We Won Key Protections – Now They're Under Attack. Plus: 2 Ways to Take Action This Weekend
- zoeyyucraft
- Jul 17
- 6 min read
This week, we're celebrating a major win – and gearing up to defend it.
The landmark Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) rule that we fought hard for to protect our lands, waters, and communities from toxic fracking waste just went into effect last week, but industry is already trying to rewrite the rules and undo the critical protections we won.
In this update, we're breaking down what's at stake, how we got here, and what comes next – because the fight to protect our water isn't over.
And that's not all:
📢 This weekend, there are 2 powerful opportunities to take action with us – from honoring the anniversary of the Red Water Pond Community uranium tailings spill to taking to the streets to hold Walmart accountable for its complicity in violent immigration enforcement.
✊ We’re also reflecting on the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test – and a long-overdue win for the New Mexico Downwinders who’ve spent decades fighting for justice.
💧 Plus, we're uplifting an important resource for families facing the long-term impacts of devastating wildfires – an opportunity to access free domestic well water testing in Mora.
Read on to learn more about the latest industry attempt to protect profit over people, how we're fighting back, and how you can take action with us this weekend.
WE WON CRITICAL PROTECTIONS AT THE WQCC – NOW POLLUTERS WANT A DO-OVER
Two months ago, we wrote to you with some big news: The Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) reversed course on a dangerous proposal that would have opened the floodgates for toxic oil and gas waste to be dumped into our lands and waters after months of pressure from over 100 community members, more than a dozen legislators, and expert witnesses who made their voices heard to say: no fracking waste in our water!
Instead, the Commission scrapped the initial proposal and voted to enact a new rule with strong protections for our lands, waters, and communities that:
✅ Prohibits the discharge of toxic fracking waste into our environment
✅ Requires strict permits for any pilot projects
✅ And mandates that the remaining waste from the treatment process be properly handled and disposed of.
This vote was a huge step forward — especially in a state where oil and gas corporations hold outsized influence and extractive industries have shaped the rules for years. And after months of organizing, the passage of these protections was a moment of hope.
The landmark rule (WQCC 23-84) just took effect last week on July 11th – but now, industry insiders are already trying to roll back these critical protections.
On July 8th, just three days before the rule was set to take effect, the Water Quality Control Commission voted to move forward with a new petition from the industry-backed WATR Alliance – a group that claims to represent a "diverse coalition of stakeholders", but is comprised of the very corporations and companies profiting off extraction and greenwashed false solutions: Chevron, Occidental, ConocoPhillips, and other companies who stand to benefit from dumping toxic waste into our communities.
Their goal? To reopen the rule-making process and gut the key safeguards we fought so hard to win.
There is no evidence proving that "produced water" is treatable. In fact, the science says the opposite – despite investments in research by industry and the state, treatment methods still haven't been successful in eliminating the dangerous chemicals or radiation from this toxic waste. But the same polluters who have admitted the science isn't there are still trying to rewrite the rules again.
There's no new data and no new research to support reopening this rule-making – just pressure and backroom deals. But the power of the people has always been stronger than industry lies. We've already proven what's possible when we come together to show up and make our voices heard to fight for the protections we deserve, and we're ready to do it again.
The state should be holding oil and gas accountable for their toxic waste crisis, not letting industry profit while poisoning our communities. We won't stand by while polluters try to undo our hard-fought progress to protect their bottom line.
We'll be sharing more information soon on how to get involved in the next phase of this fight – be sure to stay tuned for more updates and ways to take action from YUCCA and our allies in the Defend NM Water Coalition.
TOMORROW: RED WATER POND COMMUNITY MARKS 46 YEARS SINCE URANIUM TAILINGS SPILL
YUCCA is honored to be a co-sponsor of the Red Water Pond Community's commemoration of the 46th anniversary of the uranium tailings spill that happened in their community.
