Each year, the Conservation Voters of New Mexico release a Legislative Scorecard breaking down the votes on key bills impacting the enivornment.  The scorecard is an invaluable tool in holding the legislature accountable for their environmental votes.

The CVNM also rates the Governor. This year, the CVNM gave Richardson an "A":

The CVNM Scorecard recognizes Governor Bill Richardson with a solid "A" for his commitment to protecting the environment. The Governor weighed in behind a strong renewable energy agenda in 2007 and exercised his veto power on several anti-conservation measures, including a line-item veto of $945,000 for "Gila basin water development", and a pocket-veto of SB 220 that would have provided a de facto $6.9 million subsidy to the coal industry.

Richardson's leadership for New Mexico on climate change has included:

· signing a 5-state Western Regional Climate Action Initiative MOU with Governors of California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington committing to set regional greenhouse gas reduction goal and establish regional market-based mechanism for achieving the goal http://www.governor.state.nm.us/press/20 07/feb/022607_01.pdf

· becoming the first state to join the Chicago Climate Exchange to state reduce greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.governor.state.nm.us/press/20 05/sept/091605_1.pdf

· creating a Climate Change Advisory Group and stakeholder process to develop recommendations for achieving emissions reduction targets. http://www.governor.state.nm.us/orders/2 005/EO_2005_033.pdf

· mandating some of the toughest greenhouse gas reduction targets in the country. The Climate Change Advisory Group process and recommendations - started implementing some of their recommendations, including commitment to adopt California clean tailpipe standards. http://www.governor.state.nm.us/orders/2 006/EO_2006_069.pdf

· joining the largest national effort to take action in global climate change, which measures, tracks, verifies and reports greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.governor.state.nm.us/press/20 07/may/050807_01.pdf

One of the most contentious environmental issues in New Mexico presently is the proposal by Desert Rock Energy Company, LLC, to construct a 1,500 MW coal-fired electric power plant in cooperation with Diné Power Authority (DPA), an enterprise of the Navajo Nation.  Power would be sold to utilities in Phoenix and Las Vegas.

To be constructed on the Navajo Nation, the plant would be cleaner than most existing coal-fired plants.  Desprite this the plant would generate 12 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.  The project would also generate substantial and needed economic development for the Navajo Nation not only during the construction of the $3 billion plant but also once in operation.

Enormous political pressure has been put on Richardson to support the project.  As noted by the Economist:

Richardson is on a political tightrope. The Navajo president, Joe Shirley, and the tribe's elected governing council overwhelmingly favour the facility. They say it will bring jobs to the more than 200,000 Navajo who live on the reservation, where half of adults are unemployed and the average household earns less than $8,000 a year. The project would also extend $50m annually to the tribe from tax and royalty revenues--money that can be channelled into health, education and other services, according to Mr Shirley's spokesman.

But critics, including many Navajos on the reservation, say the jobs the development will offer (1,000 construction jobs and 400 permanent ones) won't be plentiful or high-paying enough to offset the environmental damage the facility and an associated coal mine will cause. Ray Begaye, a Democratic state representative and a Navajo, worries that the new power plant will suck water out of the area's aquifer and contaminate it with mercury and other toxins.

The New York Times called the dispute over Desert Rock "a homegrown version of the global debate on slowing climate change""

Developed countries are trying to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the most ubiquitous gas usually linked to climate change, and argue that rapidly growing nations like India and China should avoid building coal-fired power plants. The critics' targets say it is unfair to keep them from powering their way to prosperity with cheap and abundant coal.

In the New York Times article, Tom Johns, a vice president of the developer of the plant, asserts Desert Rock would be part of the solution for climate change:

Carbon is emitted when we use energy. By not building one plant but another or by using older inefficient plants instead of new ones, we don't solve the problem. The solution to carbon issues is to be more efficient in how we use energy.

While the tribal council supports Desert Rock, the Navajo community is split. Opposition among the Navajo to Desert Rock is being led by a group called Dooda - No Desert Rock which has joined forces with the local chapter of the Sierra Club. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other local groups like the San Juan Citizens' Alliance are also opposed.  

Plans for the plant are being reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.  The state of New Mexico has no direct oversight of the project and can not halt it.  Nevertheless the Richardson administration has voiced its opposition.  As noted in the New York Times:

Richardson's staff recently issued a statement saying that the plant "would be a significant new source of greenhouse gases and other pollution in the region" and that Mr. Richardson "believes, as planned, it would be a step in the wrong direction," undoing his proposed reductions in emissions.

Today, Governor Richardson issued the following statement on Desert Rock:

I am gravely concerned about the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Desert Rock Energy Facility. I firmly believe, as currently proposed, the Desert Rock Energy Facility would be a step in the wrong direction.

I received the results of a scientific review done by the New Mexico Environment Department of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Desert Rock Energy Facility. The EIS fails to adequately address a number of the State's serious concerns. As planned, this new facility will adversely impact air quality, exacerbate existing environment problems, and negatively impact scarce surface and ground water resources. Because Desert Rock has potential statewide impacts, I called for additional hearings on the draft EIS to be held in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Per my direction, the New Mexico Environment Department has submitted tough comments to the Bureau of Indian Affairs outlining these serious concerns.

Each new conventional coal plant built without significant carbon dioxide controls is a step backwards and does not move us towards a future of more safe and efficient energy use. The estimated 12 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted each year from the Desert Rock Energy Facility would increase New Mexico greenhouse gas emissions by about 15 percent, making my aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals difficult - if not impossible - to meet.

I believe we need to be moving forward, toward new carbon capture ready technologies for power generation, not back to the old dirty coal plants of the past. My administration has taken steps to ensure that any new coal-fired power plants built in New Mexico include the latest carbon clean gasification methods, making up to $60 million dollars in tax credits available for coal plants that capture at least 60% of carbon emissions.

I hope that the Navajo Nation considers these important concerns of the State and strives to address them. I respect the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation and the rights of tribal governments to determine their economic futures and to pursue positive change within their communities. I understand the dire economic conditions and high unemployment rates on the reservation and respect the Navajo leadership's courage and commitment to bettering the lives of its citizens. While each sovereign may disagree or have concern regarding the other's action, it should not pose a barrier to communicating and discussing those concerns on a government-to-government basis.

To that end, I am directing high-level representatives from my Administration to conduct formal discussions with the Navajo Nation to ensure that the State's concerns regarding this project are understood and considered at this critical stage of the process.