New Mexico Land Commissioner Rejects Project Jupiter Pipeline Route on State Trust Land

New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has again denied Energy Transfer’s request to build part of a natural-gas pipeline and related infrastructure on state trust land for Project Jupiter, a proposed data center complex in Doña Ana County.

The State Land Office’s July 14, 2026, letter rejects the company’s request to reconsider an earlier denial. The decision covers two proposed rights-of-way for the Green Chili Lateral pipeline, a related Green Chili Meter Station business lease and associated access across state trust lands.

The ruling blocks the proposed state-land route and related lease, creating a permitting obstacle for Project Jupiter. It does not cancel the broader data center proposal or resolve the project’s separate air-quality permit.

Why the State Land Office rejected the request

Garcia Richard’s letter says the proposed uses would not be in the best interests of New Mexico’s state land trust, which supports public schools, hospitals, universities and other state institutions. The commissioner’s decision letter says the State Land Office has discretion to deny a lease or right-of-way even when an applicant has submitted paperwork and paid filing fees.

The letter says the two rights-of-way would generate one-time payments of about $11,282.20 and $20,624.65 over a 35-year period under the State Land Office’s fee schedule. It says the proposed business lease for the meter station would produce annual payments of $43,406 over its five-year term.

Garcia Richard concluded that the projected revenue was limited compared with what the letter described as environmental and resource burdens. Those concerns include Project Jupiter’s expected demands on water and other natural resources, greenhouse-gas emissions, and effects on surrounding communities and state trust lands.

The State Land Office’s announcement said the agency was weighing its responsibility to generate income for beneficiary institutions while protecting trust lands for future generations.

What the denial affects

The rejected applications cover about 0.6 miles of the proposed 17-mile Green Chili pipeline route on state trust land. The pipeline is intended to supply natural gas to infrastructure associated with Project Jupiter in southern New Mexico.

The decision applies to the state-land segment, the proposed meter station and the related business lease. It does not decide whether Project Jupiter can proceed on other land, and it does not determine whether state environmental regulators will approve the project’s air-quality permit.

Project Jupiter’s current power proposal involves a fuel-cell-based microgrid. Documents filed with the New Mexico Environment Department describe a system that relies on natural-gas pipeline infrastructure. The State Land Office decision removes one proposed route and connection point, but the available records do not establish that it makes the larger project impossible.

What happens next

Energy Transfer has 30 days from the July 14 letter to file a petition for an administrative contest under State Land Office rules. Any contest would be a separate proceeding. The July 14 letter is the agency’s current decision, not a final resolution of a future administrative challenge.

A separate regulatory decision is also pending. The New Mexico Environment Department has scheduled a public hearing on the Project Jupiter air-quality permit for 9 a.m. on Oct. 19 at the Sunland Park Multi-Generational Center. The department’s scheduling order says the hearing will continue as necessary.

Source New Mexico reported that the Environment Department has until Nov. 23 to decide whether to issue the permit. That air-quality proceeding remains separate from the State Land Office’s pipeline decision.

The permit application was submitted by Yucca Growth Infrastructure for a microgrid intended to supply power to the proposed data center campus. Approval, denial or modification of that permit remains with the Environment Department.

The accountability question for New Mexico

The dispute highlights a recurring public question about state trust land: how should officials weigh lease and right-of-way revenue against water use, emissions, infrastructure demands and other resource costs?

New Mexico’s Land Office has a dual responsibility to generate income for designated beneficiaries while managing trust lands for the long term. In this case, the commissioner determined that the financial return described in the letter did not justify the project-related burdens identified by the agency.

For residents, the next meaningful decision points are Energy Transfer’s possible administrative contest and the October air-quality hearing. Until those proceedings occur, Project Jupiter remains a proposed development with unresolved permits and approvals—not a canceled project, a fully approved project or a project rejected statewide.

Sources

• Commissioner Garcia Richard’s July 14 decision letter
• Project Jupiter air-quality hearing scheduling order
• Source New Mexico report on the October air-quality hearing

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