Santa Fe-Helena Chemical Co. has won a court case against the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) over the right to inspect documents that Helena maintains could contain information helping to prove its Mesquite, N.M., fertilizer warehouse doesn’t need a state air quality permit. Helena filed suit under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) in December 2008 in the First Judicial District Court here after NMED denied access to hundreds of pages of documents. Although the court found last November that NMED improperly withheld 400 pages and ordered NMED to allow their inspection, the details were just made public by both sides. Under IPRA a state agency is required to pay attorney fees and costs, which in February NMED agreed to do in the amount of $23,500. “We wanted the opportunity to closely review these documents because we believe they contain useful information that can demonstrate to NMED that our warehouse emissions are too low to require an air quality permit” said Louis Rodrigue, vice president of Helena’s southern business unit. “NMED’s own air-monitoring data demonstrates that the air quality around Helena’s warehouse is good, according to federal Environmental Protection Agency standards, yet NMED did not publicize that information.” NMED spokeswoman Marissa Bardino said the judge actually upheld the department’s ruling that about 80 percent of the documents Helena sought were not public record. She said the department elected not to appeal the court’s ruling on the rest, and released those documents. Helena officials said they will donate the funds by splitting the amount between Mayfield High School and Las Cruces High School Future Farmers of America.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain