Environmental advocacy groups are criticizing U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich for co-sponsoring a bipartisan permitting reform bill that they say undermines his long record as a champion of renewable energy and environmental protection and could harm people and places across New Mexico, Source NM reports.
Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center, told Source NM the groups feel "betrayed" by the New Mexico Democrat. Critics contend that by accelerating federal reviews and imposing tighter deadlines on legal challenges, the 417-page Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 risks harming people and places across New Mexico. Schlenker-Goodrich also questioned why Heinrich announced the measure weeks before the midterm elections, when Democrats could gain seats.
Heinrich rejected the criticism during meetings Oct. 12 in Albuquerque with labor leaders, manufacturers and renewable energy companies, calling claims that the bill weakens environmental protections unfounded and misguided. He said it requires federal agencies to review projects more quickly without guaranteeing approval. "We’re going to get to ‘yes’ faster," he said, adding that harmful projects would also get a "no" faster.
The bill seeks to shorten the time solar arrays, wind farms, transmission lines and other energy projects spend awaiting federal permits, and it sets additional deadlines for court challenges. Jeremy Turner of Pattern Energy Group said permitting delays meant the company’s 500 miles of transmission lines for its wind farms took more than a decade to complete. The measure has also drawn praise from labor unions, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Clean Power Association.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from Source NM’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit Source NM’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
