NewMexicoMatters.com

EPA grants air quality permit for Desert Rock - New Mexico Business Weekly:

Link: EPA grants air quality permit for Desert Rock - New Mexico Business Weekly: .

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued an air permit for a 1,500-megawatt coal plant that Sithe Global Power LLC and the Navajo nation plan to build south of Farmington in northwest New Mexico.

Gov. Bill Richardson's administration said it plans to appeal the EPA decision.

Sithe and the Navajo-owned Diné Power Authority have been struggling for four years to get an air permit for the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant -- a $3 billion project that will supply electricity to neighboring states.

Sithe and Diné sued the EPA earlier this year to make a decision on the permit, which, according to federal regulations, should have been issued within one year after the companies filed their permit application in 2003. In June, the EPA issued a consent decree to reach a decision by July 31, at the latest.

Sithe and Navajo officials praised the EPA decision as a major milestone in moving the project forward.

"It's a huge step forward," said Frank Maisano, spokesman for Sithe Global's subsidiary, Desert Rock Energy Co. "The Navajo Nation has been waiting for this a long time. It's a matter of economic opportunity and tribal sovereignty for the Navajos."

Hillary nixed from short list

Link: TheHill.com - Clinton for veep group says she’s out of the running.

VoteBoth.com, a website created by former aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to push her as presidential candidate Barack Obama’s running mate, is shutting down because Clinton is “no longer under consideration.”

Eclipse Aviation founder, CEO resigns - SantaFeNewMexican.com

Link: Eclipse Aviation founder, CEO resigns - SantaFeNewMexican.com.

ALBUQUERQUE — Eclipse Aviation founder and chief executive officer Vern Raburn has stepped down and has been replaced by the man who heads the cash-strapped jet manufacturer's European partner and is chairman of the company's board.

Roel Pieper, who also is chairman of the European Technology and Investment Research Center Aviation, or ETIRC Aviation, will take over the Albuquerque company immediately as acting CEO, Eclipse announced Monday in a news release.

The company said Pieper's leadership is part of an agreement that brings with it a new round of financing that will give the company a positive cash flow. The amount of the cash infusion was not disclosed.

"It is now time to take the company to the next level of growth and operational excellence and this is what the board has tasked me to do," Pieper said in the news release. "I will work toward this goal in the coming period."

KOB.com - New aquifer discovered on West Mesa

Link: KOB.com - New aquifer discovered on West Mesa.

A new potential source of water for the Albuquerque metro has been discovered under the West Mesa. The deep-water aquifer was discovered on land owned by Atrisco Oil and Gas just north of Interstate 40 between two volcanoes. An Atrisco spokesman says the water is trapped in a triangular fault block and could be as deep as 7,000 feet below the surface. Atrisco officials say the company will need to do more testing on the water before they’ll know if it is safe for human consumption.

Governor Bill Richardson Requests Special Rules for Oil and Gas Activity in Areas of Rio Arriba County Â

  Governor Bill Richardson Requests Special Rules for Oil and Gas Activity in Areas of Rio Arriba County   SANTA FE – Governor Bill Richardson today directed the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Oil Conservation Division to propose new rules for portions of Rio Arriba County to protect water resources, human health, and the environment. This decision was prompted by recent oil and gas activity in Eastern Rio Arriba County that demonstrated the need to respect the unique hydrologic and cultural resources of this area.   “I have directed the Oil Conservation Division to develop requirements designed to protect our limited water resources and traditional water uses,” Governor Richardson said. “It is important that we identify and thoroughly scrutinize proposed drilling in highly sensitive areas like portions of the Chama Watershed.”   Rio Arriba County is no stranger to oil and gas activity with considerable development in the western half of the county.  However recent exploration in the Rio Chama Water shed and the eastern half of the county have demonstrated the need to examine exploration and drilling practices as they apply to this area.   The Oil Conservation Division will immediately begin the process of formulating proposed regulations to implement the Governors directive. These proposals will then be presented to the Oil Conservation Commission which will begin the formal rule making procedures.       Alarie Ray-Garcia Office of the Governor New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson State Capitol, Suite 400 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 Office:505-476-2248 Cell:505-231-7350 -

Census Won't Count Gay Marriages - washingtonpost.com

Link: Census Won't Count Gay Marriages - washingtonpost.com.

Diane Curtis and Ellen Leuchs tied the knot in May 2004, less than a week after Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage and a decade after beginning their life as a couple.

To the U.S. Census Bureau, however, their marriage does not count. Or, more specifically, it will not be counted in the 2010 census.

Although gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California, census officials say that same-sex partners in both states who list themselves as spouses will be recorded as "unmarried partners" -- just as they were in the 2000 census.

Census Bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner cited the Defense of Marriage Act, approved by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing as a marriage the union of anyone but a man and a woman.

Oak Ridge, Tenn., former uranium plant evacuated - USATODAY.com

Link: Oak Ridge, Tenn., former uranium plant evacuated - USATODAY.com.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) — Workers have been evacuated from a former uranium enrichment plant in Tennessee after yellow smoke was seen coming out of a ventilation stack. U.S. Department of Energy spokesman Walter Perry says the smoke was reported about 8:30 a.m. at a building that processes metal and chemical waste in Oak Ridge, about 20 miles west of Knoxville.

Perry said the department is not asking the public to take any protective action, but workers in surrounding buildings were told to take shelter in place.

No injuries were immediately reported. Firefighters were responding.

The site where uranium for the first atomic bomb was developed has been undergoing cleanup and conversion into an industrial park for several years.