Supreme Court clears the way for temporary nuclear waste storage in Texas and New Mexico- Associated Press
on Wednesday restarted plans to temporarily store at sites in rural Texas and New Mexico, even as the nation is at an impasse over a permanent solution.
The justices, by a 6-3 vote, reversed a federal appeals court ruling that invalidated the license granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to for the facility in southwest Texas. The outcome should also reinvigorate plans for roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) away.
The federal appeals court in New Orleans had ruled in favor of the opponents of the facilities.
The licenses would allow the companies to operate the facilities for 40 years, with the possibility of a 40-year renewal.
The court's decision is not a final ruling in favor of the licenses, but it removes a major roadblock. Justice Brett Kavanaugh's majority opinion focused on technical procedural rules in concluding that Texas and a major landowner in southwest Texas forfeited their right to challenge the NRC licensing decision in federal court.
The justices did not rule on a more substantive issue: whether federal law allows the commission to license temporary storage sites. But Kavanaugh wrote that 鈥渉istory and precedent offer significant support for the commission鈥檚 longstanding interpretation鈥� that it can do so.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in dissent that the NRC's 鈥渄ecision was unlawful鈥� because spent nuclear fuel can be temporarily stored in only two places under federal law, at a nuclear reactor or at a federally owned facility. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas signed on to the dissenting opinion.
Roughly , some of it dating from the 1980s, is piling up at current and former nuclear plant sites nationwide and growing by more than 2,000 tons (1,800 metric tons) a year. The waste was meant to be kept there temporarily before being deposited deep underground.
The NRC has said that the temporary storage sites are needed because existing nuclear plants are running out of room. The presence of the spent fuel also complicates plans to decommission some plants, the Justice Department said in court papers.
Plans for a permanent underground storage facility at Yucca Mountain, northwest of Las Vegas, are from most Nevada residents and officials.
The NRC鈥檚 appeal was filed by the Biden administration and maintained by the Trump administration. Texas Gov. , a Republican, and New Mexico Gov. , a Democrat, are leading bipartisan opposition to the facilities in their states.
Lujan Grisham said she was deeply disappointed by the court鈥檚 ruling, reiterating that Holtec International, awarded the license for the New Mexico facility, wasn鈥檛 welcome in the state. She vowed to do everything possible to prevent the company, based in Jupiter, Florida, from storing what she called 鈥渄angerous鈥� waste in New Mexico.
鈥淐ongress has repeatedly failed to secure a permanent location for disposing of nuclear waste, and now the federal government is trying to force de-facto permanent storage facilities onto New Mexico and Texas,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a dangerous and irresponsible approach.鈥�
The NRC granted the Texas license to Interim Storage Partners, based in Andrews, Texas, for a facility that could take up to 5,500 tons (5,000 metric tons) of spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants and 231 million tons (210 million metric tons) of other radioactive waste. The facility would be built next to an existing dump site in Andrews County for low-level waste such as protective clothing and other material that has been exposed to radioactivity. The Andrews County site is about 350 miles (560 kilometers) west of Dallas, near the Texas-New Mexico state line.
The New Mexico facility would be in Lea County, in the southeastern part of the state near Carlsbad.
New Mexico leaders reaffirm immigrant protections, as legal groups notice 鈥榰ptick鈥� in ICE arrests- Patrick Lohmann,
New Mexico elected officials and nonprofit leaders gathered in Albuquerque on Wednesday to acknowledge the fear in many immigrant families amid ongoing federal immigration raids 鈥� but also to reaffirm their commitment to keeping families together.
State House Speaker Javier Martinez and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller were among speakers at the office of El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, each denouncing the federal immigration operations occurring throughout the state but also outlining long-standing protections Albuquerque and New Mexico residents have, regardless of immigration status.
