Extractive industries are deceptive, voracious and relentless. We must be vigilant and persistent. This is our watch.

This week we learned about a company looking to restart exploration for uranium mining near Canjilon, a project that could poison the entire Chama watershed, we scrambled to participate in the ludicrous seven day public comment period on the Trump administration's bid to re-open fossil fuel extraction near Chaco Canyon, and saw there was a notice that federal agencies are reversing efforts to ban mining in the Upper Pecos, potentially opening up nearly 165,000 acres for mineral extraction. (Props to Source NM's Danielle Prokop for staying on top of all the insanity!)

This week we also filed Joint testimony at the NM Court of Appeals opposing NMOGA's appeal of the Water Quality Control Commission's 2025 rule prohibiting discharge of treated fracking waste, and, as we reported earlier, we filed a Joint Motion to Show Cause why the WATR Alliance petitioners fabricated multiple quotations from several peer reviewed scientific papers in their effort to overturn that same rule. Yesterday we again filed a second Joint Motion to Show Cause raising serious concerns about attorney conduct, including evidence that Bradfute Sayer attorneys may have claimed to represent Lea County without any documented authorization or attorney-client contract.

Just before 5pm yesterday the County attorney filed an entry of appearance for Lea County. In and of itself this does not mean that Bradfute Sayer were not authorized to represent Lea County, but its a strong indication that the petition misrepresented their relationship to the County. Who would represent a county in NM without an attorney client contract? Unheard of.

What does all of this mean? Extractive industries are deceptive, relentless and voracious. They do not follow ethical standards and disregard the law when they can get away with doing so. Hard-won protections to safeguard health, water, land and the sacred are not permanent. We must act as stewards of this earth, keeping a watchful eye over the land that nurtures us and protecting her from harm. Day after day, year after year, so that she can continue to give life to our children and our children's children, and all the beings that share this earth with us.

This is our watch. It sure is a doozy.

We need you to show up for water today, either by clicking here to send written comment to the WQCC asking them to dismiss WATR's fracking waste reuse petition and hold WATR attorney's accountable for their material misrepresentations of the science, or even better, signing up to give public comment at the hearing on Tuesday next week if you are able. The agenda affirms that the WQCC will make a determination on the petition itself, as well eight Motions to Dismiss, Show Cause for Misrepresentation, and others. This will be quite a meeting!

BLACKSTONE, A COMPANY THAT SPECIALIZES IN EXTRACTING MONEY FROM THE PEOPLE'S POCKETS, HAS ALSO PROPOSED THAT IT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO IGNORE THE LAW

Testimony filed by Blackstone and TXNM/PNM about Blackstone's failure to get permission for its merger related purchase of $400M in PNM stock presented weak and legally indefensible arguments asserting that:

1. the $400 million “PIPE” (private investment in public equity) stock purchase was separate from the merger. The record shows the opposite: the stock purchase was a condition precedent and entry fee to the merger itself. Without it, there would have been no deal, no board approval for the merger, and no shareholder vote for the merger.

2. the illegal transaction should be excused because it was “needed,” “efficient,” or financially beneficial. The law does not allow corporations to bypass statutory requirements based on convenience or business strategy. Running a red light because you’re in a hurry is still illegal. The statute does not say ‘void unless it was useful to investors.’ It says void—period.

The companies’ repeated claims about financial harm, credit downgrades, or market impacts are legally irrelevant. The statute is not a balancing test—it is a mandatory directive designed to protect ratepayers before harm occurs. If there are any financial consequences from a void transaction then ratepayers must be fully insulated – held harmless – from the imprudent acts of utility management. 

3. In case the Commission doesn't want to just excuse their illegal stock purchase, Blackstone and PNM propose an “exchange agreement” that would convert the unlawful stock acquisition into an option, allowing the TXNM/PNM to retain the $400 million while avoiding legal consequences. 

This is a textbook attempt to do indirectly what the law forbids directly. You cannot take an unlawful transaction, rename it, and keep the money. That would render the statute meaningless. If the Commission allows this, it is telling every utility: go ahead, break the law first - clean it up later. The public interest is not served by letting private equity firms rewrite the law after the fact. The public interest is served by enforcing it.

The Attorney General's office concurs. Their brief concludes:

"The legal and practical implications of a Commission determination that the PIPE transaction is void and incurable are that the PIPE transaction would have no legal effect—it would be as if it had not happened. See, e.g., BOKF, N.A. v. Unknown Heirs of Pacheco, 2025-NMSC-029, ¶ 56 (stating that, if the judgment in that case were deemed void, it would be “as if [it] never happened”). In such case, the Application submitted by the Joint Applicants would need to be re-submitted for Commission approval, including any issuance and sale of stock related to the acquisition of PNM."

In other words, if Blackstone and PNM want to make a deal they need to start over again, and try not to break the law this time.

What's the latest news about NIPSCO, the utility in Indiana where Blackstone bought a 20% share? The CEO has been put on the spot after NIPSCO locked out 1600 United Steelworkers when their contract expired. After rates have doubled or even tripled this past winter numerous consumer groups have formed and Indiana utility regulators launched an investigation into their billing practices. The article notes that "The Energy and Policy Institute, which is a non-profit watchdog organization, found that 19.7% of NIPSCO utility bills go to profit, which ranks it 12 out of 110 nationally, for the highest percentage when it comes to profit."

The next PRC open meeting at which public comment on the Blackstone case can be given is April 23rd at 10:00AM in Santa Fe or online. At recent meetings it is clear that PNM has been soliciting business associations and right-wing elected officials to make a big show of support for the Blackstone deal. We need the people to keep showing up and letting the PRC know what ratepayers think.