NM carbon capture, storage bill runs out of time

Long days roaming the halls of the New Mexico Legislature, shaking hands with lawmakers and sitting through hours of committee meetings never deterred Jack Chatfield in his quest to clarify a property right that could someday prove valuable in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The northeastern New Mexico rancher and his legislation simply ran out of time. The bill would have established ownership rights for empty spaces deep underground. Supporters of the measure say the so-called pore space will be valuable as technology advances to capture and store emissions from fossil-fuel power plants and other industries. The bill needed to be considered one last time by the full Senate so it could be sent to the governor. However, it was lost in the frenzied crunch just before adjournment...read more