NM Supreme Court rules state may continue work on greenhouse gas emissions cap

The state Environmental Improvement Board can resume consideration of state regulations that would cap greenhouse gas emissions, The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Monday. The decision reverses an earlier Lovington District Court decision that halted the Board’s consideration of a 2008 petition by environmental group New Energy Economy (NEE) to regulate carbon emissions in New Mexico. Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels reportedly cautioned judges not to violate the separation of powers doctrine by interfering in administrative processes. “It’s great news,” NEE and New Mexico Environmental Law Center lead attorney Bruce Frederick told The Independent. Now that the state’s right to consider a carbon cap has been affirmed, work will begin again on the Board’s consideration of the NEE petition, Frederick said. He anticipates a public hearing this summer. PNM, three Republican state lawmakers and oil and gas industry groups filed a lawsuit in January to halt consideration of a cap, arguing the Board lacks authority under state law to regulate air quality without first establishing the specific air quality standards...more