Once again, people are upset about the possible construction of a power plant near their homes. Once again, they are taking their case to local elected officials to try to prevent the power plant from being built.
First, a plant was being planned on the mesa west of Belen, then another was talked about near Sabinal. Now we have a another one being considered at the industrial park in Rio Communities.
As we have editorialized in the past, the voices of the people who live around these proposed plants should be listened to. In the most recent case, it’s still up in the air as to whether the county actually has any power to stop construction of the Rio Communities plant because it would be in a designated industrial park. We will wait and see what develops.
But it seems to us that a study should be made of what sort of industrial construction would be welcome by the people who live in the county — everywhere in the county.
We have huge worries about the availablity of water, so businesses which use large amounts of water should probably be looking for a spot where a lot more rain falls. Factors such as this should be considered.
The county should write ordinances specifying exactly the sort of businesses it should be actively seeking and setting up regulations for what is allowable and a public election should be held on those ordinances.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a locally owned and operated community newspaper, dedicated to serving Valencia County since 1910 through the highest journalistic and professional business standards. The VCNB is published weekly on Thursdays, including holidays both in print and online.
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April 18, 2024
