New Mexico In Court Over Groundwater Rules For Copper Mines
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
New Mexico is going to court over a regulation governing groundwater at copper mines. Critics say the regulation is weak and could harm the environment.
Attorney General Gary King and other opponents of a new rule "have gone to the state Court of Appeals in an effort to get it overturned," the Albuquerque Journal recently reported.
The rule passed in a 9-1 vote at the state Water Quality Control Commission in September. Originally proposed by the Environment Department, it is scheduled to take effect in December.
The Environment Department said the rule "provides stringent design features for new mining facilities and for expansions of existing mining facilities." It covers criteria for closing a mine, among other issues.
"Copper mining in the Silver City area has not had any adverse impacts on the area’s water quality," the department said.
The attorney general, backed by environmentalists, disagrees. He claims the rule will allow high levels of contaminants to enter the state's groundwater.
“The Copper Mine Rule violates the state Water Quality Act because it allows for groundwater underneath copper mine sites to be contaminated at levels above groundwater quality standards,” Attorney General Gary King said in a statement.
King said that, if implemented, the rule would threaten the safety of tap water. “Ninety percent of New Mexicans rely on groundwater for drinking water and this new rule, if allowed to be implemented, could render our water undrinkable for hundreds of years.”
The rule was contentious before it passed. "The state’s mining industry was supportive of the regulations, but environmental special interest groups contend they will open up New Mexico to more groundwater pollution at copper mines, rather than actually preventing pollution," MineWeb reported.
An analysis in the Santa Fe New Mexican summarized the major criticism of the rules: "Currently, state law prohibits pollution of groundwater above water quality standards by any industry, but the Environment Department has provided some exceptions through variances. The proposed new rule would let copper mine operations contaminate groundwater without variances, as long as the contamination was contained and fully removed up to state standards before the mine closed."
Environmental groups say the state catered to industry interests when it passed the regulation. "King and the other plaintiffs claim the New Mexico Environment Department sided with mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold when it crafted the final rule and presented it to the commission. They say the rule is unconstitutional and violates the mandate to prevent water pollution," The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
An analysis piece in High Country News provided a take on the historical context of the regulation: "The copper rule's undoing follows a larger trend in New Mexico," it said. "Historically a leader in groundwater protection, New Mexico spent the last decade gradually strengthening its rules for major polluters. But since taking power in 2011, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration has aggressively attacked environmental protections. The copper rule is the latest reform, and potentially the most damaging."