EarthBlog

Earlier this year, environmental advocates in New Mexico waited patiently for the outcome of a battle they’ve now relived three times in less than a year.

Victory

On February 7, 2026 after a nearly 5-hour long hearing, by a 5-4 vote, the State House Agriculture, Acequias And Water Resources Committee decided to table a bill that would have forced New Mexico to adopt rules and permit the use of oil and gas wastewater for a variety of purposes outside of the oil fields. 

Oil and gas wastewater, or produced water as the industry terms it, contains varying amounts of salts, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, carcinogens, and radioactive materials. This wastewater is part rock and salt water from underground and part chemicals and additives from the drilling and fracking processes. As a result, any use outside of the oil field can pose dangerous risks of contamination to New Mexico’s waters.

HB207, as originally introduced, required the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC), the state’s water pollution control agency, to authorize the discharge of treated oil and gas wastewater to New Mexico’s rivers and streams along with a variety of uses outside of the oil field, including road spreading. Roadspreading is the dumping of the wastewater on roads for use as a dust suppressant. This practice, in particular, has come under heavy scrutiny recently as studies of wastewater show it to be both less effective at dust control than commercial alternatives and potentially pose risks to human health and the environment.

Just last year, the WQCC decided these were not risks worth taking. 

A through process: prohibiting wastewater discharge

In May 2025, the Commission completed a thorough rulemaking process to prohibit discharges of produced water to surface waters and groundwater (see Earthworks and partners’ comment supporting the draft rule prohibiting discharge). The rulemaking lasted 18 months and included thousands of pages of evidence and testimony from experts, scientists, and non-profits. Based on all of the available evidence at the time, the commission decided to prohibit reuse of oil and gas outside the oil field finding, “insufficient evidence exists at this time to ensure that discharges of untreated or treated produced water are protective of human health or the environment.”

The rule adopted last year did, however, allow for certain pilot projects to proceed. 

These non-discharging pilot projects allow the Commission to compile additional evidence and fill in needed data gaps to more conclusively decide whether treatment is adequate to prevent contamination. The rule also sunsets after 5 years, meaning the potential for reuse could be revisited in a few years after compiling more evidence from pilot studies in a way that does not risk contaminating New Mexico’s water resources. In other words, the commission declined to put the cart before the horse and decided to allow more time to answer some unsettled questions about the effectiveness of the treatment process.

The oil and gas industry demands a second-look

Before the ink could dry on this rule, an oil and gas industry-aligned group called the WATR Alliance filed a petition asking the WQCC to revisit the decision and allow the discharge of treated oil and gas wastewater. Having just finished a lengthy year and half long legal process, the WQCC was back answering the same question again. This time, though, the petition failed for a different reason. After initially agreeing to hear the petition, the WQCC reversed its decision.

The commission voted to vacate the decision to advance the petition due, in part, to “the appearance of impropriety.” This decision followed a public outcry after the Santa Fe New Mexican revealed emails between the governor’s office and commissioners, including one from a staffer in Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office urging commissioners to get the rule “over the finish line,” which advocates argued tainted the process.

Not long after this second attempt failed, HB 207 was introduced. This represented a third attempt to loosen restrictions on the handling of oil and gas waste in less than a year. 

‘A formidable resistance’

Despite the late introduction of the bill during the short thirty-day legislative session, community members and environmental advocates quickly formed a formidable resistance. Led by groups like Amigos Bravos, Western Environmental Law Center, Citizen Caring for the Future, Wildearth Guardians and with support from Earthworks, they compiled factsheets, answered questions from legislators, packed the committee hearing, and provided impassioned public comments, which featured dozens of contributers, including Earthworks state policy manager. 

In the end the committee ultimately decided not to move forward with the bill. In the face of relentless pressure from industry and the governor’s office, a group of dedicated advocates prevailed again and again (and again). 

But the fight continues
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. A couple of weeks after the 2026 legislative session ended, WATR Alliance submitted yet another petition to allow reuse of treated produced water outside of the oil field. The WQCC is expected to vote on whether to schedule a hearing on the latest petition on May 12th, and the dedicated advocates fighting to protect New Mexico’s precious water resources from contamination of oil and gas waste byproducts will have to relive this fight at least one more time.

