Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

Eddy County Commissioners said landowner rights in the county would be violated if a federal project moves forward to set aside areas of the U.S., including southeast New Mexico, for developing electricity transmission.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution demanding input on the project. With passage of the resolution, Eddy County opted to become a “cooperating agency” meaning the county would be kept abreast of further proceedings in the project and would be granted the opportunity to provide input.

The U.S. Department of Energy proposed last year to create National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) – areas of the U.S. where the energy department determined electrical transmission to be lacking and in need of federal support.

Electrical transmission can include infrastructure to generate power or move it to markets where it is needed.

On Dec. 16, 2024, the department published proposals for three corridors, including New Mexico counties along its eastern border to Texas: Eddy, Lea, Otero, Roosevelt, Curry, Quay and Union. The other two were the Lake Erie-Canada corridor, including parts of Lake Erie and Pennsylvania, along with the Tribal Energy Access Corridor in North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

The Department of Energy would partner with developers chosen by the agency to design and build the projects in the specified areas. The intention, according to the agency, was to increase electrical reliability in rural areas.

“A lack of transmission infrastructure can directly contribute to higher electricity prices, more frequent power outages from extreme weather, and longer outages as the grid struggles to come back online,” read a statement from the Department of Energy.

District 4 Commissioner Bo Bowen said it was clear the proposal would violate the rights of landowners throughout the county.

“It is the most egregious thing I have ever seen put before us,” Bowen said. “It’s deceptive. It’s something that just can’t begin here.”

The department’s proposal got off the ground in December 2023, when it opened a public comment period to propose locations, settling on 10 by May 2024. The 10 were then whittled down further to the three proposed at the end of last year – the third of four phases in the project.

The federal agency was accepting comments until Feb. 14 for Phase 3.

This would be the first time the energy department has used its power to designate transmission corridors since being granted the authority to do so in 2005.

Key concerns the county expressed included “ambiguity” in the proposal’s definition and a range of 5 to 125 miles wide for projects in the potential corridor. Officials also worried that “eminent domain” could be used by the federal government to acquire private land for the project.

Eminent domain allows a federal agency to determine the value of private land and buy it from a landowner unwilling to sell. According to the energy department’s proposal such proceedings would only be allowed to occur if negotiations broke down between landowners and local governments, and with a court order.

Eddy County Manager Mike Gallagher said it was unclear what local input the federal government had in determining the locations of the corridor. He also said the proposal did not consider local development plans put in place by county commissions and other governing bodies.

“It’s a bit ambiguous how the department came up with this. They did not consult with any of the local entities,” Gallagher said. “It did not take into any consideration the local development policies the local governments considered and passed.”

He said the wide range of potential dimensions made it unclear how large the projects in the corridor would be and raised the possibility they could impede oil and gas or ranching in the area.

“The width could negatively impact residents or industries,” Gallagher said. “Any type of activity in this corridor could be impacted.

District 1 Commissioner Ernie Carlson said providing feedback as the project proceeds is crucial to protecting property values and economic activity in Eddy County.

“If we don’t stand up and take a voice, this is going to happen,” Carlson said.

Revenue climbs from oil and gas

Eddy County Finance Director Roberta Gonzales said the county received about $5.8 million in gross receipts taxes, or sales tax paid by businesses and other entities, including oil and gas companies working in the county, in November 2024. Overall, the oil and gas industry sent about $7.2 million in taxes to Eddy County during that month.

Gross receipts totaling $5.6 million were received in December 2024, up about $2.5 million from the same time last year, while December 2024 saw about $23.5 million in total taxes brought in by the oil and gas industry.

November and December 2024 were the most recent months analyzed by the county’s finance department and presented at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting.

Gonzales said there were about 50 oil and gas drilling rigs running in the county during those months, a total she said the industry was expected to maintain through early 2025.