ACTIVE CONCERNS
Current areas of focus
BLM We believe the BLM is about to propose, following publication of the Rio Puerco Resource Management Plan at the end of this year, to lease another 800 acres of BLM land for gravel mining in a move that is inconsistent with Sandoval County’s Placitas Area Plan. As a result we would have 5 of the largest 14 mines in the state within a 6 mile radius of Placitas. The encroachment of mining has damaged the natural environment and tarnished Placitas’ appeal. The community fears that new mining on the BLM Buffalo Parcel will further damage the environment, drive out residents, halt in-migration, diminish positive statewide economic impacts, and compromise market value for everyone but mining interests. Phrased differently, New Mexico cannot afford the non-economic job losses resulting from this scenario. We need the Governor to “just say NO!”
On February 28, 2023, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) introduced the Buffalo Tract Protection Act to withdraw four parcels of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in southern Sandoval County, including the Buffalo Tract and the Crest of Montezuma, from any mineral development, including gravel mining. U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) are original cosponsors.
“The surrounding community is united in their opposition to gravel mining on these public lands that serve as critical wildlife connections between the Sandia Mountains to the south and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north,” said Heinrich, member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “The protection of New Mexico’s land and water is integral to our cultures, ways of life, and the protection of our natural resources,” said Stansbury, member of the House Natural Resources Committee. “Working collaboratively with our Tribal and Pueblo communities, residents of Sandoval County, and local stakeholders who have overwhelmingly voiced their concerns about mining on culturally and ecologically sensitive lands, I am proud to re-introduce the Buffalo Tract Protection Act to protect the sacred and ancestral lands of San Felipe Pueblo and Santa Ana Pueblo, safeguard the health of our communities, and preserve our ecosystems for generations to come.”
The Bills that were introduced in the Senate and the House are no longer called “Buffalo Tract Protection Act”, they are now called, “To Withdraw certain Bureau of Land Management land from mineral development”
Vulcan Mine (a/k/a Lafarge Mine) Located on the I-25 east frontage road, 1.5 miles north of 165, this property (initially 1000 acres, then reduced to 821) has been under a gravel lease since 1973. Initially granted rights to mine under a 1988 Certificate of Nonconformance when it was permitted for a 5 day, 8 hour operation, it has grown to now be permitted to operation 12+ hours per day 7 days per week. At ES-CA urging, the county sent Lafarge a notice of violations in June 2013, and filed suit for enforcement in April, 2014. In November 2015, Vulcan Materials negotiated a new lease for the property (now owned by Seattle-based Mt Adams). ES-CA requested that the suit be amended and that we be permitted to intervene in support of the County, and in August 2016, the court agreed. Finally, in July 2017 and with the full support of the County Commissioners, we were able to get into face to face negotiations with principals of all parties and hammer out an agreement approved August 10, 2017 (Settlement__08-10-17) in which mining will complete in 9 years and all reclamation completed 9 months later (May 2027). ES-CA and its LPT will continue to work with Vulcan, Mt Adams and the County over that period to ensure any issues are appropriately addressed.