The post ”It’s Deja Vu All Over Again”: How New Mexicans, Advocates Repeatedly Fight Back A Push to Allow Oil and Gas Waste in New Mexico Waters appeared first on Earthworks.

Photo by Diné CARE’s Ali Tsosie-Harvey

The Air is Shared 

What happens at an oil and gas site doesn’t stay there. It moves. Out here there aren’t many barriers separating well sites from homes or schools. Emissions travel with the wind, across dirt roads, and into spaces where families live, breathe, and recreate. Wells and equipment are not tucked far away. They exist alongside homes and near schools. That close proximity means exposure is not limited to workers at a well site. It also means exposure to children in classrooms, families in their homes, and to anyone moving through the area. 

Rural communities across the country face similar conditions: limited oversight, fewer basic resources, and less access to information about what they are being exposed to. Exposure doesn’t stop at the fence line of a well site. Exposure exists in and outside the well sites. When emissions are invisible, it becomes easier to overlook them.  

Photo by Diné CARE’s Ali Tsosie-Harvey

March 2026

In March, we visited 18 total oil and gas well sites across the Eastern Navajo Agency of which 14 were observed emitting either consistently or intermittently. Six complaints were filed with the New Mexico Environmental Department. That means we saw harmful pollution coming from over 75% of oil and gas sites we visited in just one day. These emissions were commonly found coming from equipment such as storage tanks. 

April 2026

On April 16, 2026, community members gathered in Lybrook, New Mexico for a Toxic Tour led by Earthworks and Dine CARÉ to better understand oil and gas impacts in the Lybrook area. Using a FLIR camera, participants were able to see otherwise invisible emissions from oil and gas well sites located near Lybrook Elementary School and residential areas. Attendees noted strong odors near active sites, reinforcing ongoing community concerns about air quality and health. Residents shared experiences of headaches, nausea, and frequent exposure to harmful smells while living near industry activity. As a direct result of the tour, 6 complaints were filed with the New Mexico Environment Department. The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency was also notified. 

Photo by Diné CARE’s Ali Tsosie-Harvey

Using a FLIR camera, participants observed emissions from well sites near schools, including Hanaadli Community School and Dzith-na-o-dith-le Community School. At one site, faint black smoke rose from an enclosed flare. At another, the smell of gas was noticeable. For many in the Counselor area, this confirmed lived experiences. Community members shared experiences of headaches, nausea, and persistent odors. 

Why Toxic Tours?

Community toxic tours are important because they give community members the opportunity to see oil and gas operations up close and better understand how these sites may impact air quality, health, and safety. The tours also create space for people to share their own experiences and observations living near the development. Through these tours, we hope to increase awareness, strengthen community knowledge, and encourage ongoing conversations about health, safety, and protecting the land for future generations.  

Photo by Diné CARE’s Ali Tsosie-Harvey

As someone who lives and works here as a certified thermographer, I see the importance of documenting emissions. The FLIR camera helps map areas that are not receiving consistent inspections. Responsibility is complex across federal, state, tribal, allotment, and private lands and oversight is inconsistent. That’s why Earthworks uses a tool like the FLIR camera to help communities see what they’ve been feeling for years and have the ability to push for greater accountability in Indigenous communities.

Take action by contacting representatives, learning more about how oil and gas infrastructure harms the public health and safety of communities, and engage in processes like showing up to give public comments when new rules and regulations are under consideration.

The post Seeing What We’ve Been Breathing: What I’ve Witnessed in 2026 So Far appeared first on Earthworks.

View of the sound walls around Chevron’s Bishop well pad from only a mile away at Galeton Elementary’s playground in May 2025.

What do toxic geysers and shiny new playgrounds have in common? The sensible answer is: Nothing. But in the rural community of Galeton, Colorado, both serve as a reminder of the impacts that the oil and gas industry can have on communities.

In August 2025, Galeton Elementary celebrated the opening of a new playground donated by Chevron, which, through its subsidiaries Noble Energy and PDC Energy, owns many of the well pads in the surrounding area. From the promotional video, it would appear that the residents and schoolchildren of Galeton were merely the lucky recipients of an act of corporate benevolence. However, this video lacks some important context:

In April 2025, a well at Chevron’s Bishop well pad located about a mile from Galeton Elementary suffered a critical failure and a blowout occurred. This blowout resulted in plumes of dangerous airborne pollutants like benzene that were detected miles away from the well, and a geyser of well fluids that lasted for days, blanketing homes and the nearby elementary school in toxic compounds. Over one million gallons of fluids spewed over a 1.5 mile radius from the well, contaminating soil and surfaces, including the previous playground at Galeton Elementary. Homes were evacuated, families have been displaced, and cleanup and remediation is predicted to continue through 2030.

