SANTA TERESA, N.M. – New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez announced Thursday that the state Department of Justice has filed formal responses supporting two emergency petitions before the New Mexico Supreme Court. The petitions target approvals granted to the Project Jupiter artificial‑intelligence data center, a massive development planned in Doña Ana County.
Water‑well approval under fire
In the first case, Torrez’s office filed a response backing an emergency writ of mandamus against State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson. The petition challenges the Office of the State Engineer’s (OSE) two‑day approval of an application that would let Santa Teresa Capital, LLC repurpose an existing well for construction water.
The NMDOJ alleges the OSE ignored New Mexico law that requires notice and a hearing before a well can be altered. The agency’s emergency exception, the filing argues, applies only to a “genuine emergency threatening crop loss or serious economic loss to an existing use,” not to a private development project.
Torrez contended that the OSE disregarded its own guidance on what qualifies as an emergency and failed to schedule a hearing on a protest filed on Jan. 9. He noted that a meter allegedly showed the well pumping more than 100 million gallons of groundwater from the Lower Rio Grande Basin, a region already suffering severe drought and bound by the Rio Grande Compact with Texas.
Air‑quality permitting dispute
The second petition concerns an emergency request to stay a prohibitory mandamus in a New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) air‑quality permitting matter for Project Jupiter’s proposed power plant. Torrez warned that the plant would use methane‑fueled cells, creating “an unprecedented concentration of this technology anywhere in the world.”
According to the NMDOJ filing, the NMED hearing officer set an Oct. 19 hearing date and rejected the applicant’s request to accelerate the process, citing case complexity and due‑process concerns. The officer later moved the hearing to Sept. 14 and shortened the deadline for technical evidence and expert testimony from Oct. 1 to Aug. 24. The filing claims the officer denied discovery entirely on Aug. 12, less than two weeks before the new deadline.
The NMDOJ argues that the Air Quality Control Act does not require the timeline to be altered, and that the agency’s actions undermine statutory due‑process protections for New Mexicans.
Implications for the community
Both petitions underscore the Attorney General’s commitment to ensuring state agencies follow the rule of law and protect New Mexico’s water resources and air quality. If the Supreme Court grants the emergency writs, the approvals could be halted pending proper notice, hearings, and compliance with environmental statutes.
Project Jupiter promises significant economic development and high‑tech jobs for the region, but the legal challenges highlight the tension between rapid growth and the stewardship of scarce natural resources. Residents of Santa Teresa and the broader Lower Rio Grande Basin are watching closely, as water scarcity and drought conditions remain pressing concerns.
The outcome of these cases will shape how future large‑scale technology projects navigate New Mexico’s regulatory landscape, balancing innovation with the constitutional rights of citizens to clean water and air.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
