Project Jupiter rendering/OpenAI

In This Week's Eblast

• Submit a Written Comment to NMED by March 2nd: Hold a Public Hearing on Project Jupiter's Air Quality Permits!
• Donor Highlight
• Uranium Cases Update
• Homestake Public Meetings
• Mountain View Coalition Update
• Call to Action: New Navajo Nation EPA Regulations on Transport of Radioactive Materials & Uranium: Comments due March 9 
• Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award Nominations Being Accepted
• Dispatches from the Resistance
• Community Announcements

NMELC’s small but mighty legal team has been extremely busy lately fighting against Project Jupiter’s massive data center campus in Southern New Mexico as well as the increasing threat from renewed uranium mining on or near Pueblo and Diné communities. Read updates below on our legal work that is made possible because of your generous support. We rely on donations from supporters like you to provide free and low-cost legal services to frontline communities fighting for clean air, water and land and for community health and wellbeing. Thank you for your ongoing support in the defense of environmental justice!

Project Jupiter—Lead attorneys Kacey Hovden and Maslyn Locke, who have been working with Southern New Mexico clients for the last two years in the fight for clean and safe drinking water in Doña Ana County, were featured by two media outlets recently, raising awareness and urging community members to submit written comments to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to request a public hearing be held on the air quality permit applications for two massive natural gas power plants known as “microgrids.” These facilities will be used to power Project Jupiter, the massive data center campus being built in Santa Teresa, NM, that will impact the community’s already unhealthy air and water quality. 

Kacey and Maslyn appeared on KTAL-LP’s “Speak Up Las Cruces” live radio show and Maslyn was interviewed by 505omatic, a hyper local DIY digital news organization based in Santa Fe. Both appearances emphasized the massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions to be released, the draining of precious and scarce water supplies, and the two pending lawsuits NMELC has filed against Doña Ana County.

Join us in our fight against Project Jupiter by submitting a public comment to NMED! The deadline to submit written comments is  in FOUR DAYS—Monday, March 2nd at 11:59PM. To submit a comment, click the links below. It’s important to remember to click on both buttons, so NMED receives a comment on both the East Microgrid Air Permit and the West Microgrid Air Permit.

Our landmark battle defending clients and communities against Project Jupiter—Oracle’s massive AI Data Center—could not be done without your support! 

New Mexicans will continue to say loud and clear—New Mexico is not for sale and will not allow big tech to pollute our environment and exploit our communities. 

NMELC’s team works tirelessly to defend environmental justice alongside our clients and community and is so grateful for donors like you. 

Every donation directly supports our legal services. Donate today. 

Uranium Cases Update—NMELC Legal Director Eric Jantz submitted comments to the New Mexico Mining & Minerals Division (MMD) urging MMD to declare Laramide Resources, LTD’s mining permit application incomplete for the La Jara Mesa uranium mine – a new proposed uranium mine located on Mt. Taylor. The comments were submitted on behalf of New Mexico Mining Watch (NMMW), a statewide coalition of nonprofit, public interest and community organizations dedicated to protecting New Mexico’s land, air and water from the impacts of mineral extraction projects. NMMW represents a broad range of Native and non-Native communities affected by historic and current mining operations. The comments emphasized that Laramide’s Mining Operations and Reclamation Plan (MORP) is incomplete, technically deficient, exploratory rather than a new mine, not insurable, and lacking information on how it will protect Mt. Taylor’s cultural integrity. Mt. Taylor’s cultural, ceremonial and religious significance to the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Laguna, Diné (Navajo) People, and the Pueblo of Jemez was emphasized in the comments specifically. 

The need for protecting [Mt. Taylor’s] integrity by the strongest measures possible cannot be overstated. Failure to do so will result, at a minimum, in illegal and unconstitutional restrictions on religious freedom and, at worst, ethnocide.

Click here to read the full comments.

Homestake Mining Company Superfund Site—NMELC Staff Attorney Ann McCartney shared that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has responded to the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE) and Bluewater Valley Downstream Alliance request to renew public meetings on the Homestake reclamation work starting in April 2026. In addition, there are several upcoming public meetings about cleanup of the Homestake Superfund Site and the San Mateo Creek Basin Legacy Uranium Sites scheduled by the U.S. EPA in the Milan community. 

The Homestake Superfund site is a former uranium mill near Milan, NM, that contaminated the groundwater underneath and surrounding the extensive mill site, with uranium, selenium, nitrate and sulfite.The mill operated from 1958 to 1990 and left behind over 22 million tons of waste, requiring long-term, ongoing cleanup of groundwater and soil.

Homestake Open House & Community Meeting 

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 will hold an open house and community meeting to provide an update on the status of Superfund activities at the Homestake Mining Company National Priorities List Superfund Site.

