New Mexico AG backs environmental groups challenging Project Jupiter before state Supreme Court

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Thursday announced his support for two legal challenges to the Project Jupiter data center pending before the state Supreme Court.

Two environmental groups — the Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy and the national Center for Biological Diversity — in August filed petitions with the New Mexico Supreme Court challenging proceedings for the massive Oracle and OpenAI data center campus under construction in Doña Ana County.

New Energy Economy in its filing argued that holding an air quality permit hearing would be premature, as the pipeline needed to fuel it has been delayed and has yet to secure the necessary federal regulatory approval. The Center for Biological Diversity argued that the Office of the State Engineer broke state law late last year when it signed off on drilling an emergency well for the data center’s construction site without first providing public notice or holding a hearing.

Supreme Court justices subsequently issued two unanimous orders that paused a pending New Mexico Environment Department air quality permit hearing and halted water use from an emergency well drilled in 2025 for the data center’s construction site.

In two filings Thursday, Torrez argued that state agencies shirked their responsibility to the public to accommodate Project Jupiter’s developers.

“The same rules must apply to everyone,” Torrez said in a statement, “Whether you’re a family defending a water right or a global corporation with money and political clout. Notice and a fair hearing exist to protect the public, and bending those rules for a powerful applicant undermines public trust, regardless of the outcome.”

Contested New Mexico hearing officer for Project Jupiter air quality permit hearing recuses himself

In his filing supporting New Energy Economy’s challenge to the New Mexico Environment Department’s air quality permit hearing, Torrez took aim at the hearing officer’s decision to abruptly reschedule the hearing from October to September.

Hearing Officer Max Shepherd, who has since recused himself from the case, in public meetings said he would deny a request from Project Jupiter’s developer, Yucca Growth Infrastructure, to reschedule the October hearing as the case was too complex to rush. Days after making those remarks, though, Shepherd published a written scheduling order moving the hearing date up to September.

Shepherd previously told Source NM doing so was his attempt to find a compromise for the project’s developers and opponents as NMED faces a Nov. 23 deadline to make a final decision on whether to issue the air quality permit.

However, Torrez’s filing contends that the law permits NMED to extend its own permitting deadlines for “good cause.”

The New Mexico Environment Department did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.

In his filing supporting the Center for Biological Diversity’s challenge, Torrez argued that the Office of the State Engineer ignored its own guidelines when it approved the drilling of an emergency well for Project Jupiter late last year.

US Rep. Stansbury voices concerns about New Mexico water use for Project Jupiter data center

The project’s developers bought water from a nearby sod farm for use during construction. When a well failed in late 2025, they asked the Office of the State Engineer for permission to drill an emergency well nearby.

Torrez argued that such emergency approvals should only be granted for issues threatening crop loss or serious economic loss. He also wrote that the office has failed to act in a timely manner on protests filed against the emergency authorization.

Colin Cox, a senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement Thursday said Torrez’s support “underscores how blatantly the Office of the State Engineer erred by handing our precious fresh water over to Project Jupiter.”

The Office of the State Engineer did not respond to a request for comment.