Photos of cleanup efforts at a home adjacent to the Bishop well pad in May 2025

In other words, what that video does not tell you is that the new playground at Galeton Elementary is the result of ongoing cleanup efforts from one of the worst “spills” in Colorado’s history. 

It is a good thing that Chevron rebuilt the school’s playground after the disaster. But, it should not be used to excuse or distract from the harm that was done to those whose lives were upended.

$1.5M Fine: a significant sum, a meager penalty

Colorado’s Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) recently fined Chevron $1.5 million dollars for the incident, much of which will be used to bolster enforcement efforts at ECMC. In addition, Chevron is responsible for covering the costs of ongoing cleanup and remediation efforts. 

This is one of the largest fines the ECMC has ever levied against an operator. It is a significant sum, and ensuring that some of those funds go towards improving state enforcement efforts is an important goal.

However, $1.5 million dollars is still a meager penalty for a multinational corporation that reported $2.8 billion in earnings in the last quarter. To put that in perspective, the fine represents five ten-thousandths of a percent (0.0005%) of those quarterly earnings. At that rate, Chevron could easily afford thousands of such fines without seeing even a dent in their finances.

The fine is not nothing. The fine is a start. Now, the ECMC must ensure that Chevron’s cleanup efforts are conducted properly and must also do everything in its power to ensure that operators take measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring elsewhere. 

More importantly, the fine, the cleanup efforts, and the brand new playground do not diminish the harm done to those displaced, those exposed to harmful pollutants, and to the environment. Companies like Chevron have the money to buy goodwill, but we should not let them cover up the impacts the oil and gas industry has on communities like Galeton.

We must ensure that the oil and gas industry is not allowed to continue to mislead communities. And, in Galeton, this truth remains: 

Even after the cleanup has concluded, schoolchildren at Galeton Elementary will be able to see the Bishop well pad on the horizon from their new playstructure. That is, when the air is not dangerous to breathe and visibility greatly reduced due to persistent smog fueled by Front Range oil and gas activities.

The post A “Good Neighbor” with a Toxic Legacy appeared first on Earthworks.

Read the English version of this post. / Baca versi bahasa Inggris dari postingan ini.

Kegagalan fasilitas limbah tambang di Meksiko yang baru-baru ini terjadi kembali menggaris-bawahi betapa berbahayanya limbah tambang, atau tailing, bagi para pekerja serta menyoroti pentingnya perlindungan terhadap hak dan keselamatan pekerja di lokasi pertambangan di seluruh dunia.

Kegiatan pertambangan menghasilkan limbah beracun dalam jumlah yang sangat besar dan limbah itu akan tetap ada di area pertambangan tersebut secara permanen. Penyimpanan limbah yang aman sangatlah penting bagi masyarakat di sekitar lokasi tambang dan bagi lingkungan – serta bagi para pekerja yang berada di dalam maupun di sekitar fasilitas penyimpanan tailing. Konsekuensi dari setiap kegagalan bisa berakibat fatal, seperti menimbun manusia dalam lumpur beracun, serta mencemari tanah dan sumber air.

Pekerja terjebak di terowongan di Meksiko

Pada tanggal 25 Maret, kegagalan tailing di tambang Santa Fe di Sinaloa, Meksiko, menyebabkan terowongan bawah tanah dari tambang tersebut tergenang, sehingga para pekerja terjebak di dalam tambang. Pada saat kejadian, sebanyak dua puluh lima pekerja berada di dalam terowongan, dan hanya dua puluh satu dari mereka berhasil diselamatkan dengan cepat.

Dari empat pekerja yang terjebak, satu orang dari antaranya berhasil diselamatkan setelah 100 jam berada di bawah tanah. Satu orang lagi ditemukan dalam keadaan masih hidup setelah 13 hari upaya penyelamatan. Sangat disayangkan, pekerja ketiga ditemukan dalam keadaan meninggal dunia ketika tim penyelamat memasuki minggu kedua proses penggalian, dan meskipun upaya pencarian terus dilakukan, jenazah pekerja keempat belum berhasil ditemukan.

