As public comment period closes, some elected officials say their names were falsely used in supportive comments

Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico

This article was originally published by Source New Mexico.

The New Mexico Environment Department will hold a public hearing on the pending air quality permit application for Project Jupiter, the controversial Oracle and OpenAI data center under construction in Doña Ana County, following high public interest and complaints that residents’ names were used on supportive public comments without their consent.

Environment Department Secretary James Kenney signed a notice ordering a public hearing on the matter, the department confirmed to Source NM Tuesday. Department spokesperson Drew Goretzka said a date and venue have not yet been selected, but noted that the hearing would be held near the permit’s site.

The pending air quality permit application is for one of Project Jupiter’s developers to build a microgrid — an energy source that does not tie into an existing electrical grid — using fuel cells. Developer Yucca Growth Infrastructure in April withdrew its initial air quality permit applications for natural gas plants in favor of the fuel cell proposal.

Yucca Growth Infrastructure did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment.

The public comment period for the new air quality permit application ended Monday. Source NM previously revealed that three New Mexico residents said their names appeared on letters that urged state environment officials to issue the air quality permits after they were approached by canvassers for the project.

Since then, several elected officials have similarly said their names were misused.

Rep. Cristina Parajón (D-Albuquerque) on Tuesday said that her district legislative aide received emails over the Independence Day weekend thanking them for submitting public comments even though neither of them had.

Parajón told Source NM that the comments, which she said NMED took down after she alerted the department to the issue, aligned with the other similarly phrased letters that urged environmental officials to approve the air quality permit.

New Mexico residents say their names used without permission to support Project Jupiter data center

New Mexico residents say their names were used without permission on public comments supporting Project Jupiter’s air quality permit application.

Organ Mountain NewsJoshua Bowling

Parajón said she has never spoken with project canvassers and doesn’t know who submitted the comment bearing her name.

“Most disturbing of all is that they used the dot gov email, the official legislative email address,” she said. “That is impersonation of a government official.” 

Parajón said she has contacted the New Mexico Department of Justice and asked for the attorney general to open an investigation into the matter.

The NMDOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Darien Fernandez, a member of the Taos Town Council, similarly told Source NM he has not seen or spoken with canvassers. However, he woke up on a recent morning to discover an email in his personal inbox thanking him for submitting a public comment on the matter.

“When I saw my name listed in support, first I was like, ‘WTF?’” he said.

Fernandez, who also works as the executive director of the Taos Land Trust, said he was worried the letter would damage his reputation in the conservation circles he works in.

When people submit public comments, the system sends them an email confirmation that their comments have been received. The automated email includes contact information that the commenter included, such as address, email address and phone number. While the email was Fernandez’s personal email address, he said the listed phone number, which has a Washington, D.C., area code, was not his.

On Friday, July 3, Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn also announced that her name had been used to voice support for the air quality permit without her permission.

“I am outraged that someone would impersonate me in a public process — especially to advocate for a project that I believe is harmful to our environment, our communities and animals,” she wrote in a statement. “Using another person’s name without their knowledge or consent undermines public trust and the integrity of the public comment process. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not submit comments in support of Project Jupiter, and I do not support Project Jupiter.”

Joshua Bowling is a senior reporter for Source New Mexico. He's reported in New Mexico, where he broke stories of lavish spending at Western New Mexico University and more, since 2022.