GRANTS - It was reported last week that the New Energy Economy group revised its proposal prior to a technical hearing at the Environmental Improvement Board meeting on Tuesday, March 2, in Santa Fe. The public hearing in regard to the proposal seeking a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions was on March 1.

    The revision is the addition of a three-year phase-in period that would initially affect major sources in electric and gas and oil industries.

    NEE Executive Director John Fogarty told the Journal last week that the revised petition now has     “specificity about how to get there.

    “We all along have been concerned about the potential impacts and want to do something that is going to work for New Mexico,” he added. An expert whom filed the testimony said the modifications do not fundamentally change the original goal, which critics, including Continental Divide Electric Cooperative, claim would raise consumer prices and damage the economy.

The petition still asks the board to adopt regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below their 1990 levels by 2020.

Changes to the proposal include:

• Increasing the emissions threshold of affected sources from 10,000 to 25,000 metric tons a year.

• Phasing in, requiring only major sources such as power plants and refineries to reduce emissions by three percent per year from 2010 levels, starting 2012.

• Letting the state Environment Department re-examine the regulations in 2014 , when it could expand them to other sectors with updated requirements.

    CDEC said yesterday that its position remains unchanged with regard to the revised New Energy petition. CDEC is in favor that control of emissions should be handled at the federal level, not the state.     “Sen. Tom Udall has assured us that comprehensive legislation will be signed into law. And we will continue to work with him, Sen. Jeff Bingaman and others to ensure fair, affordable and achievable goals are put in place,” said outgoing CDEC General Manager Richard Shirley. According to CDEC, Cibola County Manager Scott Vinson and County Commissioner Tony Gallegos are hand-delivering letters to Udall and Bingaman's Washington D.C. offices this week asking them to respond to the 1,800 petitions CDEC has delivered to them, urging realistic climate-change mandates.

PNM, which also opposed the original petition, is “assessing how the proposed changes would affect PNM and its customers,” spokesman Don Brown said.

    “We applaud that the New Energy Economy group realizes the impact their original proposal would have on the state's economy and electricity rates,” said Shirley, “but this effort doesn't seem to be the best use of taxpayer dollars when the federal government is already committed to addressing the issue.” The House passed a version of carbon trading legislation and the issue continues to be discussed in the Senate.

    A lawsuit has been filed by organizations including CDEC regarding the EIB's power to make such a     statewide requirement.