Tambang emas-perak tersebut adalah milik perusahaan pertambangan Meksiko bernama Industrial Minera Sinaloa S.A. de C.V. (IMSSA). Menurut laporan media di Meksiko, genangan air tersebut diduga disebabkan oleh kegagalan lapisan pelindung (liner) pada bendungan tailing, yang mengakibatkan lubang amblas (sinkhole) yang ditengarai menyebabkan “material lumpur merembes masuk ke dalam tambang, yang kemudian memicu proses erosi internal yang merapuhkan struktur terowongan dan menghalangi jalur akses utama.”

Secara tragis, para pekerja seringkali harus menanggung risiko akibat bendungan tailing yang berbahaya.

Ratusan korban meninggal saat jam makan siang di Brasil

Dari 272 orang yang tewas ketika bendungan tailing Brumadinho di Brasil runtuh pada tahun 2019, sebanyak 250 orang merupakan pekerja tambang. Peristiwa tersebut tercatat sebagai kecelakaan industri terburuk dalam sejarah negara tersebut. Perusahaan pertambangan Vale membangun sebuah kantin di bawah bendungan tailing, dan bendungan tersebut runtuh pada jam makan siang, sehingga menimbun para pekerja yang berada tepat di jalur longsoran tailing. Sebuah studi pada tahun 2023 menemukan bahwa tingkat kerusakan fisik pada pekerja tambang adalah 3,4 kali lebih parah dibandingkan korban dari masyarakat sekitar. Laporan tersebut juga menyebutkan bahwa “jumlah korban jiwa lebih besar serta tingkat kerusakan fisik yang juga lebih parah dialami para pekerja dibandingkan penduduk setempat. Hal ini menegaskan betapa besarnya bahaya pekerjaan di industri pertambangan, dan hasil studi ini membantu menjelaskan dinamika bencana tersebut.”

Sejumlah kecelakaan merenggut korban jiwa di Indonesia

Serangkaian kecelakaan industri yang terimbas dari pesatnya pertumbuhan industri pertambangan dan pengolahan nikel di Indonesia menggambarkan besarnya risiko yang dihadapi para pekerja ketika kegiatan pertambangan berkembang tanpa disertai pertimbangan keselamatan yang memadai. Dari tahun 2015 hingga 2024, produksi tambang nikel tahunan Indonesia meningkat dari 5,7% menjadi 62,2% dari total produksi tambang nikel dunia. Seiring peningkatan tersebut, kegiatan pertambangan ini menghasilkan limbah dalam jumlah yang sangat besar. Tragisnya, lonjakan produksi tersebut juga diwarnai oleh berbagai tragedi.

Di Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, pengelolaan fasilitas tailing yang tidak memadai telah mengakibatkan sejumlah kematian pekerja. “Tempat pembuangan tailing mengancam kesehatan dan keselamatan pekerja. Bendungan-bendungan tersebut berpotensi runtuh, yang dapat mengakibatkan korban jiwa, pekerja tertimbun lumpur, serta terpapar bahan kimia beracun,” ujar Tesar Anggrian, seorang aktivis dari serikat pekerja yang mewakili pekerja tambang di kawasan industri tersebut, FSPIM-KPBI.

Pada bulan Januari 2025, dua pekerja tertimbun hidup-hidup akibat longsor yang dipicu oleh kegiatan pertambangan; kemudian pada bulan Maret di tahun yang sama, kegagalan tailing kembali menewaskan tiga pekerja. Pada bulan Februari 2026, kegagalan lainnya merenggut nyawa seorang pekerja ketika limbah menimbun alat berat yang sedang dioperasikannya.

Sebuah laporan Earthworks tahun 2026, yang berjudul Tailing yang Difilter di Indonesia: Kegagalan Katastropik dari Sebuah Teknologi Disruptif menyoroti bahaya-bahaya yang mungkin terjadi karena penerapan suatu jenis teknologi penyimpanan limbah di banyak fasilitas nikel baru di Indonesia. Ukuran fasilitas tailing yang sangat besar serta perluasan yang berlangsung sedemikian cepat telah meningkatkan risiko. Curah hujan yang tinggi serta aktivitas gempa di Indonesia juga dapat meningkatkan kemungkinan terjadinya kegagalan.

