At the February 11th City Council meeting, council passed a resolution requesting that the City of Artesia be included in the planning of the Department of Energy’s National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor that would run through Artesia.
For context, the DOE has proposed building an energy corridor in the Southwest with the stated goal of improving energy service to the region. The corridor would run through eastern New Mexico including Artesia and Eddy County. The proposal gives the government the authority to force a sale of private property in order to use that land for the construction of the equipment.
The proposal lacks specifics in where the equipment will be built. The current language says that the corridor will only take up between 5-15 miles of land throughout Eddy County but could balloon up to 125 miles if the Department deems it necessary.
The council mentioned concerns they had regarding the ability of the government to take over private property under the proposal. Namely, how this could affect key industries in the region such as ranching and oil and gas.
It’s also vague on what equipment will be built to help provide energy solutions. This means they could build wind, solar, nuclear, or even use the land to store nuclear energy waste.
All of this has been planned with little public notice and without the input of the cities and counties that would be affected. The Department of Energy has also not proven the necessity of the construction of this corridor. The resolution calls for studies to be done on the financial, cultural, and ecological impacts this would cause. The resolution also requests that the city be involved in the planning of the corridor going forward given how much of an impact it can have on our operations. The City of Artesia is not alone in requesting this, as Eddy County passed a similar resolution last week.
The Department of Energy is accepting public comments on the proposal until February 14th. To leave a comment, click the following link and then click the "Submit a Public Comment Button" https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/16/2024-29419/notice-of-early-public-and-governmental-engagement-for-potential-designation-of-tribal-energy-access
For the full text of the resolution, click the following link and go to page 72. Artesia Resolution Text.