The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday paved the way for stalled permitting processes to restart for Project Jupiter, a hyperscale data center under construction in Doña Ana County.
The court denied challenges by two environmental advocacy groups arguing in separate petitions that proceedings for state air quality and water use permits for the controversial project lacked due process. The justices also lifted temporary pauses they had placed last month on the proceedings.
The permitting processes can move forward, and the multibillion-dollar construction project can once again draw water from a well on the 1,400-acre site in Santa Teresa.
Disputes over permitting for the massive artificial intelligence data center campus came before the state’s high court at a time when public backlash against such developments has escalated around the country, with residents demanding scrutiny over water use, power consumption and pollution.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy last month petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in permitting processes at the New Mexico Environment Department and the Office of the State Engineer. The two orders filed by the high court state the justices reviewed briefs and responses from the parties and concurred on denial of both petitions. The court did not give any further explanation of its decision.
Permit timeline unclear
As a result of the decisions, Project Jupiter’s permit to draw from a well at the construction site will become active once again, Office of the State Engineer officials confirmed.
A contentious regulatory proceeding before the state Environment Department, to decide whether a natural gas fuel cell system to power the project will be permitted to release emissions, also will move forward.
A hearing officer who was presiding over the air quality permit proceeding resigned the day before the court’s temporary stay took effect in August. Environment Department officials will appoint a new hearing officer and follow the guidance in moving forward, spokesperson Drew Goretzka said Thursday.
A hearing on the permit application had been scheduled in September, but it isn’t yet clear what the new timeline could look like.
Officials from the technology company Oracle, one of the primary partners in Project Jupiter, said in a statement: “Oracle and its project partners will continue working with NMED and all relevant authorities to ensure Project Jupiter meets applicable environmental and regulatory requirements. We remain committed to transparency and working with the community to deliver lasting benefits for New Mexico.”
Hope for ‘a fair hearing’
Attorneys from the nonprofit environmental groups expressed disappointment in the court’s rulings.
“We are terribly disappointed, but we also understand that we asked the New Mexico Supreme Court for extraordinary relief,” New Energy Economy Executive Director Mariel Nanasi said in a statement.
“We went to the Supreme Court because we believed the rules of this proceeding were stacked against meaningful public participation,” she added. “We sought a fair opportunity for the public to obtain the evidence, test the claims being made by the applicant and present its case before New Mexico decides whether to authorize an enormous new source of pollution.”
The most recent application submitted to the state Environment Department by Project Jupiter developers seeks approval for the annual release of about 10 million gallons of greenhouse gases, measured in carbon dioxide equivalent.
Nanasi’s petition to the Supreme Court argued the permit proceeding — under the former hearing officer — was rife with rulings that benefitted the data center’s developers at the expense of allowing meaningful scrutiny of their plans, an accelerated hearing schedule and unfair limits on evidence sharing.
“We hope that what happens next is simple: A fair hearing,” she said. “The prior hearing officer recused himself. We hope the new hearing officer will approach this matter with an open mind, permit meaningful participation, listen carefully to the scientific and technical evidence and fairly decide whether New Mexico should issue an air permit for a facility that would massively increase pollution.”
‘We’ll continue to fight’
Colin Cox, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, echoed Nanasi’s disappointment over the Supreme Court outcome.
“The Office of the State Engineer has been rubber-stamping the use of our precious fresh water by wildly unpopular data centers, and this ruling will only make things worse,” Cox said in a statement. “We’ll continue to fight until our governor and regulators act in the interest of all New Mexicans rather than as shills for giant corporations.”
Cox’s petition to the court claimed the state agency violated state law by granting the data center development an emergency permit to drill a new well and to use water rights for construction that previously had been permitted for agriculture without holding a hearing on the issue.
The organization provided public records showing a new well drilled for Project Jupiter had used 103 million gallons of fresh water since April.
In a statement provided by a spokesperson, State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson referred to her agency’s process as “transparent and fair.”
“We are grateful for the Supreme Court’s decision, and will continue to apply water laws fairly and consistently for all water users,” Anderson said. “We will ensure that any new use of water along the Rio Grande comes from existing rights, and that we have a transparent and fair hearing process for all permitting decisions.”
