Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) — The hearing officer presiding over the issuance of an air quality permit for Project Jupiter had previously scheduled the hearing to begin in October. However, attorneys representing Project Jupiter’s developers requested that the hearing begin earlier. They argue that the October hearing date would risk giving New Mexico Environment Department staff too little time to make a final decision on whether to issue the permit before their Nov. 23rd deadline. According to newly filed court documents, the hearing is being rescheduled to September. It is now set to begin Sept. 14th and “continue as necessary” at the Sunland Park Multi-Generational Center. Maslyn Locke, senior attorney for the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, who has represented residents in lawsuits related to Project Jupiter, said the air quality permit case is among the most complex – and fast-moving – air quality complex cases she’s seen in her career. Under the revised scheduling order, she said attorneys will not have enough time to review the “thousands” of pages of the administrative record, catch their expert witnesses up to speed and prepare for oral arguments by the time the hearing begins in less than two months.