Perlindungan bagi pelapor pelanggaran dapat meningkatkan keselamatan semua pihak

Para pekerja sering kali menyadari ketika fasilitas tailing sudah tidak aman lagi. Dalam sebuah wawancara dari rumah sakit, dengan seorang pekerja tambang Meksiko yang berhasil diselamatkan didapatkan keterangan, “Saya sudah lama punya firasat buruk karena posisi bendungan tailing berada tepat di atas tambang, dan saya tahu bendungan itu suatu saat pasti jebol.” Para pekerja tambang di Afrika Selatan juga telah memperingatkan manajemen perihal kondisi bendungan tailing di Jagersfontein yang berbahaya. Peringatan tersebut diabaikan, dan benar saja, bendungan itu runtuh dan menewaskan lima orang.

Standar keselamatan pekerja sudah ada dan harus dipatuhi

Keselamatan pekerja tidak boleh diabaikan demi memenuhi kebutuhan akan mineral dan logam. Perusahaan pertambangan tidak boleh mencari keuntungan sementara mereka mengorbankan keselamatan. Pemerintah daerah maupun nasional bersama dengan perusahaan pertambangan sering mengerahkan sumber daya dan waktu yang sangat besar untuk menyelamatkan pekerja ketika kegagalan terjadi, namun sama pentingnya – bahkan lebih penting – untuk menginvestasikan sumber daya serta waktu dalam upaya menjaga keselamatan pekerja sejak dari awal.

Perusahaan pertambangan perlu mendengarkan dan melibatkan para pekerja, mengambil semua tindakan yang diperlukan untuk melindungi keselamatan mereka, serta menciptakan suatu mekanisme dimana pekerja dapat menyampaikan peringatan jika mereka mengetahui adanya kondisi berbahaya tanpa rasa takut kehilangan pekerjaan. Safety First: Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management memuat pedoman-pedoman yang dapat diterapkan untuk melindungi pekerja, lingkungan, serta masyarakat dari risiko besar yang ditimbulkan oleh limbah tambang. Pedoman-pedoman tersebut telah didukung oleh serikat pekerja tambang dunia terbesar, yakni IndustriALL Global Union.

The post Pekerja Menanggung Risiko Dari Bendungan Tailing Yang Berbahaya appeared first on Earthworks.

A recent failure at a mine waste facility in Mexico highlights how dangerous mine waste, or tailings, can be for workers and the importance of protecting workers’ rights and safety at mines around the globe.

Mining creates huge amounts of toxic waste that remains permanently in the environment. Storing that waste safely is important for nearby communities and the environment — and for the workers who work in and around tailings facilities. The consequences of failure can be deadly, burying people in toxic mud and polluting land and water.

Workers trapped in tunnels in Mexico

On March 25th, a tailings failure at the Santa Fe mine in Sinaloa, Mexico flooded the mine’s underground shafts, trapping workers in the depths of the mine. A crew of 25 workers were in the shafts at the time of the failure, and twenty-one were rescued quickly. 

Of the four trapped miners, one was rescued after 100 hours underground. A second worker was found alive after 13 days of rescue efforts. Sadly, a third worker’s body was found as rescue crews entered the second week of excavation, and despite continued efforts, the fourth worker’s body has not been recovered.

The silver-gold mine is owned by a Mexican mining company called Industrial Minera Sinaloa S.A. de C.V. (IMSSA). According to Mexican media reports, the flooding appears to have been caused by a failure in the liner of a tailings dam, which created a sinkhole and seemed to have allowed “muddy material to seep into the mine, generating an internal erosion process that weakened the structure of the tunnels and blocked the main access ramps.”

Tragically, workers often pay the price for dangerous tailings dams. 

Hundreds killed at lunch hour in Brazil

Of the 272 people killed when the Brumadinho tailings dam failed in Brazil in 2019, 250 were workers. The failure holds the place of the worst industrial accident in the history of the country. The mining company, Vale, built a cafeteria below the tailings dam, and the dam failed over the lunch hour, placing workers directly in the path of the tailings landslide. A 2023 study found that body dismemberment was 3.4 times greater among mine workers than among community victims, and stated that, “the higher number of fatalities and greater dismemberment among employees than with community residents underlines the occupational dangers in the mining industry and clarifies the dynamics of the disaster.”

