Adrian Hedden
El Rito Media
achedden@currentargus.com

A sale of leases to the oil and gas industry for federal public land in Eddy County brought in $20 million on Feb. 20, as the federal government aims to increase fossil fuel production throughout the U.S.

The lease sale held by the Bureau of Land Management offered parcels of land in New Mexico’s southeast corner amid the Permian Basin oilfields – the most productive oil and gas basin in the U.S.

A total of about $20.7 million was received during the auction for leases that will remain in effect for 10 years or as long as oil or gas is produced.

All seven of the offered parcels were bid on and set to be leased, totaling 1,317 acres in Eddy and Lea counties. About 1,238 of those acres – six of the seven parcels – were in Eddy County while a single parcel on 79 acres was offered in Lea County.

Leasing the parcels, which are nominated by oil and gas companies, is the first step toward development on public land, which also requires applications to permit drilling and subsequent environmental analysis before applications are approved.

In a statement released with the sale results, the bureau said the leases help fulfill the federal administration’s agenda of increasing domestic fossil fuel production following an executive order issued in January by President Donald Trump.

“Oil and gas lease sales support domestic energy production and American energy independence, while contributing to the nation’s economic and military security,” read the statement.

But fossil fuel trade groups argued the agency should have offered more land for production in the highly sought-after Permian Basin. The parcels provided in the sale were chosen during the previous administration, and the Western Energy Alliance voiced frustration at the low amount of land offered.

“The amount of acreage offered for sale in New Mexico is below demand, as indicated by the minimal number of parcels and acreage listed, and our members’ frustrations with waiting years for parcels to be made available,” read a protest letter submitted to the bureau by the Alliance on Dec. 9, 2024.

Conservation groups protested the sale for different reasons. A joint letter submitted by the Western Environmental Law Center, Wild Earth Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club’s Rio Grande Chapter said the bureau should pause oil and gas leases until a full environmental analysis is completed.

The groups argued the agency should analyze the effects of drilling on air and water quality ahead of leasing, as opposed to the process of doing so when applications to permit drilling are submitted after the land is leased.

The Department of Interior, the bureau’s parent agency, should also take steps, the groups argued, to limit air pollution emissions that could cause global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius – an international benchmark when scientists believe catastrophic weather events could occur.

The groups contended a review of the leases “must include meaningful consideration of alternatives that could allow the Department of Interior to fulfill its role in putting the nation on a path towards an emissions future compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C and mitigating the worst effects of global climate change.”

Despite environmental concerns, U.S. oil development on public land is a critical facet of the nation’s economy, argued economic nonprofit Taxpayers for Common Sense. The group called on recently appointed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to maintain a higher royalty rate enacted by the administration of former President Joe Biden, amid discussions Trump could roll it back.

The bureau receives a 16.67% royalty rate paid by lessees on the proceeds from oil and gas sales. The rate was increased from 12.5% in April 2024 .

The taxpayers group noted in a Feb. 20 report that the average bid of $15,673 per acre in the latest lease sale in New Mexico was four times higher than the average bid for sales in 2024 in the state. This showed that lands needed for oil and gas were increasing in value and returns for. American taxpayers should increase accordingly, the group argued,

“With U.S. oil production already at record highs and industry executives signaling they aren’t looking to expand domestic production further, there’s no justification for undermining fiscal responsibility or handing over America’s natural resources to pad the pockets of speculators,” said Taxpayers for Common Sense President Steve Ellis.

El Rito Media News Services

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández did not mince words Monday on the New Mexico House floor when raising concerns about the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“I’m going to say it, guys: We are at the door of a constitutional crisis, when profiteering billionaires who are not elected,” Leger Fernández said, the rest of her sentence largely drowned out in a flurry of heavy applause.

In speeches spanning about 20 minutes, Leger Fernández, along with U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, offered messages of strength and unity, stressed the importance of the Legislature’s work and relayed concerns about the policy priorities of the Trump administration — messages that spurred multiple standing ovations.

New Mexico has historically relied on large portions of federal aid, and the members of the delegation alluded to natural disasters that have rocked the state in recent years.

“In our most challenging times, New Mexicans look out for each other,” Heinrich said. “From the darkest days of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire to last year’s flooding in Roswell. From north to south, from east to west, New Mexicans understand our shared commitment to one another.”

The remarks came as protesters gathered outside the Roundhouse on Monday to rail against policy directives set by the Trump administration as well as against billionaire Elon Musk’s new role in the federal government at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

There were a number of open seats in the chamber, with some Republican members of the House and Senate choosing not to attend the joint session. House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, noted the session came at a busy time in the lawmaking season but that she was able to attend portions of it.

