Danielle Prokop

Source New Mexico

New Mexico officials announced public entities and tribal governments have just over one week to apply for grants for projects to treat saltier water from deep underground, according to a news release Wednesday.

Officials from the state’s environment department and office of the state engineer told lawmakers last week they planned to roll out the program to distribute $40 million in grants and contracts for brackish water treatment. On Wednesday, the New Mexico Environment Department posted the application materials, which require submission from public entities and tribal governments by Monday, Sept. 8. Companies seeking to enter into a contract can apply through Thursday, Sept. 25.

Treating less usable underground resources is necessary, officials say, to address the impacts of climate change in New Mexico, already drying rivers and straining fresh groundwater. The hope is desalinated water can be used for drinking water, agricultural supply or for uses in manufacturing.

“During these times of drought, it is more important than ever to be thinking about new water sources,” State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson said in a statement. “By working collaboratively with local communities, Tribes and other state agencies on the strategic water supply program, we can develop strategies that will help communities respond to drought for years to come.”

Lawmakers established the program, called the Strategic Water Supply, during the legislative session via House Bill 137, which established the fund and furthers the work to try and map New Mexico’s underground water sources. The final bill was much smaller than Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s original pitch, which would have included the uses of oil and gas wastewater and a $500 million price tag.

According to the announcement, the projects must: Explore, produce or treat brackish water; enhance freshwater resources; align with development goals for local, state or tribal development; and comply with water quality standards.

“Access to new water supplies is essential for our communities and future,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement announcing the program. “The Strategic Water Supply initiative will not only safeguard our water resources but also support the nation’s transition to renewable energy and advanced manufacturing — providing alternatives to water-intensive processes that deplete our precious freshwater supplies.”

Danielle Prokop

Source New Mexico

New Mexico’s U.S. senators joined the Senate Democratic caucus Wednesday reintroducing federal legislation to guarantee abortion access across the country.

The legislation is a direct response to the 2022 Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

In the recent Congressional spending bill signed by President Donald Trump, Republicans included language blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving payments through Medicaid — which provides health insurance to low-income people. While a federal judge in July temporarily blocked that component of the law in a case still pending appeal, another federal judge earlier this week allowed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to halt Medicaid payments to reproductive health care providers in Maine.

The bill backed by New Mexico’s delegation would prevent states from imposing restrictions on access to abortion early in pregnancy; require that states not limit access to abortions later in the pregnancy, if the life or health of the mother is at stake; and protect the right to travel for abortion care.

New Mexico, prior to the SCOTUS’ decision overturning Roe v. Wade, had repealed an antiquated law criminalizing abortion, and enacted additional protections after the decision.

Subsequently, the number of abortions performed in New Mexico tripled after the Dobbs decision, rising from about 3,000 per year to more than 12,000 procedures. Nearly 70% of the procedures are for people who traveled out of state, according to data collected by Guttmacher.

The proposed federal law aims to address strain on New Mexico and other abortion providers, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said in a statement.

“A woman has the right to make her own healthcare decisions without politicians inserting themselves between her and her doctors,” Heinrich said. “That right should not depend on the state she lives in, and the majority of Americans agree. Yet Congressional Republicans are doubling down on a national abortion ban, blocking women from making choices about their own bodies and seeking to criminalize doctors and nurses.”

In the interim since the 2022 Dobbs decision, Republican lawmakers across the country have passed further restrictions on accessing abortion, and introduced potential jail sentences for health providers. According to the Guttmacher Institute, just nine states — including New Mexico — do not restrict abortion based on the length of time of the pregnancy. Furthermore, 28 states limit abortion based on how long someone is pregnant and 12 states have a total abortion ban, according to Guttmacher.

These legal changes at the state level have resulted in unprecedented criminal charges for a New York doctor for providing abortion medication; criminal investigations and arrests for women miscarrying; and more pregnant women dying of infections in Texas.

Fellow New Mexico Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján noted in a statement that U.S. Senate Republicans voted to block previous, similar legislation adding the GOP’s “position could not be clearer,” on the issue.

“Senate Democrats stand with the majority of Americans who support Roe, and we will keep fighting to restore and protect reproductive rights,” Luján said in a statement. “These relentless attacks from the Trump administration, Congressional Republicans, and the Supreme Court put the most vulnerable at risk and turn back the clock on progress. We will not back down.”

