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New Mexico Sues EPA Over Mine Spill, Navajo Farm Without Irrigation Water

Jonathan Thompson
/
High Country News

New Mexico Sues EPA, Mine Owners Over Gold King Spill Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

New Mexico is suing the federal government and the owners of two mines over environmental and economic damages caused by the release of 3 million gallons of wastewater from a southern Colorado mine.

The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court states the environmental effects of the August 2015 spill are far worse than claimed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA said last week it's taking responsibility for the cleanup.

It was an EPA contractor that triggered the release at the Gold King Mine.

Part of the nearly $155 million in damages sought by New Mexico would go toward reimbursing the state for its response to the disaster, long-term monitoring and a marketing campaign to undo the stigma left behind by the yellow plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.

Massive Navajo Farm Heads Into Week 2 With No Irrigation - The Associated Press

The largest farm on the Navajo Nation is headed into a second week with no irrigation.

A decades-old concrete pipe broke May 13, cutting off water to 72,000 acres of farmland in northwestern New Mexico. Many of the crops on the land managed by the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry had just been planted.

Officials have pegged June 11 as the date to have repairs done with water flowing through a canal system days later.

For now, they're holding out hope that the skies will stay cloudy and enough moisture will fall to sustain the plants in the desert.

The irrigation canal delivers water to the tribal farm from the San Juan River through Navajo Dam. Water that was in the canal when the pipe broke is being rationed.

Ex-Albuquerque Halfway House Guard Pleads Guilty To AbuseThe Associated Press

A former employee at an Albuquerque halfway house for women has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing six inmates under his custodial authority.

Prosecutors say 35-year-old Eric Trujillo, of Albuquerque, entered his plea Monday in federal court to six felony counts.

They say Trujillo will be sentenced within the range of four to 15 years in federal prison and be required to register as a sex offender.

His sentencing hearing hasn't been set yet.

Trujillo was arrested last November and charged with aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse of women living at a Bernalillo County halfway house.

They were federal inmates under a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Trujillo was a resident monitor and guard at the halfway house when the incidents occurred between May 2012 and March 2014.

New Mexico Probes Its Handling Of Emergency Food AidThe Associated Press

New Mexico Human Services Sec. Brent Earnest says a practice of altering emergency food assistance applications that results in delayed benefits may date back more than a decade.

Earnest told state lawmakers Monday that he heard from agency employees that the practice is long-standing and dates back to 2003 without providing additional details.

New Mexico lawmakers are raising concerns of intimidation against whistleblowers as court and internal investigations probe whether records were falsified and kept emergency benefits from the poor.

Employees within the agency say they were pressured into amending information to clear expedited assistance applications and make it look as if federal deadlines were being met.

Earnest says he has issued a directive never to falsify applications and that it is important that employees know they can speak freely.

New Mexico To Give Judges More Defendant InformationThe Associated Press & The ABQ Journal

New Mexico officials plan to merge most of the state's major criminal, court and personal information databases to give judges access to more information before they set bail.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that state officials say they hope the Criminal History Clearinghouse will be operational by winter, but it could take longer. The project will link at least six databases to give judges a quicker, more thorough way to check defendants' backgrounds.

Officials say the project could also be more expensive than legislators budgeted for.

House majority leader Rep. Nate Gentry, an Albuquerque Republican, originally pitched the Clearinghouse as a way to help police officers on the street stay safe. Complications in launching the database, however, will prevent it from being immediately available to police.

New Mexico Joining Effort To Rehabilitate Historic TheatersThe Associated Press

New Mexico is joining other states in pushing an initiative to revitalize downtown districts in isolated, small towns by rehabilitating aging, historic theaters.

An economic development program, similar to efforts in Iowa and Illinois, seeks to save the often-forgotten venues with help on refurbishing buildings and grants for new digital projection and sound equipment.

State officials believe reviving theaters in old mining towns and small cities near American Indian reservations will help create jobs in struggling downtown districts and spark renewed interest in entertainment.

The theaters serve as places audiences can take in a newly released film or play.

Bill Fegan, who helps run the Shuler Theater in Raton, says the revamped venue has attracted audiences from Colorado and performers from around the country.

Building Of Fish Barrier To Begin In Western New Mexico – The Associated Press 

Construction is set to begin on a fish barrier project along a creek in the western New Mexico.

U.S. Forest Service officials said Sunday the public should expect to see heavy equipment along Forest Road 28 between Snow Lake Road and Willow Creek for the next two months.

The Willow Creek fish barrier project is just north of the boundary of the Gila Wilderness.

Officials say the barrier will assist in the recovery of the Gila trout, which has been federally listed as threatened since 2006.

The permanent barrier will follow 10 miles of Willow Creek and prevent non-native trout species from heading upstream.

Federal and state wildlife grants are helping to fund the project.

The Gila trout was first listed as endangered in 1966.

Trial Starts For Deputy Accused Of Shooting Fellow Deputy - The Associated Press

A trial is set to get underway this week for a former Santa Fe County sheriff's deputy who is accused of fatally shooting his partner following an alcohol-fueled fight.

Tai Chan is accused of killing Santa Fe County Deputy Jeremy Martin in October 2014 at a Las Cruces hotel where they were staying after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona.

Authorities say they went drinking at a nightspot before getting into a heated argument and shots were fired.

An autopsy showed Martin was shot multiple times in the back and had other injuries that appeared related to a fight.

Chan has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder — a charge his lawyer moved to have dismissed before the trial, saying evidence doesn't support the charge.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday.