For KUNM, the public radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Kent Patterson and Mercedes Mejia produced an hourlong documentary on environmental pollution and efforts to pursue environmental justice in two communities that straddle the U.S./Mexico border. With support from the Fund, the team filed a public-records requests to obtain a 700-page transcript of an administrative hearing for a state fine against the public water utility. The records provided a timeline for arsenic contamination in local water sources and an accounting for how the utility outsourced its operations to private contractors. Shortly after the documentary aired, the New Mexico Environment Department scheduled a community meeting about the water issues.
Public-radio documentary digs into environmental concerns along U.S./Mexico border
