近距离内射合集

DEMING 鈥� In an increasingly parched Southwest with declining groundwater and persistent drought, City Manager Aaron Sera recommended Deming set a five-year moratorium on the transfer of city-owned water rights as it works on an updated 40-year water plan.

鈥淯ntil we have that completed, we should take a stronger look at how our water is being affected,鈥� Sera told councilors at their meeting Tuesday. 鈥淗ow much we actually have, how much we actually think we鈥檙e going to need, and all that needs to be considered before we allow some business to come in here and buy thousands of acre-feet of water.鈥�

Sera acknowledged that multiple data center developers, whom he did not name, had contacted the city to see if any water rights were available.

The city currently holds approximately 9,000 acre-feet of water rights, Sera said, with one acre-foot amounting to nearly 326,000 gallons, enough to cover an acre of land by about 1 foot. The city pumps 3,000 acre-feet annually for municipal use, Sera said.

Another business seeking water rights is American Magnesium, a mining outfit seeking to quarry dolomite from a foothill on federal land in the Florida Mountains of Luna County and process the ore for magnesium, a critical mineral used in a wide range of consumer products and technology, including renewable energy hardware. 

Sera said American Magnesium had asked for 52 acre-feet per year for its operations.

Since the project first came to light a decade ago, American Magnesium has pursued necessary permits and project reviews by federal and state authorities. Welcomed by some for its potential industrial development, it has also faced opposition from community members concerned about protections for groundwater and other environmental impacts.

The project has also faced objections to a proposal to move the ore by truck across the city for processing on city-owned land in the Peru Mill industrial area northwest of town.

On Tuesday鈥檚 agenda was a resolution that would have authorized city staff to negotiate a lease with American Magnesium. The lease would have required the City Council鈥檚 approval. Councilor Steve Westenhofer proposed, instead, to amend the resolution to bar any negotiations about the property.

鈥淚 see no benefit to the community for us to lease Peru Mill to American Magnesium,鈥� he stated, to applause from the gallery.

One by one, the council members indicated their agreement.

鈥淭here are countless emails and phone calls that I've received opposing it,鈥� Councilor Laura Parra said, 鈥渂ut not one single one supporting it; so I will go with what our constituents want.鈥�

There was some confusion when it came time to vote, because the amended resolution proposed a negative: Not to allow the city to negotiate with American Magnesium.

鈥淪o we end it right here?鈥� Mayor Micki Shillito asked.

City Attorney Spenser Baca clarified that a yes vote 鈥渋s to shoot it down.鈥�

The four council members then voted yes. In Deming, the mayor votes only to break a tie.

The action does not halt American Magnesium鈥檚 project, but it represents a significant setback to its plans for processing the ore locally.

Carol Ness, the mining company鈥檚 managing member and spokesperson, called the council鈥檚 action 鈥渁 foolish decision鈥� on Thursday and said American Magnesium would find another location for its mill. 

鈥淲e have a valuable deposit, and I have tried so hard for 10 years to bring this economic development to Deming and Luna County, and I鈥檓 giving up on that,鈥� Ness said. 鈥淚f we can鈥檛 find a location to build in Luna County, we鈥檙e going elsewhere.鈥� 

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.