NM attorney general backs emergency petitions challenging data center's air, water permits

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has thrown his support behind two emergency petitions filed with the New Mexico Supreme Court. These petitions challenge the permitting processes for "Project Jupiter," a data center under construction in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Torrez argues that state agencies, including the Office of the State Engineer and the New Mexico Environment Department, "bent" or sidestepped legally required procedures to fast-track permits for the data center developer, Santa Teresa Capital, LLC.

The first petition, Center for Biological Diversity v. Anderson, targets State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson. It challenges the two-day approval for Santa Teresa Capital, LLC to repurpose an agricultural well for construction water, a move the Attorney General's office contends bypassed necessary public notice and hearings. The NMDOJ highlights that over 100 million gallons of groundwater have already been pumped from the drought-stricken Lower Rio Grande Basin without a scheduled hearing on a timely protest.

The second petition, New Energy Economy v. Kenney, focuses on an air permit issued by the New Mexico Environment Department for Project Jupiter's proposed power plant. The plant, intended to power the data center, would use 2,275 methane-fueled fuel cells to generate 2.46 gigawatts of electricity. The NMDOJ asserts that the NMED hearing officer inexplicably accelerated the hearing schedule, compressed deadlines for technical evidence, and denied discovery, thereby undermining due process for parties challenging the permit. Attorney General Torrez emphasized that "the same rules must apply to everyone," regardless of a corporation's financial and political influence.