Colorado Officials Take Key Step In Gold King Mine Cleanup – Durango Herald, Associated Press
The Silverton town trustees and San Juan County commissioners have voted to seek a Superfund designation to clean up of dozens of old Colorado mines, including one that tainted rivers in three states.
Monday's decision was a key step toward getting millions of dollars in federal funds to remediate the Gold King Mine and 45 to 50 others.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inadvertently triggered a 3 million-gallon spill from the Gold King in August while doing preliminary cleanup work. The spill polluted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The Durango Herald reports Monday's votes were unanimous.
A cleanup could still be years away. If the EPA approves the designation, it would then analyze the extent and nature of the problem before developing a plan and starting work.
Attorney General Backs Sentence Against New Mexico Official – The Associated Press
New Mexico's attorney general is urging a judge to uphold probation requirements against disgraced former Secretary of State Dianna Duran.
The attorney general's office on Tuesday objected in writing to Duran's request to reconsider, reduce or eliminate probation requirements that she speak four times a month to civic groups or schools, perform community service work and obtain authorization for in-state travel.
Duran's attorney says the public speaking amounts to public shaming rather than rehabilitation, and that Duran will be in danger judging from threatening online comments.
The attorney general says there are no credible threats against Duran and that speaking will help her and her audience.
Duran pleaded guilty to felony charges for using campaign donations to fuel a gambling spree. She has served a one-month jail sentence.
Air Quality Concerns Prompt Safety Pause At Nuke Dump – The Associated Press
The manager of the federal government's nuclear waste repository in New Mexico has halted work because of poor air quality in parts of the underground facility.
Officials with Nuclear Waste Partnership announced the "safety pause" late Monday after monitoring instruments carried by workers detected elevated levels of carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.
Work won't resume until a plan is developed to ensure worker safety.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been closed since February 2014 when an inappropriately packed drum of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory popped its lid and released radiation.
Parts of the facility were contaminated. Now, crews are working to install a temporary ventilation system and complete other recovery efforts in hopes of resuming operations by the end of the year.
New Mexico Adopts New Rules For Medical Marijuana Producers – Associated Press
The New Mexico Department of Health says the names of licensed medical marijuana producers in the state will become public under new rules taking effect next week.
The confidentiality surrounding producers was challenged last year in a lawsuit filed by freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.
They argued the Health Department was violating public records law by keeping producers' names secret.
The agency had previously defended the confidentiality rules as necessary for the security of producers and patients, but Gov. Susana Martinez in July ordered officials to revisit the regulations.
The changes apply only to producers and producer applicants, not the more than 21,000 patients certified in the state Medical Cannabis Program.
The agency plans to publish the new rules in the state register next Monday.
New Mexico Gov. Martinez Still Remaining Neutral In GOP Race – Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez still is not ready to make an endorsement in the GOP presidential race.
A Martinez spokesman said Monday the nation's only Latina governor will remain neutral as the contest moves next month to states with more Hispanic voters.
The Republican governor previously denounced GOP hopeful Donald Trump following comments he made about Mexican immigrants. She also told The Associated Press she didn't know and didn't follow Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas after he announced he was running for president.
In November, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida floated Martinez's name as a possible running mate.
Martinez has downplayed suggestions about a vice-presidential spot.
Ex-New Mexico HSD Employee Gets Prison For Food Stamps Fraud – Associated Press
A former New Mexico Human Services Department employee has been sentenced to 366 days in prison for defrauding the federal food stamp program.
Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Joseph Martin Padilla, of Albuquerque, also was ordered Monday to pay more than $181,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Padilla was one of six defendants charged with defrauding the Food Stamp Program in a 32-count indictment that was filed in August 2014.
The indictment alleged that between September 2009 to May 2010, Padilla conspired defraud the federal government through the unauthorized use of food stamp benefits.
He allegedly established and used more than two dozen fraudulent accounts to obtain benefits for himself and others.
Padilla pleaded guilty to two counts of the indictment last November.
Firefighters Battle 3 Separate Fires In Albuquerque – KOB-TV, Associated Press
Albuquerque firefighters say three separate fires within found one mile of each other were likely started by a human.
KOB-TV reports that Albuquerque Fire Department spokesman David LaCour says firefighters were called to a quarter-acre fire a at Tingley Beach Sunday evening. LaCour says crews there spotted two more fires nearby.
Deputy Chief Vic Padilla says all three fires are suspicious and believed to be caused by humans, but firefighters aren't sure if they were set accidentally or intentionally.
All fires were extinguished and LaCour says no firefighters were injured.
Ex-New Mexico Gov. Richardson To Help Clinton In Texas – Associated Press
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is heading to Texas to campaign on behalf of Hillary Clinton.
A spokeswoman for Richardson said the Democrat was scheduled to speak Monday at an immigration forum in San Antonio hosted by Clinton. He was then slated to address volunteers at a Clinton phone bank and tour local businesses.
Richardson announced in August he would support the former Secretary of State said after speaking with her and former President Bill Clinton. He said they had "patched up" disagreements from the 2008 election.
The former governor, who served in Clinton's administration, had endorsed then Sen. Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign.
King Brothers' Alamo Ranch Listed For $33M – Associated Press
A sprawling New Mexico ranch owned by the family of former Gov. Bruce King is on the market for $33 million.
Purchased by the late King and his brothers in 1961, Alamo Ranch is considered one of the state's legacy ranches. It stretches across more than 100 square miles of high desert hills, prairies of native grass and arroyos in Sandoval County.
According to Hall and Hall Real Estate, the ranch has views of the Jemez Mountains to the north, Albuquerque's city lights to the southeast and Mount Taylor on the west. It's bordered by two Native American pueblos and unincorporated land adjacent to Rio Rancho.
The listing states the ranch includes a four-season cattle operation and has recreational and development potential just minutes from the state's most populous area.
AG Wants El Paso Electric's Rate Proposal To Be Reconsidered – Associated Press
Attorney General Hector Balderas is asking state utility regulators to reconsider a recommendation he says will negatively affect thousands of electric customers in southern New Mexico.
The attorney general's office has filed a motion asking the Public Regulation Commission to order a hearing examiner to reconsider a proposal by El Paso Electric to raise its rates.
The examiner recently recommended that the utility's request for a $6.4 million rate hike be slashed to just $640,000, or an increase of about one-half percent.
But Balderas says he's concerned because residential customers would feel the brunt of the increase under a restructuring of the rates. Businesses and other customers would get a break on their bills.
Balderas says families must be able to share in lower energy costs.
New Hiking Trail Planned In Santa Fe Area – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Officials are working to link the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro trail to a wider network of trails in the Santa Fe area.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Royal Road of the Interior Lands is set to be part of a new 15-mile trail linking the Santa Fe River trail to the Municipal Recreation Complex and to other recreation sites.
Santa Fe Conservation Trust Trails Program Manager Tim Rogers says once the new additions are complete, people will be able to travel from downtown Santa Fe to Diablo Canyon on bike or foot.
The trail project costs $4.3 million, most of which is coming from the Federal Lands Access Program of the Federal Highway Administration. Santa Fe County and the city of Santa Fe also contributed.