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Photo: Together, front row, Santa Fe County Youth & Family Services Chanelle Delgado, Human Rights Alliance Executive Director Kevin Bowen, Commissioner, District 2, Lisa Cacari Stone, and back row, Commissioners, District 4, Adam F. Johnson, District 5, Hank Hughes, District 1, Justin S. Greene, and District 3, Camilla Bustamante, affirm the dignity, safety, and human rights of all LGBTQIA2S+ persons.

SANTA FE, N.M., May 28, 2026—The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) met for its regular meeting, Tuesday, May 26, with votes unanimously in favor of several agenda items.

With a proclamation to honor the life and memory of Juniper Blessing, emotional commissioners made clear that Santa Fe County is about love and compassion for everyone, and affirms the dignity, safety, and human rights of all LGBTQIA2S+ persons.

The proclamation calls upon the State of New Mexico and all levels of government to strengthen protections for transgender individuals, to fully fund and support hate crime prevention programs, and to ensure that every person—regardless of gender identity or expression—can live, work, study, and exist in safety and freedom.

“A just society is measured not by how it treats the powerful, but by how fiercely it protects those most vulnerable to hatred and exclusion,” said Commissioner, District 3, Camilla Bustamante.

Commissioners approved a letter to the New Mexico Environmental Department in support of permit changes to require the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to clean up more waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The changes would require WIPP to include LANL legacy waste in 55% of the total waste disposed of at the WIPP site from 2027 to 2031, rising to 75% in 2032.

“The legacy waste buried at LANL’s Material Disposal Area G in Technical Area 54 poses an ongoing and serious threat to the environment and public health of northern New Mexico. Santa Fe County residents will be directly affected by LANL’s decisions regarding legacy waste,” the letter stated.

Commissioners discussed enacting a 12-month moratorium on data centers within the County and heard presentations from policy advisors and neighboring Bernalillo County staff who have experience with the issue. Although no applications are currently pending for data centers in the County, the moratorium will allow time to create appropriate guardrails for their potential development.

Data centers manage and distribute large amounts of data and are increasingly becoming “hyperscale” in size, to accommodate artificial intelligence. One data center can be the size of a small city with matching energy needs, and their proliferation is projected to account for a 20% increase in nationwide energy demands by 2030, according to the presentations.

Microgrids and self-sourced power systems skirt some of the regulations that currently govern utilities in New Mexico. With the approval of air and land use permits, data centers can generate their own power, including the use of gas turbines. One data center powered by gas turbines could produce more greenhouse gas emissions than all of PNM, according to the presentation. Importantly, the Energy Transition Act (which requires all utilities to achieve zero carbon power in New Mexico), does not apply to these self-sourced power systems.

Commissioners were encouraged to consider rate impacts, water impacts, and how a potential project would align with local priorities in terms of infrastructure upgrades, workforce development commitments, and environmental impacts.

A final hearing will be scheduled for the June 30 regular BCC meeting, and the public will be allowed to comment. If the action moves forward, the County will place a 12-month pause on any potential data center development within the County, as staff determine best practices and recommendations.

View all motions and votes from the Board of County Commissioners May 26 regular meeting in the online meeting summary (PDF) and watch the full recording on the County YouTube channel. Find more information about County meetings on the County Calendar or by visiting the County’s online meeting portal.