“Today’s speeches from members of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation only solidify how out of touch they are with New Mexicans,” Armstrong said in a statement. “I’m not focused on their attacks and complaints about lost elections.”

“I’m focused on the people of New Mexico,” the statement continued. “We want to deliver for them by lowering costs, making our neighborhoods safer, and fixing broken departments like CYFD.”

Heinrich praised state lawmakers for prioritizing deeper investment in behavioral health and for looking to increase the childhood tax credit. Three bipartisan bills — all aimed at reforming and funding New Mexico’s behavioral health system — are moving quickly through the Legislature.

“All of these New Mexicans are counting on us, here in this room, to lead, to give a damn and to keep our community safe,” Heinrich said. “Simply put, they are counting on us to deliver and that requires grappling with difficult decisions and it requires solving real problems that impact real people.”

Luján talked about the importance of New Mexican values, calling for communication and collaboration across a range of issues. He noted he is one of the senators who reintroduced the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act last month, an effort to revive and expand a program that compensates people who were sickened through the federal government’s nuclear weapons testing and production. The proposal would extend the benefits to residents of New Mexico.

“I am more convinced than ever that, as New Mexicans, we can stand strong against whatever headwinds there are. And we are going to come out stronger, right?” Luján said.

He also urged funding tied to closing gaps in broadband access in the state.

“It’s time for the state to start investing these dollars,” Lujan said. “If you don’t believe me, just go back and chat with the folks back at home, and take time to travel down that long, dirt road to that one farm where you know the family but you know there’s no connectivity.”

Leger Fernández agreed.

“We can’t just have broadband in the big house. We need it in the adobe house. We need it in the ranch house,” she said, generating applause. “We need it in every house in New Mexico.”

Amid concerns about housing affordability in the Land of Enchantment, Leger Fernández talked about her “Home of Your Own Act,” introduced in Congress in June of last year.

The legislation would expand a limited pilot project to provide a one-time, $30,000 down payment assistance grant to first-time homebuyers who qualify for the program and to create a new national homeownership assistance grant program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Leger Fernández referred to proposed spending cuts at the federal level.

“What are we going to say? Hell, no. We are going to fight like hell to keep those cuts from happening,” Leger Fernández said.

Talking to reporters following the speeches on the House floor, Heinrich said Democrats in Congress will have their work cut out for them to push back on Trump’s agenda.

“We’re now in trench warfare. We’re in program by program, issue by issue, and it’s an endless game of Whac-a-Mole,” he said.

By: Rebecca Hauschild

• The council approved a $190,000 adjustment to the 2024-2025 parks department budget that included $100,000 to improve softball and baseball fields.

El Rito Media News Services

State Rep. Rod Montoya acknowledged Monday he had no illusions about the likely fate of a measure that would eliminate the personal income tax in New Mexico.

“I don’t believe anyone expected this bill to get serious consideration for this budget this year,” Montoya, R-Farmington, told fellow lawmakers on the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Monday, referring to House Bill 275.

He and other Republican supporters said their real aim in introducing the bill was simply to initiate a discussion about its merits. They were happy to bring it up for consideration, they said, perhaps setting the stage for a more serious examination in the years ahead.

“We have to start on a different path,” Montoya said, adding the state is simply not doing enough to attract new business or new workers. He cited the state’s anemic population growth, especially compared to many of its neighbors.

“This is a discussion that needs to be had,” he said.

The committee voted to table HB 275, which often means it won’t advance during the session.

Spearheading opposition to the bill was House Speaker Javier Martinez, who also serves on the committee. The Albuquerque Democrat noted different versions of the bill have been filed in the past, and the same arguments that sank the legislation then continue to apply now — mostly that eliminating the personal income tax would leave a significant hole in the state budget without providing for adequate replacement revenue.

“As my kids often tell me, the math doesn’t math,” he said.

Martinez sparred repeatedly with Paul Gessing, the president of the Rio Grande Foundation, an Albuquerque nonprofit organization that promotes limited government and free market economic policies. Gessing appeared before the committee as an expert witness for the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez, R-Hobbs,, arguing years of budget surpluses brought about by ballooning oil and gas revenue in New Mexico have created an opportunity for lawmakers to do something bold to promote economic growth.

He and Martinez debated the impact that passage of the measure would have, with Martinez arguing property taxes would skyrocket if the bill passed. Gessing countered by saying significant additional revenue would be generated through the economic expansion he anticipates would accompany adoption of the measure. He also said opportunities abound for cutting the budget, most notably film industry subsidies.

“It just needs some green eye shades,” Gessing said.

Martinez characterized the measure as just another form of discredited trickle-down economics and charged that the bill would serve as a gift for the wealthy.

“To give some dude in Santa Fe who makes a million bucks a huge tax break? I’m not interested in that,” he said.