A public records request regarding a July 27 meeting between one of the main companies behind Project Jupiter and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham provided virtually no information on its content.
The meeting with Oracle occurred as the timeline around an important permitting process for the massive and controversial data center in Santa Teresa was accelerated seemingly out of the blue in late July.
The New Mexico Environment Department hearing officer Max Shepherd initially favored a later October date for an air quality permit hearing given its “highly technical” nature, doubling down at a July 27 scheduling conference even after being pushed by the developers to move it up.
Officials with Oracle met with the governor that same day.
Two days later, Shepherd advanced the hearing to Sept. 14, leading some to speculate there was a connection.
“This proceeding is becoming more focused on reaching a result favorable to the governor’s economic development agenda than ensuring a fair process and protecting the due process rights of the parties and the public,” said Mariel Nanasi, executive director and attorney for New Energy Economy, at the time.
Leah March, a spokesperson for the governor, wrote in an email Aug. 12 that “the governor routinely takes meetings with companies like Oracle to stay informed, as she did in July for a general update.”
“The governor does not interfere in state agencies’ regulatory decisions and has made no effort to influence the outcome of Project Jupiter’s air permit application,” March wrote. “Instead, it is her responsibility to ensure that state agencies meet their statutory obligations for a fair, transparent and independent process.”
The data center’s regulatory proceedings have shaped up to be a bitter battle. Shepherd recused himself from the hearing on Aug. 23 and the state Supreme Court placed proceedings for Project Jupiter’s air quality permit and water use on pause before allowing them to continue in a Sept. 17 decision.
The New Mexican requested on Aug. 13 any notes, agenda, emails or other correspondence regarding the July 27 meeting between the governor and Oracle.
On Aug. 18, the Governor’s Office acknowledged the request and said it would respond on or before Aug. 28.
On Aug. 28, the request was deemed “excessively burdensome or broad due to the large volume of potentially responsive records and the time required to review those records for redactions or withholding required or permitted by law.”
The new deadline was set as Sept. 14, on which day the materials were made available. The Governor’s Office closed the request, marking it as complete.
However, the only material included was a photo of an iMessage exchange with the governor’s schedule for the day. The Oracle meeting took up one line.
The completed request did not include the governor’s official schedule for the week, which was sent to the The New Mexican Aug. 10 by an environmental advocacy group.
In a phone call Tuesday, Donicia Herrera, a records custodian at the Office of the Governor, said that after conducting a full search of records to fulfill the request, that was “all that came up.”
Julia Gentin is a reporter for The Las Cruces New Mexican, The Santa Fe New Mexican and Searchlight New Mexico through a partnership with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. She covers the Southern New Mexico region. Learn more about Report for America at reportforamerica.org.