鈥淚 will not allow a wannabe dictator in Washington, DC, to let my parents鈥� sacrifices and the sacrifices of all these good people behind me go to waste,鈥� said Martinez (D-Albuquerque), referring to members of various immigration advocacy groups like El Centro joining him at the lectern. 鈥淚f they want to come after you all, they need to come through me first.鈥�
Martinez and Keller pointed to protections against local police coordinating with federal immigration agencies, along with a recent state law that prohibits state agencies from sharing resident data, including motor vehicle data, with the federal government.
Keller noted that the city has coordinated the distribution of 10,000 鈥溾�� that lay out immigrant rights, including in city schools, where the school board recently affirmed its policy prohibiting coordination with ICE.
The news conference comes amid an increase of federal immigration operations in the state, according to the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center and other groups that represent immigrants.
鈥淥ver the past several weeks, NMILC and our partners have observed a significant uptick in ICE arrests against community members,鈥� said managing attorney Sophia Genovese. 鈥淐ommon tactics include ICE officers pulling over vehicles and detaining people, going to people鈥檚 homes and workplaces, detaining people at their immigration and appointments, and a number of other tips or tricks and bruising to effectuate the Trump administration鈥檚 mass deportation promise.鈥�
ICE is also growing more violent, she said, 鈥渨ith at least one recent account of physical brutality鈥� during an arrest. She was referring to the case of , a husband and father who was recently deported to Venezuela after living in Albuquerque with his family for at least two years. His wife told Source New Mexico last week that ICE agents threw him to the ground and put him in a chokehold, and he was hospitalized before being returned to ICE custody and ultimately deported.
According to Genovese, ICE agents conducted a mass arrest in a Walmart parking lot in Rio Rancho two weeks ago, along with 鈥淚-9 audits鈥� where federal immigration law enforcement goes to restaurants and other businesses and asking owners for paperwork on all their employees.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of ICE activity all throughout Albuquerque,鈥� she said.
But it鈥檚 hard to pin down when and where raids are occurring, speakers said, given the fly-by-night nature of the arrests and because city employees, including the police department, are prohibited by law from coordinating with ICE.
In addition to the ICE activity in New Mexico鈥檚 biggest city, the speakers noted a by federal immigration agents recently in Lovington,, where at least 11 people were arrested. The dairy farm has since shut down, Martinez said.
鈥淣ow if the argument is that we鈥檙e a bunch of freeloaders,鈥� Martinez said, 鈥渁sk yourself, 鈥榳hy are they raiding places of work?鈥� They鈥檙e not catching us at the welfare line while we commit fraud to get welfare.鈥�
According to Keller, there are 20,000 mixed-status families in Albuquerque. Across New Mexico, 63,000 immigrants are homeowners, and immigrants across the state contribute $1.4 billion in federal state and local taxes, according to data El Centro presented.
The group also shared several anonymous quotes from families dealing with deportation, including from people whose relatives that have occurred here since Trump鈥檚 second term began.
鈥淭here are terrible things happening in our communities,鈥� one of them reads. 鈥淧oor, defenseless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are being torn apart. Men, women and children are being separated.鈥�
State hearings on Southern New Mexico water utility fines postponed- Danielle Prokop,
Attorneys for state regulators and a Southern New Mexico water utility facing $250,000 in fines for arsenic level violations have agreed to push back hearings about the penalties.
The hearings scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday will now be held sometime in the fall, according to a filed last week by attorneys for Camino Real Regional Utility Authority and the New Mexico Environment Department.
The utility supplies water for more than 19,000 people in Sunland Park, Santa Teresa and southern Do帽a Ana County, an area with high levels of naturally-occurring arsenic in the groundwater.
State regulators first issued fines of more than $251,000 in March 2024, after findings that the utility鈥檚 arsenic treatment plants were 鈥渙ffline and bypassed鈥� for more than a year, sending drinking water with .
Drinking water with high levels of arsenic is associated with diseases such as diabetes, increased risk of cancers, and can contribute to heart and lung diseases and skin problems, according to the.