In the last state legislative session, New Mexico lawmakers passed Senate Bill 57, which creates an exemption in the state’s public records laws for any records that contain “personal identifying information or sensitive information,” of public sector abortion providers.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also has vowed to expand the state’s reproductive health care capacity with a $10 million center in southern New Mexico under construction; and approval from lawmakers to spend $10 million in capital outlay for a center in northern New Mexico this past session.

Sarah Rubinstein

Carlsbad Current-Argus

A group of New Mexico Republican state legislators and one Democrat on Monday toured the Otero County Processing Center, the state’s largest immigration detention facility.

The tour was arranged after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she was considering proposing legislation that would ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in the state during a special session, said Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-NM).

A date for the session was not yet set as of Wednesday.

New Mexico House and Senate Republicans invited the governor to join the tour via an Aug. 20 post on X, but she did not attend due to her schedule already being full, said spokesperson Michael Coleman.

During the tour, views about the conditions of the facility depended on which political party was asked.

Reeb spoke highly of the facility, noting she was impressed with how safe, clean and well-maintained it was. She also detailed all the amenities at the facility, such as iPads available for detainees, a church accommodating of all religions and food adhering to all dietary restrictions.

“We are very glad we got to tour it, and we felt it was very safe and stable,” she said. “I’ve seen schools dirtier than this place.”

Based on her experience, Reeb said she doesn’t see the need for the governor to call a special session. She noted that shutting down the facility will only transfer detainees to a new place. She also said that shutting down the location would cause up to 300 facility workers to be relocated, upending their families.

Otero County Commissioner Vickie Marquardt, who also attended the tour with Commissioner and New Mexico GOP Chairwoman Amy Barela and Commissioner Gerald Matherly, described the conditions as “clean and organized” in a press release on Monday. She noted that they were free to ask questions and that all questions were answered by facility employees.

“I would be surprised if any other country in the world tries to accommodate detainees the way we do in America,” she wrote.

On the other hand, Rep. Andrea Romero (D-NM) agreed that the facility was “squeaky clean” but noted that the Management and Training Corporation, which runs the center, had a week to prepare for the lawmakers’ visit.

“It was really rosy picture painted as to how everybody’s treated,” she said. “We were able to kind of get a curated viewpoint of what was happening.”

Romero said that while the staff described detainees as having access to amenities such as a library and healthcare, she saw detainees confined to their bunk beds and not speaking, saying it was “eerily quiet.”

Romero said that she agrees with the governor potentially looking into these facilities during a special session, noting “due process” violations she encountered at the facility. She explained that instead of detainees getting processed through the system, they have been “rounded up” in facilities like the detention center in Otero County.

She also explained that it was unclear from her visit whether these detainees will be allowed back into the U.S. or if they will be deported back to their home country or another country after spending an average of 65 days in the facility.

“I do agree that, if there’s anything that we can do to ensure that this isn’t happening in our own backyard, if we have to talk about being able to arrange new jobs and figure out new economic development programs, we cannot in good conscience continue this practice of taking away people’s rights,” she said.

The Republican lawmakers’ accounts were also in contrast to Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02) findings when he visited the same facility on July 30. In a press release, Vasquez described a lack of transparency from workers when asked about the treatment of detainees. He also noted that detainees’ phones were broken and toilets did not flush.

“I am all for measures that keep our borders and communities secure, but after my visit to the Otero Processing Center, it is only more clear that ICE is not making our communities safer,” he wrote.

When asked if she noticed any of the conditions that Vasquez described, Reeb said that besides seeing maybe one bug on the floor, she saw “nothing of the sort.”

Romero said they did not see any sanitation facilities like toilets that did not flush and did not see any detainee with a cell phone, so she could not confirm or deny what Vasquez saw.

Advocates sound alarm as companies target residents impacted by nuclear testing

Elva K. Österreich

Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative

TULAROSA – From confusing websites to fraudulent phone calls and even people knockingon doors, those seeking to take advantage of New Mexicans affected by nuclear radiation are coming out of the woodwork with silver tongues and outlandish offers.

On July 3, Congress passed an expansion and extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act that adds New Mexico to a previously expired RECA program and increases a one-time reparations payment to people exposed to radiation from nuclear testing, a group often referred to as “downwinders.”

The law allows for a lump-sum payment of $100,000 to qualifying individuals. The expanded eligibility covers those affected by certain cancers and diseases who lived in New Mexico during a specific time period in the mid-20th century.

