sa国际传媒官网网页入口

The New Mexico State Ethics Commission has alleged a company advertising for the controversial Project Jupiter violated state law by not registering as a lobbyist.

The civil complaint filed in 2nd Judicial District Court last week alleges that Elevate New Mexico attempted to persuade New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney to approve air quality permit applications for the massive data center complex via an ad campaign targeted at the public. Elevate鈥檚 mailers directed residents to write to Kenney鈥檚 office during a public comment period on the permits.

Elevate could not be reached for comment Thursday.

鈥淐onsidering the quantity of greenhouse gases and nitrogen oxides that the proposed Project Jupiter microgrids are likely to emit, this matter is of great public import,鈥� the complaint reads.

Project Jupiter鈥檚 two natural gas microgrids will power a 1,700-acre data center used for training artificial intelligence. Those microgrids are expected to generate nearly twice as much greenhouse gas as both sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and Las Cruces combined, far exceeding original estimates given to the public.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and Las Cruces generated 5.8 million and less than a million metric tons of greenhouse gases, respectively, according to estimates from 2017 and 2018. Project Jupiter鈥檚 microgrids are expected to generate 12.7 million metric tons a year, according to the submitted air quality permits.

On billboards, digital ads and mailers, Elevate promised New Mexicans higher-paying jobs, competitive schools and cleaner water. The ads are in both English and Spanish and prominently feature people of color, including one Hispanic stock model whose image has been used for other unrelated advertisement campaigns.

Elevate also paid for digital ads in local newspapers, including the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. The group often posts on Facebook and LinkedIn.

鈥淏efore, with my kids, there weren鈥檛 these big opportunities,鈥� a woman said in Spanish in an Elevate ad which identifies her as a Sunland Park mother named Armida.

According to the complaint, these mailers were sent to residents in Do帽a Ana, Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties during the air quality permits public comment period. The ads do not say who paid for them, a disclaimer required on standard political mailers. 

Many ads direct residents to send pre-written public comments to Kenney. By the end of the comment period, the state received approximately 7,155 public comments, several of them matching language used by Elevate, according to NMED spokesperson Drew Goretzka, who said Project Jupiter鈥檚 air quality permit application is still pending. 

NMED will continue to review the permit applications via its standard practices, Kenney said in a statement to the Journal.

鈥淲hile I cannot speak to the validity of the legal claims made in yesterday鈥檚 lawsuit, I can confidently state that Elevate New Mexico鈥檚 campaign has not influenced the department鈥檚 permitting process,鈥� he said.

The company was registered as a non-stock corporation in Virginia on Jan. 13, incorporated under the name Steve Roberts, according to the complaint. 

Under state law, anyone who spends more than $2,500 on advertising attempting to influence legislation or policy must register as a lobbyist, disclosing their identity and their intentions.

The complaint alleged Elevate spent more than this amount on their advertisements but failed to register with the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office 鈥� relying on what State Ethics Commission officials called a 鈥渟trained, self-serving and incorrect interpretation of New Mexico law.鈥�

The group caught the commission鈥檚 attention after the commission received a whistleblower complaint, commission Deputy Director Amelia Bierle said. On March 2, the commission sent a letter to Elevate鈥檚 attorneys asking them to comply with the law and register as lobbyists.

The company responded to the commission by telling its lawyers it had no obligation to register as a lobbyist under New Mexico law, Bierle said. Elevate鈥檚 reasoning will be argued in court, she added. 

鈥淣ew Mexicans have a right to know who is funding efforts to influence state official acts that impact their communities, environment, health and public resources,鈥� Bierle said in a statement. 鈥淥ut-of-state corporations do not get to operate in the shadows when attempting to influence New Mexico official actions affecting New Mexico communities.鈥�

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. She can be reached at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.