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SM 14

MT TAYLOR CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Angel Charley

NM Senate memorial SM 14 opposes uranium mining within Mount Taylor TCP, urges agencies to deny permits and calls for reforms to the Mining Act to protect tribal sites.

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Bill Summary · SM 14

Summary — SM 14: MT TAYLOR CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY (Memorial)

Status: Signed
Bill type: Memorial (non‑binding expression of the Senate)
Bill number: SM 14
Primary sponsor: Sen. Angel M. Charley
Introduced: February 20, 2025
Signed: March 12, 2025

Purpose and intent

SM 14 affirms the New Mexico Senate’s commitment to protecting Mount Taylor as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) and formally opposes uranium mining projects that the Senate finds would threaten the mountain’s cultural and environmental integrity. The memorial highlights Mount Taylor’s sacred role for regional Indian nations, tribes and pueblos and raises environmental and public‑health concerns tied to uranium mining.

Background (as cited in the memorial)

  • Mount Taylor was designated a Traditional Cultural Property on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties in 2009 after advocacy by the Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna and Zuni, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation.
  • The New Mexico Supreme Court in 2014 affirmed the validity of that TCP designation.
  • The memorial cites risks from proposed uranium mining including landscape/cultural degradation, contamination and depletion of the San Andres‑Glorieta aquifer and related springs, hazards from transport/storage of uranium ore, and long‑term legacy contamination and health impacts in New Mexico.

Key provisions / actions requested

  • The Senate affirms opposition to uranium mining projects that threaten Mount Taylor’s TCP designation, environmental integrity, or sacred status.
  • The memorial urges federal and state agencies — explicitly naming the U.S. Forest Service and the Mining and Minerals Division (Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department, EMNRD) — to deny permits or authorizations for uranium mining projects within the Mount Taylor TCP boundaries.
  • The Senate calls on the U.S. Congress to reform the federal General Mining Act of 1872 to (a) prioritize protection of sacred cultural sites and (b) require meaningful tribal consultation on decisions affecting tribal resources.
  • Directs that copies of the memorial be transmitted to identified federal and state officials and bodies, and (as amended) to the Cibola County Board of County Commissioners, the City of Grants, and the Village of Milan.

Who is affected

  • Indigenous communities citing cultural and spiritual ties: Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, Zuni; Hopi Tribe; Navajo Nation; and other regional tribes and pueblos.
  • Local communities that rely on aquifers and springs near Mount Taylor.
  • Federal and state land and permitting agencies (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, EMNRD/Mining & Minerals Division).
  • Uranium mining proponents/operators and related industry interests.
  • Local governments (Cibola County, Grants, Milan) — recipients of the memorial.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Referred to Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Conservation Committee (Feb 20, 2025).
  • Rules Committee reported DO PASS, as amended (Feb 28, 2025); roll call 5–3.
  • Conservation Committee reported DO PASS (Mar 4, 2025); roll call 5–2.
  • Passed the Senate (Mar 11, 2025) and was signed (Mar 12, 2025).
  • As a memorial, SM 14 is not a statute and does not itself create regulatory prohibitions; it records the Senate’s position and asks that specified agencies and officials act accordingly.

Potential impact

SM 14 serves as an official statement of the New Mexico Senate’s position opposing uranium mining within the Mount Taylor TCP and urging regulatory denial of permits and federal legislative reform. While non‑binding, the memorial can be used to influence agency permitting decisions, strengthen tribal and local advocacy, and direct congressional attention to mining law and tribal consultation practices.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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