Protecting New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande communities’ water, air, health and safety from reckless energy development has been Common Ground Rising’s mission since 2017. Based in Rio Rancho, CGR is dedicated to the predominantly Indigenous and Hispanic communities across the region who face devastating environmental risks. EPA data shows alarming challenges: over 70% face toxic air cancer risks, and asthma rates in Jemez, Santo Domingo, and San Felipe pueblos exceed 98% of the national average. Less than an hour’s drive from Rio Rancho, residents of La Cieneguilla are reeling from widespread PFAS contamination. These communities are systematically exposed to cumulative hazards, including superfund sites, heavy industrial pollution, and socioeconomic challenges that disproportionately impact marginalized populations. CGR is confronting these critical challenges through initiatives that include documenting baseline water and air quality at proposed development sites, opposing pipeline and nuclear development, protesting reuse of fracking wastewater, and successfully advocating for regional air quality protections that exceed World Health Organization standards.
Common Ground Rising Elaine Cimino
Common Ground Rising is a dynamic group of about 500 led by Elaine Cimino. CGR fights for a moratorium on fracking, pointing out the hazards of radioactive and toxic fracking-associated “produced water” in New Mexico, as well as its irresponsible distribution into landfills and water supplies and onto agricultural lands and roads. The group has partnered with Pause on Fracking NM and with Action Network and has submitted scientific information and anti-fracking comments to EPA and Congress. CGR also supports passage of the Green Amendment, which states that all people of New Mexico “shall be entitled to clean and healthy air, water, soil and environment; a stable climate; and self-sustaining ecosystems.” And CGR shares timely pollution data, exposes misinformation, and campaigns for an upgrade to the state’s air quality standards. Their website provides a sign-on petition to replace the EPA-based standards with the more stringent standards promoted by the World Health Organization. With fellow environment justice advocates, they call on elected officials and industry leaders to act to prevent PFAS contamination, protect the state’s water resources, and close the loopholes that shield toxic practices under the guise of “proprietary trade secrets.”
Elaine Cimino, (left) at local protest