DATE:     Tuesday, March 3, 2026

TIME:     5PM – 6PM – Open House, 6PM – 8PM – Community Meeting

LOCATION: Milan Fun Room, 405 Airport Road, Village of Milan, New Mexico 87021

EPA has begun the Sixth Five-Year Review for the Site. The Fifth Five-Year-Review for the Homestake Mining Site published in 2021 is available here and at the site repository, New Mexico State University's Grants Branch Campus Library.

Open House and Community Meeting for San Mateo Creek Basin Legacy Uranium Sites

Weds. and Thursday, March 4-5, 2026

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 will hold two open houses and community meetings to provide an update on the status of activities at the San Mateo Creek Basin Legacy Uranium Sites - Central Study Area Groundwater Investigation. The same information will be presented at both meetings. 

Representatives from the New Mexico Environment Department and New Mexico Department of Health will also be in attendance. Department of Health officials will listen to community health concerns and address health questions.

DATES: Wednesday, March 4, 2026, and Thursday, March 5, 2026

TIMES: 5PM – 6PM – Open House, 6PM – 8PM – Community Meeting

LOCATIONS: 

• March 4, 2026: Village of Milan Fun Room, 405 Airport Road, Village of Milan, NM
• March 5, 2026: Former Jay’s Bar and Grill, 4071 NM State Highway 605, NM (Approximately 9 miles north of Milan and 6 miles west of San Mateo)

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Sai Appaji, Remedial Project Manager, Phone: (214) 665-2704, Email: appaji.sairam@epa.gov
• Tom Ruiz, Community Involvement Coordinator, Phone: (214) 665-3153, Email: ruiz.thomas@epa.gov

The meeting is being held in a fully accessible facility. Should you have specific needs or questions about the facility, please contact Tom Ruiz at (214) 665-3153 or ruiz.thomas@epa.gov toll-free (800) 533-3508.

Information about the site

Mountain View Coalition Update & Call to Action—Save the Date! NMELC and the Mountain View Coalition urge community members to mark your calendars and attend the next Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board meeting on Wednesday, March 11th at 5:30PM. The Health, Environment and Equity Impacts (HEEI) Rule and the Air Board’s authority to get the Environmental Health Department (EHD) to implement the rule as it was intended has been a critical topic during recent monthly board meetings. The HEEI Rule requires EHD to only permit facilities located in overburdened areas if the industry uses Best Available Control Technology to mitigate its air pollution. 

Please sign up for public comment and tell the Air Board that: 

• Best Available Control Technology or BACT requires industry to install additional pollution control technology to improve public health when located in overburdened areas. 

• We also urge the Board to require that EHD involve the community more in its permitting process and to conduct itself with more transparency concerning who staff members are, staff responsibilities, and permitting and enforcement processes without having to file an Inspection of Public Records Act request. 

• The Air Board is created by statute—the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act—to prevent and abate air pollution in Bernalillo County. This gives the Air Board the authority to create a plan to achieve that mission – including requiring EHD to implement the HEEI rule as it was intended.

We encourage community members to show up in person if possible, but online participation is also an option. Sign up for public comment in person on the sign-in sheet by the time public comment begins, or raise your hand over zoom, or put in the chat you wish to speak during public comment. You may also email airboard@cabq.gov to request to make a comment.

Air Quality Control Board Meeting

Weds. March 11th

5:30PM

Basement Hearing Room, Plaza del Sol Building

600 Second Street NW

Albuquerque, NM 87102

Access the Zoom link on the agenda to be published 

on the Air Board website on Friday, March 6th.

Call to Action: Navajo Nation EPA Is Accepting Public Comments until March 9th on New Navajo Nation Regulations on the Transport of Radioactive Materials and Uranium 

The following was shared by Haul No! about the Feb. 25th public hearing that was scheduled for earlier this week and the March 9 public comment deadline on the new NN regulations on the transportation of radioactive waste and uranium.

The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA) is accepting comments and hosting one Public Hearing re: NEW Navajo Nation Regulations on Transport of URANIUM and RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS, a departure from the Radioactive Materials Transportation Act of 2012 that was put in place to PROHIBIT TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS.

Haul No! is calling on everyone to attend the one and only PUBLIC HEARING scheduled in Tuba City on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 and to voice your concerns.

We also ask that folks SEND COMMENTS to NNEPA before the March 9, 2026 Deadline.

The regulations are largely based on existing Federal Transport Reg’s, available on NNEPA’s website (http://navajoepa.gov).

Some simple comments you can include, or DEMAND, with your own comments:

1. Navajo Nation should PROHIBIT RADIOACTIVE TRANSPORT 100% on Navajo Nation lands where it has jurisdiction and work to implement REGULATIONS and safety requirements on State and Federal Highways.

2. HOLD ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEARINGS in each Navajo Agency and everywhere future transports may occur.

3. EXTEND THE COMMENT PERIOD until additional Public Hearings are held in each Navajo Agency. Every region matters and every voice deserves to be heard!