Utility leadership has said in statements that they take the concerns seriously and have worked to lower arsenic levels, achieving compliance with federal standards.
However, in May said they鈥檝e lost confidence in the utility鈥檚 leadership to address the chronic issues.
In late May, the New Mexico Environment Department filed an , claiming that the utility delayed reporting elevated arsenic levels for multiple days and failed to specifically report them to the state.
鈥淭he continuing cycle of non-compliance by Respondent which compromises the public鈥檚 access to safe and reliable drinking water requires the application of a bad faith enhancement for each of the violations which are the subject of this enforcement action,鈥� the amended complaint stated
Regulators raised the total fine to $252,000. Attorneys for the utility objected to the addition of new allegations for the upcoming June hearing, and requested more time to address them.
Both the utility and the environment department agreed to a calendar extending witness and discovery deadlines into August, with a final date for the new hearing to follow.
The utility faces additional court dates beyond the administrative hearing later this year.
A 3rd Judicial District Judge ordered parties to submit a further schedule in the civil lawsuit the state brought earlier this month against the utility, requesting the judge appoint a .
A hearing is scheduled for July in the civil lawsuit brought last year, which alleges the utility
Wandering Mexican gray wolf Asha, now with pups and mate, set for release-
The Mexican gray wolf, Asha, that was captured twice in Northern New Mexico has returned and has embarked in motherhood.
The Taos News reports, the endangered wolf gave birth to her first litter of five pups on May 8th at a wolf management facility near Socorro.
Asha, her pups, and her mate Arcadia will be released onto private land later this summer according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
Officials have said the time of the wolves鈥� release coincides with the elk calving season to help the pups develop into hunting.
They hope that Asha, who was captured from the wild, can help the pack acclimate, especially since her mate was raised in captivity.
Asha became a well-known figure in 2023 after she traveled multiple times to the far north of the Mexican wolf recovery area. She traveled nearly to Angel Fire in January of that year, but was soon captured and moved to captivity, then released in Arizona in June.
Las Cruces to begin deleting mountain of archived police bodycam video - Algernon D'Ammassa,
Las Cruces police have been using body-worn cameras to film interactions with the public for over a decade. According to Police Chief Jeremy Story, most of that footage remains in storage, presenting a growing expense and burden on city resources.
"We are the only police department that retains video indefinitely, that I鈥檓 aware of," Story told the City Council on Monday. "We've kept every video we've ever recorded going back almost 15 years with our original body cameras."
"It has taken up a lot of room," City Clerk Christine Rivera told the council. "I believe there are many terabytes of data, and in order for us to keep maintaining it, we would have to buy an additional server."
The council approved a policy allowing police to destroy evidentiary videos automatically three years after a criminal or civil case is closed 鈥� including the bulk of footage that has already met that threshold, with the city clerk鈥檚 overview to ensure compliance with record management policies.
According to archived reports, body cameras were introduced in Las Cruces on a limited basis in 2012. Today, all commissioned Las Cruces Police Department officers are required to film duty-related interactions with the public, after a decade in which use of the technology has expanded rapidly.
The LCPD does not use dashboard cameras, although the Do帽a Ana County Sheriff's Office does.
Last November, the council approved a $446,625 increase to its current five-year contract with Axon Enterprises for body cameras, tasers and data storage, increasing the contractual limit to $2.3 million. The contract expires this November. Among the reasons for the increase, as stated then, was the need for more storage space.
While the state requires police video to be retained and some municipalities stick to that threshold, City Attorney Brad Douglas said that time frame would worry him. With a three-year statute of limitations on tort and civil rights claims, destroying video sooner than that could lead to claims for spoiled evidence, he said.
Story agreed: "We took, I think, a fairly conservative approach at three years, which ensures that if anything comes up within the time span for the civil process, the video is still there."
Non-evidentiary video footage can be destroyed after 180 days, per a resolution the council approved in April.
