NM Legislature

Acequia disaster response funding bill passes Senate

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A bill to help acequias respond to disasters passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday. 

SB 176 would increase the amount of funding that the Acequia and Community Ditch Infrastructure fund receives annually from the Irrigation Works Construction fund. “During the fire that happened in northern New Mexico, our acequias were devastated,” co-sponsor Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, said. 

Jaramillo said the acequias were impacted by the spring runoff that brought “all of that debris down off the hill” and also when people had to go in to fight the fire. He said SB 176 would ensure that funding is available to the acequias “when money is needed during a disaster to ensure that they’re protected so that waters continue to flow.”

“Our acequias have been filled with silt,” co-sponsor Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, said. 

Should SB 176 become law, Campos said that in the future damage to the acequias can be addressed. He said hopefully that can occur before the snowmelt. 

Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said “it’s the right time to do this. It’s the right time to be proactive.”

He said SB 176 creates a fund that “can be tapped into it just the right time and for the right purpose.”

The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives.

Issues

AG asks for assistance to help New Mexicans access post-fire disaster relief

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New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this week requesting assistance for New Mexico families affected by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fires who are seeking financial relief from the federal government. “I write to you regarding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s current rulemaking under the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act,” the letter dated Dec. 6 states. “I am also very concerned with the lack of progress we have made recovering our environment and cultural heritage for our communities.”

The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire burned 341,735 acres. The wildfire began as a prescribed fire in April near Las Vegas.

News
A row of mailboxes off Riata Road near Tularosa.

Public safety 911 enhancements discussed

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App-based businesses such as food delivery and ride-share companies use GPS to find their customers. But the New Mexico 911 Program does not have that technology to do that yet. The Next Generation 911 is expected to bring the current analog 911 system into the 21st century. “The New Mexico 911 Program works to provide a best-in-class 911 system that facilitates efficient and reliable public safety response to best serve the communities of New Mexico,” Stephen A. Weinkauf, bureau chief of the E-911 Bureau’s Local Government Division, Department of Finance and Administration, said at a Rural Economic Opportunities Task Force meeting Nov. 21. 

Enacted in March 2022, the New Mexico 911 Program was established by the ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004, or the Ensuring Needed Help Arrives Near Callers Employing 911 Act of 2004, which sought to upgrade the nation’s 911 system in the post-9/11 years.

News

They know how to prevent megafires. Why won’t anybody listen?

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What a week. Rough for all Californians. Exhausting for the firefighters on the front lines. Heart-shattering for those who lost homes and loved ones. But a special “Truman Show” kind of hell for the cadre of men and women who’ve not just watched California burn, fire ax in hand, for the past two or three or five decades, but who’ve also fully understood the fire policy that created the landscape that is now up in flames.

“What’s it like?” Tim Ingalsbee repeated back to me, wearily, when I asked him what it was like to watch California this past week. In 1980, Ingalsbee started working as a wildland firefighter. In 1995, he earned a doctorate in environmental sociology. And in 2005, frustrated by the huge gap between what he was learning about fire management and seeing on the fire line, he started Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. Since then FUSEE has been lobbying Congress, and trying to educate anybody who will listen, about the misguided fire policy that is leading to the megafires we are seeing today.

News

COVID-19 pandemic complicates 2020 wildfire season

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One morning in June 2017, while fighting the Frye Fire in southern Arizona, firefighters began visiting the on-site paramedic complaining of body aches, sore throats, fever, and fatigue. The paramedic diagnosed them with strep throat, a bacterial infection that can pass person to person or through food or water, and sent them to the regional medical center. 

Then another crew showed up with the same symptoms. And then, a third. Medical staff estimated nearly 300 people might have been exposed. They risked overwhelming the local hospital and spreading the infection into town. 

Instead, sick crews were isolated, and a doctor and antibiotics brought to them. Other staff disinfected gear, dumped water, and tossed out catered food.

Environment

Around NM: Unspent money, wildfires, Gila update and more

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Today, the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor released information about unspent funds in various state accounts. A quick read of the report shows that New Mexico isn’t spending all it has available on environment and water projects. According to the report, New Mexico has $512 million in unspent water-related infrastructure funding. The office points out that despite increasing needs around the state, “water-related infrastructure funds continue to accumulate faster than they can get out the door.”

The state also has $43 million in “stagnant funds” that haven’t been used the last two years according to the State Auditor. Among the largest of those 39 funds?