1. United States
2. N.M.
3. Letter

As a constituent, an information analyst, and a resident deeply committed to the survival of our rural communities, I am writing to urge your office to immediately investigate and reconsider federal support for the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) and Chevron Hydrogen Facility and Solar Array Project in Questa, New Mexico. The parameters of this project have undergone a drastic, uncommunicated shift from what was originally presented to the public, creating an imminent resource and safety crisis for our community during a historic 132-year record megadrought. The project’s January 2026 Environmental Assessment (EA) was quietly finalized by exploiting recent administrative rollbacks to entirely circumvent standard National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) public scoping periods, completely shutting out local residents, acequia commissions, and municipal neighbors from the review process. Behind this wall of secrecy sits a major water source bait-and-switch that directly undermines New Mexico’s water security: Irreversible Aquifer Depletion: Rather than utilizing recycled industrial wastewater from the Route 38 mine treatment plant as originally proposed, the plan has quietly shifted to extract an estimated 46,000,000 to 88,000,000 gallons of raw groundwater annually from wellhead POD-18. Destruction of Local Wells: Hydrogeological realities confirm that a realistic two-mile drawdown radius from this deep industrial wellhead directly endangers 58 private domestic and community water wells, threatening to dry out local agricultural parciantes on the Llano Community Ditch and Cabresto Lake systems who are already surviving on 30% historical allocations. Superfund Compliance Breach: Wellhead POD-18 is not a standard commercial water asset; it is an exploratory well fundamentally bound to the EPA’s Superfund Record of Decision (ROD) for active dust suppression and remediation over a toxic 640-acre brownfield. Diverting this federally mandated cleanup water to feed a high-pressure commercial facility introduces a severe operational hazard on top of an unstable, experimental 2-foot soil cap—sitting directly adjacent to the Alta Vista Elementary School campus. This project is not an energy solution; it operates on a devastating 63.6% net energy destruction curve (converting 55 kW of solar power down to just 20 kW of net yield), serving primarily as a greenwashed legal shield to insulate corporate water rights from statutory forfeiture under New Mexico's "Use It or Lose It" doctrines. While corporate entities leverage a $230 million USDA grant, our local working-class community is being cornered into a $53 million municipal debt liability to underwrite the infrastructure. Senator, our community loves this land, but the federal government is funding a project that recklessly endangers our future. We request that your office pause federal backing, launch an official congressional inquiry into the USDA funding mechanisms, and consult directly with Region 6 of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding CERCLA compliance violations at this site. We must protect our traditional acequias, our children's school zone, and our groundwaters before an irreversible corporate water grab is permanently locked in.