Story also confirmed that police would not destroy video related to open cases, such as unsolved homicides that may remain open for many years.
An additional consideration discussed was public records requests, which require staff members to research and review video responsive to the queries for required redactions, as well as data security risks.
"It's extraordinarily time-consuming and full of information we don't want," City Councilor Becky Corran said. "It鈥檚 a big and ever-growing problem."
Monday's vote also authorized the city to proceed with destroying video footage that has already passed the threshold.
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act added to Senate鈥檚 'One Big Beautiful Bill' - Cathy Cook,
Legislation to expand a program that compensates people who got sick after experiencing atomic radiation from nuclear bomb tests or uranium mining could have a new chance at passage, but Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n, who has advocated for the program since he was first elected, will likely vote against it.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., got a extension and expansion added to the base text of the Senate budget bill. It would include New Mexico downwinders for the first time.
Hawley and Luj谩n, D-N.M., a stand-alone expansion bill in January.
鈥淭he federal government dumped nuclear waste in the backyards of Missourians for decades 鈥� and then lied about it,鈥� Hawley said in a statement. 鈥淭hese survivors sacrificed their health for our national security at the advent of the Manhattan Project.鈥�
The legislation would expand the program to include new downwind areas in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona; increase benefits for atmospheric testing survivors; add uranium mine workers from 1971 to 1990; expand eligible diseases; and make residents in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska who were exposed to contamination eligible.
Luj谩n has been in his opposition to the budget bill, which would make steep cuts to food aid and Medicaid. A recently released Senate draft aims to cut .
鈥淚 was proud to pass RECA twice in the Senate with bipartisan support,鈥� Luj谩n said in a statement. 鈥淲e can 鈥� and should 鈥� do it again, without ripping away health care or food assistance from those who need it most.鈥�
NM Gov declares emergency for Trout Fire, as health department warns of smoke- Patrick Lohmann,
Two wildfires burning north of Silver City have burned an area more than 80,000 acres, according to the latest updates, as state health officials warn of smoke impacts on respiratory health in the area.
Also, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday afternoon issued an emergency declaration, which directs $750,000 in state money toward firefighting efforts. She also announced she鈥檇 secured federal help via a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that will cover some costs for fires that threaten to become 鈥渕ajor disasters.鈥�
鈥淚 appreciate our federal partners for taking this threat seriously and for doing their part in supporting the responders who are working their hardest to protect the community,鈥� Lujan Grisham said in a news release.
The smoke advisory is in effect in Grant and Catron counties until at least Tuesday afternoon, according to health officials, with smoke reaching as far away as the Las Cruces area. The officials offered some here.
The advisory comes as both fires burn in hot, dry conditions forecasted to last for several more days. Since Monday, both fires grew significantly, with the Trout Fire doubling in size from 12,000 acres to more than 24,000, and the Buck Fire about 30 miles north of it growing from 34,000 acres to more than 57,000.
Both fires are now the biggest of this wildfire season in New Mexico. Forecasts for both note aren鈥檛 expected to let up.
鈥淐rews are bracing for increased fire activity,鈥� according to the team in charge of the Trout Fire. 鈥淎nd the public should expect the potential for additional changes to evacuation status.鈥�
While evacuations have been ordered in the Trout Fire, no structures have been damaged or destroyed in either blaze. A detailed evacuation map can be found . A shelter for evacuees has been set up by Red Cross New Mexico at the Grant County Business & Conference Center in Silver City.
Private ranches with structures are near the Buck Fire, but crews are taking steps to protect them, according to previous updates. The Trout Fire is burning a little more than 10 miles north of Silver City.
The Buck Fire is 15% contained, according to the latest update. The Trout Fire is still 0% contained. The State Emergency Operations Center is coordinating resources requested by local emergency managers.
Measles detected in Deming wastewater- Danielle Prokop,
State health officials confirmed Tuesday the detection of measles in Deming wastewater last week, and urged Luna County residents to watch for symptoms or seek vaccination if needed.