Advocates have said the expanded law was a big win for New Mexicans affected by nuclear testing and uranium mining. But they’re also cautioning residents to not fall for potential scams that have popped up prolifically since the law was passed.

In recent days, the federal government has released guidance for downwinders, including New Mexicans, who are eligible for compensation.

Congressman: Watch out for possible scams

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District said he’s had calls from constituents approached by people claiming to be attorneys and offering to assist with RECA claims for a fee.

“That is something we don’t advise anybody in New Mexico to do,” said Vasquez, a Democrat whose district covers much of Southern New Mexico.

Although it is not improper for claimants to contract with licensed attorneys to help file a claim, in exchange for a percentage of the potential financial reparations, New Mexicans should check credentials and be cautious about sharing personal information with any organization or individual claiming to be qualified to help with RECA claims, officials said.

Given the newness of the law, the Department of Justice only issued guidance about how to submit these claims to RECA in recent days.

“What a lot of predatory folks are doing is they want a cut of this money that is rightfully due to RECA claimants,” Vasquez said.

New Mexico lawmakers and others had asked the DOJ to put out the guidance as quickly as possible, given the limited time frame claimants to file.

“As you develop the necessary guidance and regulations, we encourage the Department to post for notice and comment guidance in waves, recognizing that certain parts of the program require simpler updates and can be implemented immediately,” wrote U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, and Mike Crapo, R- Idaho, in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

State officials are working to make sure information and technical assistance is available to help fill out claims. Vasquez’s office will offer mobile office hours to help put claims together.

Deadline to file a RECA claim

July 16 marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. government’s detonation of the world’s first nuclear device at Trinity Site, located about 35 miles south of Socorro and 50 miles north of Tularosa. Despite the hazards, local residents were not warned or evacuated from the region.

RECA compensation for downwinders across New Mexico and other locations across the country was approved as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

The expanded eligibility for filing a downwinders compensation claim covers people who lived in any county in New Mexico during the designated time frame and were diagnosed with one of the cancers listed in the bill. Eligibility is not limited to people who lived near Trinity Site.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, explained the law’s extension allowing for New Mexicans to file claims lasts only through Dec. 31, 2027. Claimants must file before then to have a chance at receiving compensation.

The consortium lobbied for years to include New Mexicans as eligible for RECA funds, supporting multiple bills in Congress that failed to pass.

People who are eligible as downwinders must have lived, worked or gone to school in New Mexico for at least one year between Sept. 24, 1944 and Nov. 6, 1962 and have had at least one of the 19 compensable cancers, according to a notice from U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján.

In addition to the downwinders, people in the northwest part of New Mexico who worked in uranium mines, also during a specified time window in the 20th century, are included in the July 3 expansion. If they became ill with certain diseases, they may qualify for a $100,000 lump sum under RECA, “as well as an additional $50,000 plus medical benefits from Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act,” according to Luján’s office.

Yet another category of claimants includes “on-site participants,” those who worked at or near the Trinity Test Site in 1945 and developed a qualifying disease, according to Lujan’s office.

Cordova said the DOJ is in the process of re-establishing staff and ramping up RECA because the previous version of the program expired in 2024. In addition to New Mexicans, the new expansion adds a cohort of people in zip codes around St. Louis, Kentucky and Tennessee who aren’t downwinders of a test site but are downwinders of nuclear storage or waste sites. The DOJ has to set up a new program to address that cohort, as well, which holds up the process.

“If you submit a claim and it’s rejected, there are three opportunities, then you are never allowed to submit again,” she explained.

Cordova said people don’t need to hire an attorney or outside organization to file a claim. It’s about accessing documentation and filling out paperwork, and there will be people trained to help with the process.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” she said.

Attorneys can charge a fee of 2% when they help with a claim, but if that claim is rejected, they can charge 10 percent on the next filing.

Cordova said she is hearing from people who are getting phone calls from people saying: “I understand you had cancer, and we can help you qualify for RECA.” She is concerned about how those companies are getting medical records. She advises using caution in accepting any offers. Scammers could be trying to take advantage of New Mexicans, Cordova said.

“If you turn over all this sensitive information, you don’t even know who you are turning it over to,” she said. “It could be people trying to steal identities, and you are likely going to get scammed. No one should be working with any organization outside of New Mexico.”