The names and faces of people who lost their lives in the Brumadinho tailings failure on display on the fourth anniversary of the disaster.  Multiple accidents cost lives in Indonesia

A series of industrial accidents tied to Indonesia’s booming nickel mining and processing industry underscore the risks to workers when mining expands without the necessary considerations for safety. From 2015 to 2024, annual mine production of nickel in Indonesia rose from 5.7% to 62.2% of world mine production. This mining creates a huge amount of waste. However, this expansion has been tainted by tragedies. 

At the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, mismanagement of tailings facilities has led to numerous worker deaths. “The tailings dump threatens the health and safety of workers. The dams have the potential to collapse, which can result in fatalities and workers being buried in mud and exposed to toxic chemicals,” said Tesar Anggrian, a campaigner for the union representing mineworkers at the industrial park, FSPIM-KPBI.

In January 2025, two workers were buried alive by a landslide caused by mining activities; then in March of the same year a tailings failure killed three more workers. In February of 2026, yet another failure killed a worker when waste buried the heavy machinery he was operating.  

A landslide at a tailings storage facility at Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park in February of 2026 buried heavy machinery and killed a worker. Photo by workers at IMIP.

A 2026 Earthworks report, Filtered Tailings: The Catastrophic Failure of a Disruptive Technology, highlights the specific dangers associated with a certain type of waste storage technology being used at many newer nickel facilities in Indonesia. The massive size and rapid expansion of these tailings facilities is leading to increased risk. Indonesia’s heavy rains and earthquakes could also make failures more likely.

Whistleblower protections make everyone safer

Workers often know when tailings facilities are unsafe. In an interview from his hospital bed, the first rescued Mexican miner said, “I’d been thinking for quite some time that the tailings dam was right above the mine, and I knew it was bound to burst at any moment.” Mineworkers in South Africa warned management of dangerous conditions at a tailings dam in Jagersfontein. Their concerns were ignored, and the dam later collapsed and killed five people. 

Workers safety standards exist and must be followed

Workers’ lives must never be expendable in the push for minerals and metals. Mining companies should not be allowed to prioritize their profits at the expense of safety. Local and national governments together with mining companies often expend vast resources and time to rescue workers when a failure occurs, but it is equally, if not more, important that they invest the same resources and time on keeping workers safe in the first place.

Mining companies need to listen to and engage with workers, take all the necessary measures to protect their lives, and create mechanisms for workers to sound the alarm on dangerous conditions, without fear of losing their jobs. Safety First: Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management, lays out a series of guidelines to protect workers, the environment and communities from the significant risks posed by mine waste. The guidelines have been endorsed by the largest global mineworkers union, IndustriALL Global Union. 

The post Workers Pay the Price for Dangerous Tailings Dams  appeared first on Earthworks.

Today the Goldman Environmental Prize, which celebrates grassroots leaders who prove that ordinary people can have an extraordinary impact on the environment, announced its 2026 winners. Among the six women who were awarded the prize this year were members of frontline communities affected by mining and oil and gas drilling, and Alannah Acaq Hurley, Executive Director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, was one of them. 

Hurley was recognized for her extraordinary work to stop the Pebble Mine in Alaska. Earthworks and our supporters spent more than a decade advocating alongside Tribal Nations and local groups to stop the destructive project. Our staff is delighted to see Hurley receive this recognition for her extraordinary leadership and her coalition’s victory.

This award is so well deserved! Alannah has been a fearless leader in the fight to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine. She brings joy, community and a real strength of spirit to the work. The world is a better place because of her, and her work to protect the world’s largest wild salmon fishery—an ecological and economic powerhouse that sustains local communities and supplies the world with a bounty of healthy seafood. I had the great honor to attend an event at the White House rose garden, where Alannah joined President Biden on stage to celebrate Bristol Bay protections. I was so inspired by her passion for the region and her commitment to the people she was there to represent.

— Bonnie Gestring, retired Northwest Program Director, Earthworks

Additional Goldman Prize winners this year were honored for their efforts confronting extractive industries. Theonila Roka Matbob’s efforts compelled Rio Tinto to finally take responsibility for massive environmental contamination at the Panguna mine in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Yuvelis Moralis Blanco was awarded for organizing to prevent fracking in Colombia. 

