EPA changes tune on mine waste site
A representative from the Environmental Protection Agency told residents that waste from the Questa Chevron mine was never dumped on Chevron property that will be home to a hydrogen power facility.
Yet earlier this year Kit Carson Electric President Luis Reyes told KSFR that the site's history as a mine tailings site made it a good home for a power facility.
“This was a Superfund site that had been contaminated,” he said. “There was no other use for it.”
Tailings refers to mine waste that can sometimes be toxic. A Superfund site is an area that has undergone long term environmental cleanup and monitoring from the EPA. The EPA said the mine shutdown before a different tailings impound was filled so the tailings site just west of Questa was not used. They said the site was included in the Superfund site simply because Chevron owns it.
The claim was part of a presentation the EPA gave during a public meeting in Questa on Thursday. An EPA project manager said the agency is in the final stages of hiring a new contractor to continue cleaning up waste from the shuddered mine. California-based Granite Construction was working on cleanup but left the project earlier this year. This was the EPA's third public meeting this year addressing the Questa Chevron Mine Superfund Site.
Two Questa-area acequia associations recently filed a complaint in federal court asking for more environmental review before construction on the hydrogen facility begins.
NM Republicans to introduce debate requirement legislation
New Mexico Republicans are drafting legislation that would require candidates for governor to meet on a debate stage. State Senator Nicole Tobiassen and House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong are calling the initiative the "Ducking Debate Rule."
The announcement comes after Democratic candidate Deb Haaland said she would not debate Republican Greg Hull. After months of back and forth on a debate date, Haaland's campaign called the negotiations a "sideshow." In a statement, Hull responded to Haaland by saying, "That isn't a scheduling problem. It's a strategy: keep voters from seeing her on a debate stage until they've already started casting ballots." Haaland had previously proposed dates for a debate that are after early voting begins on October 6.
New Jersey and New York currently have laws that penalize candidates for governor that do not agree to debates.
Jury issues verdict in Meta trial
A New Mexico jury on Friday ruled that Facebook violated state law by using unfair and deceptive business practices. The jury found that Facebook violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act almost 44 million times. The state is asking for a $5,000 penalty for each violation-- that comes out to around $219 billion in total.
The verdict has to do with collection of user data, misinformation and hate speech in Facebook posts and preferential treatment for government figures. The jury found that Facebook misrepresented how it handles user data and misinformation on the platform.
This is the third New Mexico ruling against Facebook this year. The platform's parent company, Meta, is already on the hook for over $940 million for putting youth users at risk.
Meta told Source New Mexico it will continue to defend its record and right to manage its platforms.
ICE arrest based on mistaken identity
The man who was the target of a widely publicized immigration arrest in August has legal visa status and no criminal record according to reporting from The Santa Fe New Mexican. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agents arrested Edgar Chicon-Miranda outside of the La Familia Health Clinic. The arrest was caught on video and shared widely on social media. Reports estimate there were at least 15 ICE arrests in Santa Fe in August.
Chicon-Miranda immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala and has legal status through a U visa. That's a legal protection given to crime victims who cooperate with law enforcement.
Chicon-Miranda's lawyers say that he was pulled over while driving his brother's car. Despite providing his social security card and visa documents, ICE agents insisted Chicon-Miranda was his brother. He was ultimately held at the Torrance County Detention Facility for 23 days.
