Public Service Company of New Mexico and four other parties have signed a new agreement to end their dispute over the future of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington. Thursday's settlement resolves all outstanding disagreements among the parties. The Albuquerque Journal reports that it potentially paves the way for the state Public Regulation Commission to approve PNM's plan to shut down two of the power plant's four generating units to meet federal haze regulations. Environmental, clean energy and consumer organizations had opposed PNM's proposals for San Juan. That's mainly because the utility and its parent firm wanted to acquire 197 megawatts of excess coal generation that will be left behind in one of the two remaining generators after some plant co-owners depart from the facility.
Santa Fe Police are seeking additional victims of a local man they say drugged women and raped them while they were unconscious. SFPD arrested 44-year old Michael Collins, on charges including voyeurism, criminal sexual penetration and kidnapping. Police officials say they responded to Collins’ home last week, which led to a search warrant where police say they found several videos of women allegedly being drugged and sexually assaulted. Police noted some tapes show consensual acts of sex, but said the women don't appear to know they are being recorded. There were also tapes of women going to the bathroom and taking showers inside the home. Police know of at least three victims but believe there could be more. Anyone who feels they may have been victimized by Collins is asked to contact Santa Fe Police. Police booked Collins into jail Thursday afternoon.
Utah officials say that contaminated water from a mine spill has likely reached Lake Powell, but the plume is no longer visible and authorities haven't confirmed the presence of heavy metals in the waters of the reservoir. Utah Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Donna Spangler says that water-speed calculations and hydrology research show the plume having reached the reservoir 300 miles from the site of the spill in Colorado. The plume lost its bright yellow color before entering Utah early this week, and state officials say their tests taken Monday suggest the water from the Utah portion of the San Juan River is safe to drink. The Colorado River that supplies water to the Southwest flows from Lake Powell.
A panel of judges, lawyers and legal experts is recommending that New Mexico's highest court support a constitutional amendment to allow judges to order the most dangerous, violent criminal defendants held in jail pending trial without bond. The committee voted during a meeting Thursday in Albuquerque to send a letter outlining its recommendation to the state Supreme Court. The chairman of the committee, former University of New Mexico Law School Dean Leo Romero, acknowledged this is only the first step and such a proposal would have to be approved by the Legislature and considered by the voters. The court formed the panel earlier this year and charged it with submitting a report and recommendations regarding the use of bail schedules in New Mexico by the end of August.
Officials are marking a milestone in the cleanup of a massive plume of jet fuel at the edge of Albuquerque. Gov. Susana Martinez, members of the state's congressional delegation and other officials are scheduled Thursday to join U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James at Kirtland Air Force Base to mark the extraction and treatment of some of the contaminated water. First detected in 1999, the fuel leak is believed to have been seeping into the ground for decades. Estimates of the amount of fuel spilled range from 6 million to 24 million gallons. The greatest concern has been that the spill would contaminate drinking water wells in the Southeast Heights. The pump-and-treat system is part of an effort to keep the contamination from reaching those wells.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today, with the high 85, with a slight chance for isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61, and a ten-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms, with the overnight low, 61. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, the high 84 and a 20-percent chance for precipitation.