4. PUBLISH THE SECRET AGREEMENT with Energy Fuels!!

Public Hearing: Feb. 25, 2026, info session 8am-10am and Public Comment sessions from 1pm-4pm and 6pm-9pm at the Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites in Tuba City, Arizona.

Comment Deadline: March 9, 2026

To keep updated, follow Haul No! on Instagram.

Dooda High Pressure Slurry Ablation (HPSA) Webinar on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6pm-7:30pm, featuring a panel that includes Chris Shuey from SRIC and Teracita Keyanna from Red Water Pond Road Community. 

There are over 525 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. Currently, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency is promoting a resolution to develop a commercial partnership between the Navajo Nation and DISA Technologies to use High Pressure Slurry Ablation on uranium mine waste within the Navajo Nation. The resolution was introduced to the Eastern Navajo Land Commission and the Eastern Navajo Agency Council and was approved at their meetings, without a written resolution being provided to tribal or the public. Although described publicly as “clean up”, the technology, funding source, and regulatory pathway all show that HPSA is a uranium extraction method. The proposal is being advanced quickly without transparency, public review, or a Navajo-specific environmental analysis.

For more information and to register, go to https://www.ienearth.org/no-more-uranium-on-dine-lands/

Help NMELC fight alongside frontline impacted communities in the fight for clean air, water and land and in the protection of community health by making a donation of any size today! Thank you for your support! NMELC is a federally recognized nonprofit organization that has provided free or low cost legal services in New Mexico since 1987.

Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award

Accepting 2026 Applications Now!

We are sharing this announcement from Rachel’s Network as we have a strong connection with the organization: NMELC Executive Director Dr. Virginia Necochea is a former Catalyst Awardee and is now a current board member.

At Rachel's Network, we believe that a healthy planet and democracy requires addressing the root causes of inequity and injustice. We're proud to continue offering support and resources to those who need it the most. 

The Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award recognizes women of color* making an environmental impact in communities across the country with up to $25,000/year for three years, leadership support, networking, and public recognition. Apply, nominate, or forward this email to a potential candidate. Let's lift up movement leaders!

Applications are due by Tuesday, March 31

Nominations are due by Tuesday, March 17

Questions? Read our guidelines or email catalyst@rachelsnetwork.org. 

If you can, please help us get the word out on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads, and BlueSky. Tag a friend!

Apply here.

Nominate someone here.

* We trust the self-identification of applicants regarding their gender, race, ethnicity, and heritage. Our definition of “women” is spacious and includes those identifying as non-binary.

NM Immigrant Law Center

Constitutional Observer & Bystander Training

Friday, Feb. 27

At 6PM

From the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center:

[image from Instagram]

We’re coming together with NM House Dems and @ACLUNM to offer free trainings for community members. Join us virtually for Know Your Rights and Bystander Training!

Training Dates:

📆 February 20 @ 6:00 PM– Know Your Rights (English)

📆 February 24 @ 6:00 PM – Know Your Rights (Spanish)

📆 February 27 @ 6:00 PM – Bystander Training

These trainings are designed to inform citizens and noncitizens alike of their legal rights during interactions with federal law enforcement agencies, what to do if you feel like those rights are being violated, and how to attempt to keep interactions with agents as safe as possible.

Register here.

UNM School of Law Lecture

“The Court We Need: Why the Supreme Court is Worth

Saving—Especially From Itself”

Wednesday, March 4

From the University of New Mexico School of Law:

Join us for the 2026 United States Senator Dennis Chavez Endowed Lectureship on Law & Civil Rights, featuring Professor Stephen I. Vladeck from Georgetown University Law Center, on March 4, 2026. He will be presenting “The Court We Need: Why the Supreme Court is Worth Saving — Especially from Itself.”

March 4, 2026

Mingle & Refreshments: 5 P.M.

Lecture Begins: 5:30 P.M.

School of Law Forum

Please RSVP here: https://buff.ly/GvPVKUr

Job Posting

San Juan Citizens Alliance

Climate & Energy Program Associate

Below is a job opening shared on the Greater Chaco Coalition listserv.

San Juan Citizens Alliance is searching for a Climate and Energy Program Associate. The Climate and Energy Program Associate focuses on public outreach, education and organizing to advance campaigns to mitigate climate change by addressing fossil fuel extraction, energy production, and electricity generation and utilization in the San Juan Basin of northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado. 

Click here to read the full job description.

Support NMELC Today!

As a nonprofit law center, NMELC depends on your generosity to continue providing critical legal services to New Mexico communities who bear the brunt of environmental harm. We encourage you to donate TODAY and help us continue this work uninterrupted. Thank you!

New Mexico Environmental Law Center

P.O. Box 12931

Albuquerque, NM 87195

(505) 989-9022



nmelc.org