Redistricting litigation isn't the only challenge to legislative authority in New Mexico. An environmental suit raises similar legal questions.

SANTA FE — Attorneys for the Legislature are pushing back on a lawsuit accusing New Mexico of violating the state Constitution by failing to protect the environment from oil and gas pollution.

They say the plaintiffs are asking the judiciary to make policy decisions that are reserved for the legislative branch. And the solutions sought by the lawsuit, legislative attorneys argue, simply aren’t practical or well-thought out.

It’s the second legal clash in New Mexico this year hinging at least in part on the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government — similar to a complaint over congressional redistricting.

In the pollution suit, the environmental groups and individuals suing the state say Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Legislature are failing to enforce a constitutional provision requiring protection of the environment.

They’re seeking a temporary halt to new oil and gas drilling permits in New Mexico.

Each side’s arguments are outlined in legal filings in the case, now pending in the state’s 1st Judicial District, before Judge Francis Mathew.

Separation of powers

The Legislature’s defense against the environmental lawsuit shares some similarities with a longer-running clash over redistricting.

Faced with a legal challenge to newly drawn congressional districts, Lujan Grisham and legislative leaders argued this year that redistricting was an inherently political process. The courts, they said, had no clear way to determine what would constitute illegal partisan gerrymandering.

The Supreme Court disagreed this month, ruling that allegations of illegal partisan gerrymandering can be taken up in court. The justices acknowledged redistricting involves political decisions, but they also said the districts must be defensible under a three-part test articulated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

The underlying litigation in the congressional redistricting case — on the merits of whether the new map constitutes an illegal partisan gerrymander — is pending.

Political backdrop

The environmental lawsuit also comes as Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, faces some criticism from the left on addressing climate change.

Her veto of climate-related tax incentives drew condemnation from environmental groups, and her push to make New Mexico a hydrogen-energy hub has run into opposition from some Democrats.

The governor has had plenty of criticism from the right, too, especially over her signing of legislation to require utilities to shift to carbon-free energy generation by 2045.

The pollution-control lawsuit was filed in May by the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, Indigenous Lifeways, Youth United for Climate Crisis Action and other plaintiffs.

In addition to the environmental protection provision in the Constitution, the suit also covers allegations of discrimination against frontline communities, among other legal claims.

The defendants include Lujan Grisham, the Legislature and state agencies.