Learn more about Alannah Acaq Hurley and the other 2026 Goldman Prize winners.

Alannah Acaq Hurley in Dillingham, Alaska. January, 2026. Image courtesy of Goldman Environmental Prize.

The post Earthworks celebrates Alannah Acaq Hurley, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner appeared first on Earthworks.

by Jan Morrill, Earthworks, Member of the SIRGE Coalition & Edson Krenak, Cultural Survival, Member of the SIRGE Coalition 

Guarani Indigenous communities in Southern Brazil continue to call on the German car manufacturer BMW to uphold their rights and fulfill commitments made over a decade ago.

An Auto Factory Built on Ancestral Land

In 2013, BMW began construction of a vehicle assembly plant located in Araquari, Santa Catarina, Brazil, which impacted the Indigenous Territories of the Piraí, Pindoty and Tarumã of the Guarani People. The plant was completed in 2015 and sits on 1.5 square kilometres of their ancestral land. In its first five years of operations, BMW claims the factory produced 60 thousand vehicles. As the BMW assembly plant was built and began operation, Guarani communities denounced the encroachment on their lands, the environmental impacts of industrial production, and the growth of secondary infrastructure brought to the area by the factory. 

The Guarani communities say the factory was built without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), as required by Brazilian and International law. BMW did not carry out the process for the Componente Indígena do Plano Básico Ambiental (CI-PBA) [The Indigenous Component of the Basic Environmental Plan] to demonstrate fulfilment of FPIC requirements under Brazilian legislation until 2019, after the factory was already in operation. In Brazil, the CI-BPA identifies, mitigates and compensates for the impacts of a project on Indigenous peoples. It also establishes a set of planned activities to be carried out by the company. A final and approved CI-PBA was released by FUNAI (The National Indian Foundation), the Brazilian national agency charged with policies related to Indigenous Peoples, in 2022. Even though the company had not met federal FPIC requirements, BMW received its pre-licensing for installation in 2013 from the local Santa Catarina Environmental Institute (IMA). 

Incomplete Commitments in the Official Process

During a visit to the area in November of 2025, Guarani leaders discussed the CI-PBA with members of the Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition and issues related to its implementation. They provided extensive documentation produced by FUNAI and BMW.  

There has been a profound absence of FUNAI or any other federal agencies throughout the process. Indigenous leaders who spoke to SIRGE members from Earthworks and Cultural Survival in November, 2025 described the relationship with the local BMW operation as strained, distrustful, and sometimes disrespectful, marked by weak communication, inconsistent follow-through, and an apparent unwillingness to treat engagement with community authority as more than a procedural requirement.

While visiting the Guarani communities, members of SIRGE observed how some of the activities in the CI-PBA remain incomplete or are inadequate. The CI-PBA included the construction of 46 new single-family houses for members of the Guarani communities. However, the housing projects raise serious concerns about quality, safety, and accountability. According to Guarani leaders, the housing construction project ran out of money before finishing construction on all of the houses committed by the CI-PBA. For example, as the project has dragged on for years, in one community only 6 of the 16 promised houses have actually been constructed.

In November 2025 Guarani leaders showed representatives of SIRGE around the housing project that is still in process. They flagged concerns about the quality and safety of the craftsmanship, including things that had already broken even though the houses were still under construction and uninhabited. Many houses remain incomplete posing a potential hazard with the construction debris in the community’s backyard. The housing project suggests not only technical negligence but also a deeper governance failure: interventions that should strengthen territorial well-being instead introduce new risks and maintenance burdens for the communities. 

Images courtesy of Cultural Survival

Power and Water Outages

The Guarani communities link disruptions like loss of access to clean water and power outages to the BMW plant. In November of 2025 leaders explained that two communities had lost their access to water, which then had to be delivered by trucks. In 2026, intense storms, tied to climate change, took out the already precarious electric and internet grid in some of the communities, which has been partially restored.

A Path Towards Respect and Self-Determination

While the CI-PBA describes a number of activities, the most important outcome is missing: how will this agreement recognize the self-determination of the Guarani people while adequately mitigating the impacts of the factory on their lands and lives? Real, substantive improvements would include risk reduction, improvement in territorial security, effective oversight, community autonomy, cultural protection, and conflict prevention. 

