SUPPORT New Mexico SB 149
(formerly SB 459 & SB 104)
Hydraulic Fracturing Permits & Reporting
#PauseOnFracking
Support a Fracking Pause in New Mexico (SB 149)
PROHIBIT NEW FRACKING LICENSES
SB 149 moves forward to Senate Judiciary Committee
For the first time human history,
we are disappearing fresh water resources
forever via the fracking process.
Current Sponsors: Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero
Short Synopsis:
SB 149 calls on the constitutional obligation of the New
Mexico Legislature to control pollution and protect the air, water and other natural resources
of this state. In line with the executive order from President Biden pausing new federal oil
and gas leases to analyze the cumulative impacts of fracking, SB 149 places a four-year
moratorium on new oil and gas permits wherein the Energy Minerals Natural Resources
Department, Department of Agriculture, Environment Department, Department of Health,
Office of the State Engineer, Indian Affairs Department, and Workers Compensation
Administration are directed to report on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, as well as
provide recommendations for legislation and appropriations to conduct analysis.
New Mexico is 'disappearing' fresh water at a high rate,
from the hydrological cycle.
At a time of climate crisis and extreme drought
the state food production is now being impacted.
How much water is New Mexico
actually making disappear via fracking operations?
What percent of your state’s water is lost?
And what are the future projections?
UNM Law Professor Cliff Villa to speak at the
New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee on Senate Bill 149
- University of New Mexico Associate Professor of Law
Frontline committees who are sick and dying are experiencing disparate impacts from oil and gas. The lack of funding is problematic. It consistent with the continual practice and culture of systemic racism by which NM Legislature has cut funding to departments by 40% hindering the needed inspections, testing and ability to mitigate impacts. These issues impact frontline communities who are being disenfranchised by the denial of public comments and the appearance of corporate influence from campaign contributions on legislative voting.
New Mexico can stop new fracking permits to protect
our health, environment and people.
Leases and permits have been stockpiled.
Revenues will continue.
New Mexico can be a world leader in renewable energy development and economic reform
by pausing all new fracking permits on state lands
and addressing the impacts on frontline communities.
Professor Cliff Villa to speak at the
NM Senate Judiciary on Senate Bill 149
Professor Villa brings extensive practice experience to the UNM law school community, having served for 22 years as legal counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, first with EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and later with EPA Regional offices in Denver, Colorado, and Seattle, Washington. Over time, his EPA practice included administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement of federal laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. For the last eight years of his practice, Professor Villa served as legal officer for the EPA's emergency response program, providing on-call legal assistance for federal responses to hazardous waste sites, oil spills, natural disasters, and other major concerns.
In 2006, Professor Villa joined the adjunct faculty at Seattle University School of Law, where he taught courses in environmental law and developed new courses including Disaster Law. As a lawyer and academic, he has spoken at conferences throughout the United States as well as in Spain and Latin America, and he has published scholarly work in places including the Harvard Environmental Law Review and the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.
As a federal attorney, Professor Villa received multiple awards for commendable service from the EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2008, recognizing his contributions to public service as both an attorney and educator, he received the Modelo de Excelencia award from the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington. In 2009, Professor Villa was honored with the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award from Seattle University School of Law. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Environmental Law Graduate award from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Professor Villa received his J.D.. from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of New Mexico. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, with local roots tracing back to the Atrisco Land Grant of 1692.
In the News
- Protecting Endangered Species, KUNM Let's Talk New Mexico (August 27, 2019)
- Here and There with David Marash, KSFR (February 17, 2016)
- The Animas River spill, KSFR (August 20, 2015)
- Who Pays for Animas and San Juan River Cleanup, KUNM (August 20, 2015)
- Gold King Mine in Silverton, Colorado, KOAT (August 12, 2015)
- Experto explica como el derrame puede afectar a la comunidad, Entravision (August 12, 2015)
Law School News
Law Professor Cliff Villa leads effort to update book on environmental justice
May 8, 2020Professor Cliff Villa Selected as 2018 Haub Environmental Law Distinguished Junior Scholar
October 26, 2018Legal Planet Features UNM Law Professor Cliff Villa as Guest Blogger
May 18, 2018A Practical Introduction to Environmental Law was published just in time for Professor Cliff Villa to use in his Environmental Law class this semester
September 27, 2017Two UNM Law Professors participate in DAPL talk by renowned activist
March 24, 2017
UNM School of Law Professor Cliff Villa is adding to the growing influence of the law school’s Natural Resources and Environmental Law (NREL) program with the release of Environmental Justice: Law, Policy, & Regulation, Third Edition, which was recently published by Carolina Academic Press of Durham, N.C. (ISBN, 978-1-5310-1238-0; e-ISBN978-1-5310-1239-7).
The book explores theories and practices in this dynamic subject, which fuses environmental law and civil rights enforcement and addresses everything from early concerns over toxic waste in minority communities to disaster justice and has been expanded to consider the range of environmental threats facing poor, immigrant, and indigenous communities; women, children, and seniors; and other vulnerable populations.
This third edition also provides extensively updated materials to address environmental justice concerns in current times, including oil drilling in the Arctic, the Dakota Access Pipeline, drinking water contamination in Flint, and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
“The second edition was very successful, but it came out in 2009,” said Professor Villa, who served as the lead author for the third edition. “For the third edition, we wanted to make the most up-to-date book on environmental justice for both students and practitioners of environmental justice. We also wanted to demonstrate that environmental justice is not just about identifying problems of environmental injustice, but about solving problems.”
The updated book also includes new chapters that address disaster justice and food justice as well as expanding coverage of environmental enforcement, contaminated sites, climate justice, and environmental justice in Indian country – all with an eye towards identifying modern challenges and available tools for the continuing pursuit of environmental justice.
New Mexico Ethics Watch Report
The Continuing Influence of the Oil and Gas Industry In New Mexico in 2020
A new report by New Mexico Ethics Watch, money from oil and gas interests to New Mexico politicians and political organizations continued to flow, with almost $3.3 million from the industry going to political causes during this past election cycle..
We need to stop the ongoing fracking pollution impacts to protect our communities while a plan is developed.
We need to rethink our reliance on fossil fuels regarding the revenue for education.
The conundrum for lawmakers is that while
fossil fuel contributes to state educational revenues,
it destroys our children's future through the climate crisis.
We must pause fracking to plan for a better future.
Take action by sending a letter to Legislators
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