State Receives $3.6 Million for Pollution Cleanups and Natural Resource Restoration Related to Former Asarco Mining and Smelting Operations

[Released - January 21, 2010]

The State of New Mexico received $3.6 million in bankruptcy settlements of environmental contamination by Asarco LLC. within the state for sites related to the company’s mining business. More...

Governor Bill Richardson Announces Retirement of Natural Resources Trustee Jim Baca, Environment Secretary Ron Curry to Serve as Interim Trustee

[Released - December 21, 2009]

Governor Richardson today announced that New Mexico’s Natural Resources Trustee Jim Baca is retiring effective December 31st after more than 20 years in public service. Additionally, Governor Richardson announced he has appointed Environment Secretary Ron Curry to serve as interim Trustee. More...

Governor Bill Richardson and Natural Resource Trustee Jim Baca Announced that Cleanup of Nitrate-Polluted Groundwater in the South Valley is Underway
[Released - June 30 , 2009]

Governor Bill Richardson and Natural Resource Trustee Jim Baca announced that cleanup of nitrate-polluted groundwater in the South Valley is underway.  The polluted groundwater is located in Albuquerque’s South Valley east of the Rio Grande near the mouth of the Tijeras Arroyo. More...

Governor Bill Richardson Announces Projects to
Restore Water Resources in Albuquerque’s South
Valley
[Released - July 2, 2008]

Governor Bill Richardson and Natural Resource Trustee Jim Baca today announced the implementation of two projects that will restore water resources in Albuquerque’s South Valley.   The projects will be funded from $4.8 million in settlement funds from corporations involved in the South Valley Superfund site. More...

Turtles, Tortoises and Trees Will Make Home Near Pond at Whitfield
[Valencia County News-Bulletin - March 22, 2008]

The Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area is a work in progress.  Last Saturday, a band of volunteers - ranging from members of the Valencia County Xeriscape Club to a pack of Cub Scouts - planted 565 cottonwood, screwbean mesquites and New Mexico Olive Trees.  And a Pond has been created that will soon be home turf to a troupe of tortoises, turtles and trout.  More...

Settlement Will Fund Mountain View Cleanup
[Albuquerque Journal - November 6, 2007]

The New Mexico Office of the Natural Resources Trustee officially has decided to use a $4.8 million Superfund settlement to clean up Mountain View's groundwater.  The office had made that recommendation in September but waited until the end of October, after collecting public input, to make the final decision. More...

Plan Puts Cash Towards Water Cleanup

[Albuquerque Journal - September 19, 2007]

The best use of part of a $4.8 million Superfund settlement is making Mountain View's groundwater safe for the first time in decades, according to a draft plan for using the money. The plan, offered up by the New Mexico Office of the Natural Resources Trustee and issued to the public last week, says the money should be used to eliminate a nitrate plume in the aquifer just south of the South Valley Superfund site. More...

Plan Would Leave Settlement Funds in Curry County
[Albuquerque Journal - March 21, 2007]

A proposal calls for a settlement for environmental damage in Curry County to be used to restore playa lakes there, rather than to restore lakes near Roswell. More...

Deadline Nears for Superfund
[Albuquerque Journal - January 18, 2007]

The public has until the end of the month to submit ideas to the state for how a $4.8 million Superfund settlement should be spent at the South Valley site.  Although a public meeting Tuesday at the Mountain View Community Center was the last one of a series of three to take public comment, residents can still contribute ideas in writing until Jan. 31. More...

Improvements Planned for Cebolleta Wastewater Treatment Plants
[Released July 7, 2006]  [Cibola County Beacon - July 10, 2006]

Governor Bill Richardson and Martin Heinrich, the State Natural Resources Trustee, today announced a $30,000 initiative to repair and improve wastewater treatment facilities at two sites on the Cebolleta Land Grant north of Laguna. Funding for this project was acquired as part of a settlement with SOHIO Western Mining Company stemming from alleged groundwater contamination at the SOHIO L-Bar uranium tailings facility. More...

Water-Guzzling Plants Being Removed at Los Lunas Bosque
[FreeNewMexican.com - March 10, 2006]

Water-guzzling salt cedar, Russian olive and Siberian elm trees are being removed from 70 acres of the cottonwood forest known as the bosque along the Rio Grande in Los Lunas.  The main goal is to conserve water, but officials say the work also will improve water quality and wildlife habitat while reducing fire danger in the overgrown bosque. More...

Governor Richardson & Natural Resources Trustee Martin Heinrich Announce Rio Grande Bosque Restoration in Valencia County
[Released March 10, 2006]

Governor Bill Richardson and New Mexico Natural Resources Trustee Martin Heinrich have provided funding to conserve groundwater in the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park located in Albuquerque.  More...

Governor Richardson & Natural Resources Trustee Restore Rio Grande Nature Center State Park
[Released March 16, 2005]

Governor Bill Richardson and New Mexico Natural Resources Trustee Jim Baca have provided funding to conserve groundwater in the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park located in Albuquerque.  “This is a further commitment of my administration to protecting our water, endangered species and landscapes for future New Mexicans,” Governor Bill Richardson said.  More...

Governor Richardson Announces Settlement with Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway to Cleanup Albuquerque Superfund Site
[Released September 28, 2004]

Governor Bill Richardson and Natural Resources Trustee Jim Baca have announced a settlement agreement under which the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) will cleanup the AT&SF Albuquerque Superfund Site. The settlement was reached in a cooperative effort with BNSF, the Department of the Interior - Fish and Wildlife Service, and the New Mexico Office of Natural Resource Trustee.   More...

Governor Richardson & Natural Resources Trustee Partner with Mid-Region Council of Governments for Bosque Restoration Project
[Released September 13, 2004]

Governor Bill Richardson and New Mexico Natural Resources Trustee Jim Baca today announced a partnership with the Mid Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) to implement an $800,000 Rio Grande Bosque restoration project.  More...

This page last updated July 16, 2009