Earth Care is working with the Southside residents, and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC) has also joined the coalition.

Edmund Gorman, a fifth-grade elementary school teacher in Santa Fe, says his students and their families are worried about the plant. “Families and staff at El Camino Real Academy are quite concerned about the possibility of the new asphalt plant being built so close to our school and neighborhood. We feel like there could be a much better placement for the plant—not near a school or neighborhood. We are glad the plant will provide jobs for Santa Fe during this time of struggle for many, but feel like there must be other options in more isolated areas that will not present possible health risks to a large community.”