long term and speeding up the transition to clean energy, which given the climate crisis we are facing, is more and more urgent.

Stephen Schmidt Santa Fe

Poison water

In Pennsylvania, radioactive produced water from oil and gas production ended up in rivers and streams. It poisoned workers at treatment plants. My Pennsylvania relatives say they can hold a lit match to running tap water and it ignites. The governor’s “first-of-its-kind solution,” a strategic water supply proposal, is dangerous if not deadly. Why the governor came up with a scheme to reuse fracking wastewater is unclear. Why are New Mexicans paying to clean up the oil and gas slop? She calls it “new” water — even though there is no evidence this “treated” fracking waste is new or safe.

I applaud the governor’s measures to secure women’s rights, her scientifically based response to COVID-19, the initiative to build more EV charging stations and more. But fracked wastewater is no solution — it is a deeply disturbing hoax. Catapulting us toward making more carbon-emitting “advanced sources of energy” makes a mockery of her State of the State address plan to create “a clean technology supply chain right here at home.” I have been a nurse for more than 45 years, and I am deeply concerned by the strategic water supply proposal and the risks it poses to human health. Sharon Argenbright

Santa Fe

A scarce resource

I am writing regarding the governor’s recently released 50-year water plan and its impact on New Mexico’s water quality. Terminology matters, and the governor’s plan makes some troubling statements. The governor’s plan defines “brackish water” as a new category and new source of water that would be used for clean energy production. However, water that falls into the governor’s “brackish” category is currently and has historically been a critical resource for agriculture and other industries across New Mexico.

New Mexico has been a national leader in protecting its groundwater resources since 1977. New Mexico was the first state in the country to comprehensively protect all groundwater that contains 10,000 mg/L or less total dissolved solids (TDS), which includes “brackish water,” for present and potential future use. Despite that, the governor’s plan labels “brackish water” as a lesser-value class of water. By differentiating water this way, the governor devalues a critical component of the state’s water supply and undermines long-standing water quality protection programs that regard all water up to 10,000 mg/L TDS as a valuable and equally protectable resource. The governor’s efforts to support green energy need not undermine the long-standing value of “brackish water” within New Mexico’s scarce water resources.

Marcy Leavitt Santa Fe

Hardly transparent

City of Santa Fe appeal procedures require the city’s Planning and Land Use Department director to schedule hearings on appeals “as soon as reasonably practicable.” The appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the developer’s final plat for his proposed 25-lot subdivision at 2200 Old Pecos Trail was submitted Aug. 31. It was not heard until 2024. Then, the city’s apparently deliberate late-night scheduling of the appeal hearing was an insult to the appellants and other community members who showed up at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The mayor did not begin that “de novo” hearing, which he understood would take several hours to complete, until 10:35 p.m., causing the governing body to end it an hour later and resume it a week later at 5:30 pm. The mayor claims his administration is transparent. The only thing transparent about that scheduling was the disregard of the city’s appeal procedures and the public interest in this case.

Alaina Speraw Santa Fe

A tough job

Being a child protection child welfare worker is one of the hardest jobs in the world. With a 35% vacancy rate, it is even harder. With nothing but negative press every day, it is harder still. And reorganizing the department is the last thing anyone needs. Reorganizations are a waste of time, money and energy when all are at a premium. What is necessary is a dramatic increase in pay as a recruitment incentive to fill the vacancies and careful, results-based inclusive supportive management. And, oh, by the way, how about more support for struggling families in the state? That would mean less child abuse and neglect.

Mark Friedman Santa Fe

“What you have is the old narrative of Blackdom — that’s what kind of permeates the media landscape, until me, where it says that Blackdom was a failure. It wasn’t a failure. It was a success.”

Timothy E. Nelson, historian and author, on Blackdom, N.M.