The implementation of the CI-PBA, as experienced on the ground, appears to reproduce a familiar pattern of formal compliance without substantive delivery and little community engagement in what really matters. It also follows the general pattern where the industry takes Indigenous lands without respecting Indigenous Peoples rights. In this context, the CI-PBA risks functioning less as a rights-based safeguard and more as a reputational instrument, where visible “deliverables” substitute for durable commitments, meaningful consent, and a respectful, long-term partnership grounded in Indigenous self-determination.

Disappointingly, this is part of a broader trend. In March, the Lead the Charge Coalition released its annual leaderboard report scoring automakers on their corporate commitments. The findings showed that while there is minimal improvement from year to year in respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, achievement across the industry remains unacceptably low, including for BMW. None of the automakers analyzed met criteria for grievance mechanisms for potentially affected rightsholders. The case of the Guarani people in Brazil is a concrete example of how agreements between companies and communities need transparency, enforcement, and accountability if they’re going to work.

After over a decade of automobile production, the Comissão Guarani Yvyrupa is calling on BMW to honor its commitments to the impacted Indigenous communities. Today, they demand more than mere compliance with BMW’s previous commitments. They insist on a meaningful FPIC process, adequate compensation for the disruptions and traumas they have endured, and transparent and clear channels for communication directly with BMW’s head office. They also call on the company to address issues related to water security and a stable water supply, and ensure adequate and safe housing. 

References

ASTEKA. (2022) “Plano Operativo para Execução dos Programas do CI-PBA da BMW Do Brasil.”

Communications between community leaders and SIRGE representatives. (Feb. 2026) WhatPhone call.

Interviews conducted during site visits by Cultural Survival and Earthworks. (November 1, 2025) 

Videos shared by community members in 2026.

The post Indigenous Communities Demand German Automaker Respect Indigenous Peoples’ Rights appeared first on Earthworks.

We did it!

After decades of stagnant fees and a growing oil and gas industry, New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board has approved updated air quality permit fees, and it’s a big deal for the communities living with the consequences of underfunded oversight.

For years, Earthworks and our partners have been documenting what happens when regulators lack the funding and staff to oversee a rapidly expanding industry. We’ve filmed uncontrolled pollution releases with optical gas imaging cameras. We’ve sat with families in the Permian and San Juan Basins who can smell oil and gas operations from their front porches. We’ve filed complaints that took too long to get investigated, not because the regulators don’t care, but because they didn’t have the staff or resources.

This may not have been the flashiest win, but it is one that decides whether rules on paper protect anyone in real life.

What happened and why it matters

New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board voted to approve updated air quality permit fees for both operating emissions and construction permits. This is the first substantial update since 2009. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry exploded. General construction permits have increased by roughly 2,100 percent over the past 13 years. 

The Air Quality Bureau was heading towards a funding cliff: the Title V Special Revenue Fund was projected to run out by FY 2028. Without this update, the state was looking at fewer inspectors, longer permit backlogs, less monitoring, and slower enforcement when violations happen.

This is an environmental justice win. Underfunded oversight is a health problem and it lands the hardest on frontline communities.

An Associated Press analysis estimated that roughly 29,500 students across 74 New Mexico schools sit within potential exposure zones of oil and gas emissions. Researchers have found benzene levels near some schools spiking during class hours to nearly double the thresholds linked to chronic health effects. 

Counties like Lea and Eddy, home to thousands of active wells, compressor stations, and processing facilities, each had a single state ozone monitor. One monitor for an entire county spanning thousands of square miles. Roughly 70 percent of the new positions this funding is projected to create are in compliance and enforcement. 

This win didn’t happen in isolation. Earthworks joined a broad coalition of organizations, from the Native American Voters Alliance and TEWA Women United, to the Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and many more, in submitting a joint comment letter urging the Board to approve the fee updates. We submitted technical testimony, helped advocates and every day New Mexicans participate and make our voices heard.

New Mexico legislators also showed up. More than two dozen other legislators submitted a letter to the Board. Their message was that every New Mexican deserves to breathe clean air, and the state needs adequate tools to actually deliver that.

Hundreds of New Mexico residents submitted their own voices, signing on to the community petition and showing up in person and virtually during the public hearings in Santa Fe. That kind of broad public engagement matters to a regulatory board.

Thank you for your support in making this happen!

The post New Mexico Just Made Polluters Pay for Clean Air appeared first on Earthworks.