The organizers of the commemoration write:
"You and your community are invited to join our communities on this journey to heal our Diné and Mother Earth and restore the Hozho'. We begin at 6:00 am with prayers in the village, then walk to view the spill location. We will return to lunch and speakers in our shaded Arbor. There will be educational tables and a silent auction. Food will be provided. Free t-shirts!
This historic event is open to all ages and will share the struggles people face in their daily lives, the healing yet to come for our people and Mother Earth, and the awareness and education required in the local area, tribally, statewide and on the national level. We would like the younger generations to be present, advocate and carry on these traditions of caring for Mother Earth."
We invite you to join us tomorrow, Saturday, July 19th beginning at 6:00 am – come connect with us at our table, learn more about the fight for environmental justice, and be a part of this powerful day of healing, education, and community.
80 YEARS SINCE THE TRINITY TEST: A LONG-OVERDUE VICTORY FOR NEW MEXICO'S DOWNWINDERS
This week also marked the 80th Anniversary of the Trinity Test – the world's first atomic bomb detonation – carried out in New Mexico without the knowledge or consent of local communities.
For decades, families in Tularosa and across the Tularosa Basin – known as the Trinity Downwinders – have fought to expose the truth of what happened that day and to demand justice for the generations of cancer, illness, and loss that followed. Despite widespread fallout and generations of health impacts, the federal government excluded New Mexico from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) for over 30 years.
Now, after years of tireless organizing led by the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, that’s finally starting to change: for the first time, Downwinders in New Mexico are eligible for compensation under RECA. But the fight isn’t over — the coverage is limited to only two years, and the Downwinders are already fighting to extend it.
Through continued advocacy, community testimony, and generations of resistance, the Downwinders have refused to let their community be forgotten. As we remember the uranium tailings spill with the Red Water Pond Community this weekend, their win is a testament to the power of organizing — and to what’s possible when our communities refuse to back down.
JOIN US ON SUNDAY: PROTEST WALMART'S TIES TO ICE
Join Us On Sunday: Protest Walmart's Ties To ICE with #WorkersOverBillionaires
This Sunday, we're joining a broad coalition of grassroots organizers and community members to take to the streets to demand accountability from Walmart for its complicity in violent immigration enforcement.
On July 7th, now-viral video footage (warning: graphic content) showed ICE agents violently abducting Deivi Jose Molina-Pena, a Spark delivery driver, inside the Walmart Supercenter at Coors and I-40 in Albuquerque while Walmart staff stood by.
Additionally, the footage confirms that Walmart Asset Protection Manager forced a community member off the property for documenting the abduction while immigration agents tased and violently detained Molina-Pena. As the bystander attempted to film the assault, the Asset Protection Manager forced the witness to leave the premises, protecting company image and federal agents instead of the worker being targeted.
This isn't an isolated incident – it's part of a broader pattern of corporations like Walmart protecting their profits and image over people’s lives, enabling law enforcement to surveil, criminalize, and displace the same communities most impacted by the climate crisis and systemic violence.
Join us on Sunday morning at 10:00 am to demand real safety for workers and accountability from a corporation that chose to protect state violence, detention, and deportation over the very workers and contractors it depends on to make its wealth possible.
JULY 26TH: PROTECTING COMMUNITY HEALTH AFTER CLIMATE DISASTER – FREE WATER TESTING IN MORA
As our communities continue to face the devastating impacts of wildfires and the long-term effects of burn scars, we want to uplift an important resource for those working to recover and keep their families safe.
On July 26th, the New Mexico Environment and Health Departments will host a Water Fair in Mora, offering free domestic well water testing to the first 100 participants from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
According to a news release promoting the event, testing "allows well owners to measure pH, specific conductance and levels of nitrates in their water, two measurements that are crucial to maintaining safe drinking water".
As families across northern New Mexico continue to recover from devastating wildfires, resources like this are an important tool to help us protect the health and safety of our communities.
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