‘It’s horrible’

Cordova and TBDC worked for more than 20 years to get compensation for the downwinders of the Trinity Test in southern New Mexico, and she is horrified about the apparent misdirection that is happening to people.

“It’s horrible because I think people feel like they have waited so long they just want to do it,” she said. “They are afraid that there will be no money. But there is going to be adequate resources, both in help to file claims and in the money that is available.”

Loretta Anderson is co-founder of the Southwest Uranium Miners Coalition Post-71 and an adamant advocate of RECA compensation for affected miners.

“I cannot believe it,” she said. “I am amazed how people have just jumped on this and they are just scamming out people. They are coming door to door (at Laguna Pueblo), harassing with phone calls and emails and even having meetings in the Grants area.”

Entities from out of state, including attorneys and home health organizations, are offering to share information and sign people up for RECA compensation. Home health organizations are trying to take advantage of the fact the compensation for the miners includes health care, she said.

Anderson said some people are being told the only way to apply is with a qualified attorney, which is not true. New Mexicans may choose to work with an attorney at their own discretion, but it’s not required.

“It’s just so disheartening, all these years we worked so hard,” Anderson said. “The ones (organizations) that are from New Mexico are not doing this. It’s coming from the outside. Help do it in the right way – that’s all I’m asking. Don’t deceive our people. They have already been deceived enough.”

If you’ve been targeted with fraud

Potentially deceptive websites pop up when searching Google and other search engines for keywords like “downwinders,” “RECA compensation,” and “uranium workers.” New Mexicans seeking information on the web should understand that no matter how professional those websites appear, they should not enter any personal information into them, advocates said.

“New Mexicans should be aware that claim filings in New Mexico are not yet available, and anyone claiming the ability to file a claim on your behalf is likely fraudulent,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a news release.

Resources include:

Anyone feeling they have been approached with a fraudulent offer or have encountered undue coercion should contact the New Mexico Department of Justice’s office through a portal at NMDOJ.gov/submit-a-complaint, or by phone at 505-490-4060.

The U.S. Department of Justice has posted RECA application instructions, and claim forms can be found at the www.justice.gov website.

Anderson can be reached at 505-274-1052 for questions regarding uranium miners’ issues.

The TBDC website is http://www.trinitydownwinders.com/ and will be on track to let possible claimants know how to apply for RECA compensation.

Elva K. Österreich is a freelance journalist working with the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative. For more info, visit www.southNMnews.org.

Staff Reports

The device designed to be tested at Trinity Site involved two steps: First there would be a conventional ignition involving TNT, and a fraction of a second later, the nuclear ignition if a chain reaction were maintained.

This two-step process created a problem. The Manhattan Project scientists and engineers were sure the TNT would ignite but were initially unsure if the plutonium core inside the device would ignite as planned. If the chain reaction failed to occur, the TNT would release the exceedingly rare plutonium. Of note, it is estimated the plutonium within the device would be valued at more than a billion dollars today.

Because of this possibility, Jumbo was designed and constructed. Originally it was 25 feet long, 10 feet in diameter and weighed 214 tons. Scientists were planning to suspend the device in the center of this huge steel barrel so it could contain the plutonium if the chain reaction failed to materialize, thus preventing the plutonium from being lost. If the test occurred as planned, Jumbo would be vaporized.

Jumbo was built in Ohio and brought by train to the now-abandoned railroad siding in Pope, N.M. It was unloaded and a specially built trailer with 64 wheels was used to slowly move Jumbo 25 miles to ground zero.

As the scientist and engineers gained confidence in the design of the device, they decided Jumbo was not needed. Jumbo was then suspended under a steel tower 800 yards from ground zero. The blast destroyed the tower, but Jumbo survived intact. The remnants of the tower location are still visible today.

When you now view Jumbo, you will notice the ends are missing. This is because in 1946, the Army attempted to destroy Jumbo by using eight 500-pound bombs. At the time, Jumbo was standing on end, and the bombs were stacked from the bottom. This asymmetrical detonation only blew the ends off but left the body intact. Just like before, Jumbo survived the explosion and lay abandoned in the desert.

Jumbo remained at the tower location until 1979, when White Sands Missile Range personnel moved it to its current location next to the entrance to ground zero. After the obelisk, Jumbo is the most visited and photographed feature available during the Trinity Site Open House.