Governor Martinez understands that New Mexico is blessed with wonderful natural resources, and that we have a responsibility to safeguard those resources for future generations.

Since coming into office, Governor Martinez has taken steps to protect our environment by fining polluters and making it a priority to address drought in our state.

In the next four years, Governor Martinez will continue to protect the land we all love.

• Convened the New Mexico Drought Task Force to prepare for and mitigate the problems that occur due to persistent drought conditions.

• Sued the EPA and worked on a compromise plan with PNM and other stakeholders that moved the energy plant away from coal and toward cleaner natural gas. This reduced the impact on ratepayers, improved our environment, and protected jobs on the Navajo Nation.  A leading environmental organization called it “the greatest environmental improvement in the state’s history,” and said, “Governor Martinez deserves credit for her pragmatic approach to solving this contentious dispute.”

• Supported a common-sense approach to protecting vulnerable species, as well as New Mexico’s energy industry and the jobs it supplies.

• Fined polluters when their operations threatened the health or safety of New Mexicans, collecting over $12 million over the past three years.

• Established water quality standards for lakes in New Mexico for the first time ever.

• Brokered an agreement that avoided costly litigation between environmental groups and dairy producers in New Mexico.

• Pressured Los Alamos National Labs to remove transuranic (TRU) waste more quickly than ever; signed a framework agreement expediting the removal this waste. On the Governor’s watch, the last barrel of TRU legacy waste was removed from Sandia Labs as well.

• Launched and funded the New Mexico River Stewards Initiative to protect the health of rivers and watersheds. This initiative places a major emphasis on maintaining the hydrology of streams and rivers, especially near wildfire burn areas.

• Signed legislation to extend Sustainable Building Tax Credit for 5 years to provide incentives for consumers and builders to use energy efficient homes and buildings.
• Signed capital outlay legislation authorizing $89 million in water infrastructure projects statewide to rehabilitate dams, repair damaged watersheds, provide clean water to communities currently without it, and protect towns and villages that are vulnerable to water supply shortages.