A wastewater detection does not change the official statewide case count in New Mexico, which remains at 81, with no confirmed cases in Luna County. The last confirmed and reported cases occurred in on May 27.
鈥淭his detection tells us there was at least one person infectious with measles in Deming on June 10 that has gone undiagnosed,鈥� New Mexico Department of Health Epidemiologist Dr. Daniel Sosin said in a statement. 鈥淲e expect that there may be more cases in Luna County in the coming days.鈥�
The wastewater sample comes via a weekly state program testing wastewater in Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Chaparral, Deming, Las Cruces, Portales, Rincon, Rio Rancho, Roswell, Santa Fe and southern Do帽a Ana County.
Officials also in Roswell last week.
Measles symptoms are often delayed by one to three weeks after exposure, and can be spread in the days before and after symptoms appear. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and the spotted red rash on the head and face, spreading down the body.
According to health officials, two doses of the measles vaccine remains the most effective protection against contracting and spreading the disease. If caught, the vaccine also. Since Feb. 1, NMDOH reports that more than 36,000 New Mexicans have received a vaccine.
NMDOH officials urge anyone with symptoms to stay home to prevent further spread and contact the state鈥檚 helpline staffed with nurses at 1-833-796-8773 for questions about testing, treatment and vaccines.
The state鈥檚 includes information on vaccine clinics and case counts.
Texas stops providing new funding for border wall construction - By Nadia Lathan, Associated Press/Report For America
Texas has stopped putting new money toward building a U.S.-Mexico border wall, shifting course after installing only a fraction of the hundreds of miles of potential barrier that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott set out to construct four years ago.
State lawmakers this month approved a new Texas budget that does not include continued funding for the wall, which had been a multibillion-dollar priority for Abbott as part of a sprawling immigration crackdown. He even took the unusual step of soliciting private donations for construction, saying in 2021 that many Americans wanted to help.
On Tuesday, Abbott's office said President Donald Trump's aggressive efforts to curb immigration allowed the state to adjust.
The halt in funding was first reported by The Texas Tribune.
"Thanks to President Trump's bold leadership, the federal government is finally fulfilling its obligation to secure the southern border and deport criminal illegal immigrants," Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said. "Because of these renewed federal assets in Texas, our state can now adjust aspects of state-funded border security efforts."
The state has completed 65 miles (104 kilometers) of border wall since construction began. The Texas border with Mexico is roughly 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers).
The wall has gone up at a slow pace as the state has navigated the drawn-out process of buying private land and confronting local opposition in some places. Abbott announced plans for the wall at a time when large numbers of migrants were showing up at the border, saying in 2021 that he believed a combination of state-owned land and volunteered private property would "yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall.'
The number of migrant crossings has fallen dramatically this year.
"There was no need for it in the first place," said Scott Nicol, a board member for Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, a habitat preservation group in the Rio Grande Valley. He has criticized the wall as ineffective.
"The only thing that's changed is the political dynamic," he said.
The new budget approved by Texas lawmakers allocates about $3.4 billion for border security for two years. That amount will not be used to build out new projects for the wall and instead go to the Texas Department of Safety and the Texas National Guard, the main agencies responsible for Operation Lone Star, Abbott's key immigration program launched in 2021 during the Biden administration.
The money allocated for border security is nearly half the $6.5 billion that was dedicated to immigration efforts the last time lawmakers earmarked the state budget two years ago.
Funds previously allocated for the wall will allow work on it to continue through 2026 and "will set the federal government up for success," said Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, the lead budget writer in the state Senate.
The agency responsible for constructing the wall has about $2.5 billion remaining in funding to cover up to 85 additional miles (135 additional kilometers) of the wall by 2026, according to a statement made in April by Texas Facilities Commission executive director Mike Novak, whose agency is overseeing construction of the project.
"This wall should have never been built, it's useless," said Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. "It divides our community."
___
Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.