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This Original publication of this storyBy Searchlight New Mexico.
Michelle Lujan Grisham made it a promise during her 2018 election campaign toStructure the state’s water resourcesTake serious action to address the climate crisis. She supported policies to increase renewable electricity and pushed for new regulations regarding methane emissions from the oil and gas industries when she took office.
However, the path to strong environmental action has not been without its stumbling blocks. A bill to finance the governor’s 50-year water plan was voted down in the legislature in 2019. The state’s budget today is still heavily dependent on royalties and taxes from oil and natural gas. Environmental groups have accused Lujan.Grisham, of being too obnoxious.The industry has a friendly relationship.
The 2022 legislative session includes a raft of environmental bills –- from a clean fuel standard to tax credits for energy storage, renewables and electric vehicles. Numerous bills would fund water projects, and make funding available for other environmental issues.Changes to the Office of the State EngineerThe following are also under consideration: controversial Hydrogen Hub ActThe bill, if passed, would provide tax subsidies to hydrogen fuel producer in the state. Although the bill has strong support from Governor Tom Wolf, environmental groups warn that it could increase natural gas emissions.
Searchlight New Mexico met with the governor to discuss a range of environmental issues, including the future for hydrogen, the state’s fossil fuel industry, and the water crisis.
This interview has been edited to be more clear and longer.
Searchlight New Mexico:What are the benefits of a New Mexico hydrogen hub?
Michelle Lujan Grisham: It’s really good for the economy. We’ve got Sen. [Martin] Heinrich’s bill [the $1.2 trillion federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in November]$8 billion in investments to hydrogen. We’ve got the Department of Energy being really clear that this is an area they want to go.
I don’t base my decisions solely on economic outcomes. I must balance that with environmental concerns. Diversifying the economy is not only something we’re really good at. We have the right infrastructure for it — natural gas and coal-fired power plants, Which can be converted [to hydrogen].
More:New Mexico bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions is resisted by the oil and gas industry
Searchlight:What would a hydrogen hub look like?
MLG:Communities of color are the most affected in high-energy states like New Mexico. They are the ones who will be hardest hit by a robust transition to clean, sustainable energy. This is a way of addressing environmental issues, growing the economy, and protecting the most vulnerable, at-risk workers. One example: If we do it right, a thousand Navajo workers could see a boom in San Juan County.
Searchlight:What about the environmental impact?
MLG:To meet our 2030 targets, decarbonizing transportation is one the most powerful tools we have. I plan to see that legislation is passed for the entire state. By 2050, every sector must be carbon neutral.
Hydrogen is, in our opinion, a powerful tool in that effort. Not in lieu of wind and solar and geothermal or healthy soils or conservation — but in addition. So we are looking at transportation. It’s a good pivot.
Searchlight: There’s a lot of debate about the different types of hydrogen, with growing evidence that blue hydrogen – which is produced with natural gas – is in fact not low-carbon.
More:Fossil fuel a gift?’ New Mexico Legislature: Hydrogen power struggles towards policy
MLG:Hydrogen as a building block for decarbonizing transportation is important. We should not be in a position where we use all of one thing. We should be able to move as quickly as possible with new innovations and technologies.
The federal government incentivizes states to race for the top, and this is why I am competing with Louisiana. I’ll tell you that we can be greener and better — and [Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards]They will tell ya that they can be more efficient because they have larger pipeline infrastructure.
This is what this means [competition]What does it do? It creates innovation for the best environment.
Searchlight: Many residents of Carlsbad and Farmington are concerned that this hydrogen investment is only a way to keep the fossil fuel industry afloat. You have supported growth in the industry in the past, for example you signed on to a letter supporting the export of New Mexican liquid natural gas (LNG) globally.
MLG: Well, they’re here.
I mean, it’d be great if in 1930 we’d thought about this a little differently. But we didn’t. We didn’t listen to environmental and scientific experts in 1960.
Now we have an obligation…to countries that are still burning the dirtiest coal possible. This includes showcasing the U.S. market for energy. But it’s also to make sure that we’re creating an opportunity to decarbonize the carbon intensity in other countries where we are not seeing that.
More:New Mexico legislators support carbon injection from coal-powered power in their bill
Searchlight:Are you confident that the state can continue to produce oil and gas at its current level while still meeting its climate goals?
MLG:Probably, and frankly, we could. The better question is, should we? The faster we move to transition, and the quicker we get the transition lines in place, the more we are using right. The faster we can export renewables or cleaner energy systems, the better.
We should be the most environmentally-friendly state in the country. We are the nation’s second largest oil and natural gas producers. This is an interesting juxtaposition. The problem is that although there is a lot of oil-and-gas activity on public lands, there are also plenty of private lands. Producers have the option to go across Texas to pull that all out with fewer regulations. You can flare there. Freshwater can be used. And we are impacted.
Searchlight:A new state law mandates that methane gas emissions be reduced by 98% by 2026. Does New Mexico have the resources to enforce these new regulations, given that your predecessor, Susanna Martinez, significantly cut regulations and staffing at the state’s environmental agencies?
MLG:Did she have any? [environmental regulations]? I certainly didn’t have any staff in any of the departments when I came in.
If it’s about manpower we don’t have it. There are 83,000 job openings in the state. There is a workforce revolution underway. This is why we need to use technology.
We have the strictest methane standards, which are being enforced by the feds. If you don’t have that, you can’t get to clean hydrogen. And I keep bragging about it even though it isn’t here yet. We aren’t quite there yet for deployment, but the components are pretty ready. We expect the industry will clean it up.
Searchlight:Okay, I want to jump into the water.
MLG: [Laughing]Do you know where a lot water is located? You could take me there if you would.
Searchlight: You’ve said before that we are in a water crisis. What does that look from your perspective?
MLG:We are not in extreme drought. We are in the process acidification. It’s only what we see that appears like extreme drought. Santa Fe was where I grew up, and there was no wind. [here]. It wasn’t so dry, it wasn’t that hot, and it wasn’t that windy.
We are running out of water because we are drawing at a rate nobody anticipated — and it’s all related to the climate crisis. We’re a small country so we’ve relied on the bizarre notion that we have plenty of water. Because water is the one resource you must have — and it’s the one resource we’re running out of all around the world.
Searchlight: A couple months ago, State Engineer John D’Antonio resigned, citing a lack of resources for his department. He stated that your office had requested that the agency submit an annual flat budget for several years.
MLG: I don’t know why he would say that. I haven’t asked anyone to submit a flat budget — and if you look at all the other departments none of them has asked for a flat budget. There is no such memo.
We need to revise the design of the engineer’s desk. John D’Antonio is one of maybe a handful of New Mexicans who would qualify to be the state engineer because you have to be an engineer. [A bill under consideration in the legislature this month would expand the qualifications for the state engineer, allowing scientists in certain water-related disciplines and lawyers to be appointed to the position.]
We were fortunate to have him. However, as a state engineer you don’t do policy. You provide expertise to lawyers, who then become involved in litigation. I need a policy-person. I need a 50-year water policy. I want to know the location of the water. We must also conserve the environment. This is a state which doesn’t do enough conservation.
On February 2, Gov. Lujan Grisham appoints Mike Hamman as her new state engineer.
Searchlight New MexicoThis non-partisan news organization is dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico.
