Truth or Consequences Daily Digest Saturday, October 17, 2026
Ty's Take
The copper mine debate keeps circling back to the same hard question, and today's hearing on power demands just made it sharper. You can't run an operation like Copper Flat without juice, and you can't pretend the grid out here has room to spare when we're already watching every drop of water the Rio Grande sends downstream. The boil-water advisory that hit town this week, brief as it was, reminded folks that our infrastructure here runs on margins thin enough to scare you. Norm Gaume's right that the mine doesn't fit the reality we're actually living in, not the one we wish we had. The burros still race in the Black Range while we argue about what comes next, but those mountains and that water won't wait for us to make up our minds.
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Sierra County Citizen
Hearing on Copper Flat Mine, XI: Electricity
The proposed Copper Flat Mine would require massive amounts of water and electricity to operate, raising concerns about long-term impacts on Sierra County's resources and power consumption. Local officials and residents are examining how the project's substantial electrical demands could affect...
Truth avoided harmful consequences in T or C’s boil-water advisory
Truth or Consequences City Manager Gary Whitehead earned praise for issuing and then lifting a boil-water advisory in late August and early September after water pressure losses raised contamination risks. The city is moving forward with Water System Performance Improvements 1 to address...
“Copper Flat doesn’t fit New Mexico’s new water reality” by Norm Gaume
Water resources engineer and former Interstate Stream Commission director Norm Gaume, president of New Mexico Water Advocates, argues that the Copper Flat Mine project does not align with New Mexico's evolving approach to managing water resources. His opinion piece examines the conflict between the...
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Sierra County Sentinel
Burros Race In The Black Range
The inaugural Run With The Burros Race took place October 10 at the Hermosa Field Station in the Gila National Forest, with 24 runners and six burros completing 5K and half-marathon courses organized by Natural Curiosity. Despite last-minute route changes due to flooding, all participants finished...
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