Dear editor, Got last minute notice today of an EPA Open House/Community Meeting on the Homestake Mining Superfund Site held in Milan. Was told the notice was put out into everyone’s electric bill. Not more than 20 people showed up with about 8 people from the Federal and State EPA departments.
Looks like Homestake wants to get relived of their cleanup efforts and turn it over to the Department of Energy or Nuclear Regulation Commission as soon as they can get a plan approved. I found this site had lots of history than what was not given at the meeting notes from the website. Homestake has been trying to remediate the site for 49 years, has purchased 455 of 523 properties, at a very cheap price, on about 6,100 acres of land nearly as large as the most contaminated area at the Rocky Flats Plant, of more than 100 sites under the DOE’s perpetual care, where thousands of plutonium bomb cores for the nation’s nuclear arsenal were fabricated between 1952 and 1989.
I brought up the Anaconda Copper Company Mill site not far from Homestake that was buried and according to the web page PCB Monitoring was stopped in 2018 on 19 wells on the site for Molybdenum, Selenium, and Uranium. The website link claims the DOE does annual inspections to evaluate the surface conditions, and monitors contamination concretions to ensure they do not migrate off the site greater than those approved by the NRC.
I was told at the meeting Federal & NM State drinking water regulations were the same, only the secondary particulate tests were not as strict like taste etc. that do not affect health. I also asked about the recent news KREQ news story on High levels of PFAS found in 15 New Mexico water systems and was told by the state officials at the meeting this contamination was not the same as we have here totally different.
I asked about the new well drilled by the Village of Milan near Casa San Jose and was assured by NM State EPA staff the all the public wells are checked every year and meet federal standards.
Citations: https://www.env.nm.gov/for mer- mines- mills/ site- reviews- of- formerly- operating- uranium-mines-and-mill s/homestake-mill-site-review/ ; Signed Mr. Harry L. Hall USAF Veteran Retired Polic/Sheriff Lt. 38+ Years CDEC
Dear Editor, I just finished reviewing the 2024 IRS 990 tax filing for Continental Divide Electric Cooperative (projects.propublica.org), and frankly, I am appalled. The reported revenue on page 1 shows a staggering loss of $1,249,506. That’s a significant drop from the 2023 figures. This raises a critical question: what the hell is going on at our cooperative that the ratepayers – the common folks who own this co-op – are supposed to trust?
Operating margins are everything in accounting because they reveal the core profitability and efficiency of the business. A higher margin signals better management and cost control. The 2024 margin loss clearly demonstrates poor management and lack of control.
Let me remind you: we own this cooperative. As ratepayers, we have a rightful say in how things are managed. Yet here we are, facing a giant financial failure with no explanation. This is not just poor management; it’s a slap in the face to every person who puts faith in this cooperative.
The board of directors, whom we elect to protect our interests, are expected to retain a competent CEO who can run a successful and smoothly operating business. Does this $1.2 million loss reflect that? Absolutely not. It screams incompetence, negligence, and a complete disregard for the welfare of the cooperative and its members. Usually, losses of this scale mean higher prices. So brace yourselves – our electric bills will likely go up. Why should we be penalized for this incompetence? Like many of you, I struggle paycheck to paycheck. Being hit with higher bills due to mismanagement is sickening.
What’s even more outrageous is that despite this massive loss, the board approved wage increases for the CEO and CFO. Are you kidding me? Rewarding executives with raises after tanking the financial health of the cooperative is not just irresponsible – it’s downright insulting. This is unacceptable on every level.
What caused this financial mess? Doesn’t the board and management realize that the electric ratepayers bear the costs for bad business decisions? Will we see corrective action that will restore the cooperative’s financial future? What margins or losses will the 2025 990 filing showcase? The members deserve accountability, and we will not stand for this flagrant mismanagement.
Cindy Matheson