How did YOU spend Earth Day?

Construction Industries Commission spent it rolling back energy savings for New Mexicans

The cost of owning a new home just increased for New Mexicans

April 25 - Albuquerque, NM – The New Mexico Construction Industries Commission celebrated Earth Day on Friday by voting to start the process of rolling back the NM Energy Conservation Code - in an apparent bid to appease what some called a "push from industries" in New Mexico. At its April 22nd meeting, the state commission voted unanimously and with little comment to begin the process of public hearings required to amend the code back to the bare minimum required by federal standards.
Click here to listen to the recording of Tammy Fiebelkorn of SWEEP and Kim Shanahan, ED of the Santa Fe Home Builders Association, discussing this issue on the May 14 edition of Green Talk Radio with Faren Dancer on KTRC 1260AM.

The amendments proposed would erase the NM Energy Conservation Code that was adopted in 2010 after a series of open and public hearings that lasted over a year and included input and evidence from stakeholders across the state. The current code - hailed as one of the most energy-efficient in the country - was reached only after carefully-negotiated agreement by all segments of New Mexico's construction industry.

“It’s unfortunate that the big industry representatives behind this push to destroy our NM Energy Conservation Code chose not to participate in the process last year, despite numerous invitations, and instead are pushing to replace our NM-specific code with a national template that doesn’t take the unique needs of NM into account,” said Tammy Fiebelkorn with the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).

Replacing the NM Energy Conservation Code with an international standard would result in a weaker and more generic building code for New Mexico, wiping out specific adaptations to the energy conservation code that take into account such New Mexico anomalies as Kiva fireplaces, passive solar and adobe homes - not to mention stripping the code of appropriate climate zone allocations that ensure that insulation and other requirements align with our state’s varied geographic and weather needs.

The Commission’s decision on Friday is likely to cause confusion among many in the construction industry who have already begun adapting to and complying with the recently-adopted code. Thousands of code books have been printed and distributed to the public, code inspectors and builders have been trained and new software has been developed to help builders achieve energy savings in new construction. And if the Commission ultimately votes to amend the building codes, it will cost additional taxpayer dollars to retrace all the steps taken to ensure implementation and enforcement of the duly-adopted building code.

Under the proposed changes, New Mexico buildings would be less energy-efficient - costing owners and rate-payers more and continuing to contribute to climate change and the steady erosion of public health that goes with it. If the rollbacks are adopted, it would wipe out energy efficiencies that result in energy savings of roughly $14 a month for the average homeowner.

“Energy efficient buildings are a win-win for New Mexicans – they improve public health by reducing global warming and toxic pollution and save us money in the process. New Mexico is lucky to have a state-specific code that works in New Mexicans’ best interest,” said Sanders Moore, Advocate with Environment New Mexico.

Where did these ideas come from? Why is the new Construction Industries Commission suddenly talking about spending taxpayer money and time to undo codes that reduce energy costs and make for a safer and cleaner environment?

The recommendations can be traced back to Gov. Susana Martinez's Small Business Friendly Task Force, which the Governor appointed in January to review pending or proposed regulations for their economic impact on small businesses in the state. Two members of the secret task force - Albuquerque architect Dale Dekker and Albuquerque mechanical contractor Kevin Yearout – now serve on the Commission at the Governor’s pleasure.

The task force recently issued a report which contained recommendations for amending the state building code that are identical to the motions made Friday at the state building commission. And it was Yearout, whom Gov. Martinez just appointed to the commission, who introduced all four amendments Friday.

“Friday’s maneuver by the new Commission exemplifies the Martinez Administration’s pro-corporate agenda that will actually hamper New Mexico’s small businesses, as well as households with rising utility bills and a more polluted environment,” said the Sierra Club’s local clean energy organizer Shrayas Jatkar. “It’s clear that Governor Martinez is committed to undoing the progress we’ve made in New Mexico rather than advancing efforts to save consumers money and improve public health.”

Anticipating Friday’s move by the Commission, Sierra Club and Environment New Mexico started mobilizing their supporters. Nearly 1,000 New Mexicans have already emailed the Commissioners and Administration, asking them to leave the code as it is.

So what's next? The Commission voted to approve public hearings in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Roswell, and Farmington, with dates and times to be decided and announced to the public later.

For a complete timeline of the 2009 NM Energy Conservation Code: http://nmsierraclub.org/gov-hands-off-our-building-codes.

CONTACTS:

• Shrayas Jatkar, Sierra Club, 505-459-2718
• Tammy Fiebelkorn, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, 505-410-3884
• Sanders Moore, Environment New Mexico, 505-254-4819