Sierra Club: Rio Grande Chapter

Our weekly lobby update video will be DELAYED this week on account of rainstorm logistics. Check back on Monday for an update of all our recent activities as well as Chapter and coalition-member events you can attend for your environmental edification.

Be safe out there!

Saturday-Sunday, Oct 17-18, Wilderness First Aid Course:

Learn how to address injuries and accidents during camping or hiking trips. Great for anyone who spends time outdoors. Be prepared with life saving skills when out exploring our beautiful New Mexico!

Sign up by visiting: https://www.riograndesierraclub.org/calendar/
For more information on SOLO's curriculum, visit www.soloschools.com

Price: The price for the course is $200 per person.
Location: TBD Class times: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day
Recommended Items: A gear list will be provided approximately one week before course convening.
Signup Restrictions: The minimum age to attend this course is 14 years old.

Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Responds to Haaland Data Center Announcement

New Mexico’s progress on curbing climate pollution stands to be erased by massive data centers that emit more greenhouse gases than our largest cities. These facilities also deplete our water resources, harm our quality of life and could massively increase electric bill affordability. We support a moratorium on data centers until serious and enforceable guardrails are in place. Today we were encouraged to see gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland announce that she’d enact a moratorium on her first day, if elected, and support guardrails in the legislature....

Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Responds to Haaland Data Center Announcement - Rio Grande Chapter We support a moratorium on data centers until serious and enforceable guardrails are in place. Today we were encouraged to see gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland announce that she’d enact a moratorium on her first day, if elected, and support guardrails in the legislature.

"I have watched small farmers and acequia parciantes, people like my family, who have irrigated the same fields for generations, wait years for a hearing, while a well-lawyered, well-lobbied developer gets an answer in 48 hours. That’s not due process; that’s cronyism. It’s a system that rewards whoever can afford the best lawyers and the loudest lobbyists, at the expense of the people with the deepest roots in this land and the least capacity to fight a state agency in court." — New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez.

Torrez: Water rules must apply to Project Jupiter The attorney general says a fast-tracked water permit bypassed public hearings and due process for New Mexicans.

New Mexico’s progress on curbing climate pollution stands to be erased by massive data centers that emit more greenhouse gases than our largest cities. These facilities also deplete our water resources, harm our quality of life and could massively increase electric bill affordability. We support a moratorium on data centers until serious and enforceable guardrails are in place. Today we were encouraged to see gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland announce that she’d enact a moratorium on her first day, if elected, and support guardrails in the legislature. Our communities shouldn’t have to fight alone to protect themselves. Now that the Supreme Court has allowed Project Jupiter’s Air Pollution Permit process to go forward, this kind of policy is more important than ever.

I have fought for New Mexico’s water, land, and communities my whole career, and I always will. I support a moratorium on data centers until clear and transparent accountability measures are adopted. New Mexicans deserve a voice in protecting the resources that make our state home.

Utility regulation may sound technical. The consequences aren’t.

Decisions about rates, infrastructure, investments, and our energy system can eventually reach something very familiar: your household budget.

That connection is at the heart of Episode 2 of Energize New Mexico. We’re breaking down what happens at the PRC and why decisions made in regulatory proceedings matter far beyond the hearing room.

Watch Episode 2: https://youtu.be/dECMX8xC1FM?si=NVcDbsJjePkMLKAd

Low-producing oil and gas wells produce just 6% of the country’s oil and gas — but are responsible for roughly half of the industry’s methane pollution. Despite this, the EPA is proposing to weaken requirements to find and fix those leaks 😮

Methane, a powerful climate pollutant, leaking into the atmosphere is wasting a resource (loss of state funds) while dirtying our air. Companies shouldn’t get a free pass to pollute simply because cleaning up after themselves costs money. If you create the pollution, you should be responsible for cleaning it up🛢️🏭

Read more from Source New Mexico:
https://sourcenm.com/2026/09/14/epa-to-loosen-methane-rules-boosting-pollution-from-oil-and-gas-wells/

EPA to Loosen Methane Rules, Boosting Pollution From Oil and Gas Wells • Source New Mexico The Trump administration is poised to loosen environmental restrictions on oil and gas wells that release vast amounts of methane.

Thank you Rep. Gabe Vasquez for voting NO this week on House Republicans’ misguided and illegal attack on longstanding pollution standards for ships docked at ports and commercial vessels operating in state waters.

Repealing these clean-air protections would:
🚢 Force companies to burn more diesel
🚢 Worsen pollution for port communities
🚢 Raise prices for consumers

House Votes to Block California’s Air Pollution Rules for Ships The move continues Republican efforts to undercut the state’s climate rules, but it’s unclear whether the Senate will follow suit.