SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 28

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

William F. Burt

A JOINT MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'S BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SUNZIA TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT RELATIVE TO EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE.

     WHEREAS, on January 23, 2015, the bureau of land management of the United States department of the interior issued a record of decision approving a right of way for the SunZia transmission line project, which consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of two parallel five hundred kilovolt transmission lines located on a combination of federal, state and private land in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the SunZia transmission line project would traverse five hundred fifteen miles through New Mexico and Arizona to provide power to western cities; and

     WHEREAS, the transmission line affects the testing and evaluation mission conducted at White Sands missile range by limiting the ability of the military to test long-range overland projectiles and conduct other tests in the northern extension area; and

     WHEREAS, the United States department of defense agreed to a mitigation proposal, which was a compromise that will still limit the capability of and permanently degrade the White Sands missile range; and

     WHEREAS, the path of the SunZia transmission line project has moved since the issuance of the final environmental impact study, and the project now includes a greater dispersion of the line on state and private land, as well as the burial of multiple sections of the transmission line and the construction of substations; and

     WHEREAS, the decision to bury three sections of the SunZia transmission line project on greater amounts of private land will change the environmental impact of the project; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has a long and storied history of military innovation and technology, as well as energy production, and these histories do not need to be mutually exclusive; and

     WHEREAS, the United States army and the department of defense have proposed alternative routes for the SunZia transmission line project that would utilize existing rights of way, while also avoiding construction on White Sands missile range;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that opposition be expressed to the construction of the SunZia transmission line project as currently recognized by the bureau of land management; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the bureau of land management of the United States department of the interior be requested to halt any further approval or action related to the SunZia transmission line project until concerns about the project's environmental implications and effects on the White Sands missile range are addressed; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of the interior and the director of the bureau of land management.

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