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Dossier · Who's Who

James Kenney

Cabinet Secretary, NM Environment Department (NMED)

verification: confirmed

The cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, the agency deciding Project Jupiter's air permit.

At a glance

Current role: Cabinet Secretary, NM Environment Department (NMED)2019-01–present^[1]
Earlier role: Enforcement and investigations roles, U.S. EPA^[1]
Category: Appointed official
Jurisdiction: State of New Mexico
Married to: Husband (name not given in verified sources) — identified in Kenney's official NMED bio as the U.S. Marshal for the District of New Mexico
Verification: confirmed — Two independent accounts agree
In the record: 5 sources · 5 connections · 5 dated entries
Record id: PJP21

Key facts

2026-07-01Concurred on July 1, 2026 with the Air Quality Bureau's recommendation for a public hearing, after about 6,700 public comments.
Per internal emails reported by The Candle, directed staff to add about $500,000 in Apaluma work to NMED's Speridian contract.^[3]
Approved a second contract, worth $977,354, adding Apaluma for Project Velocity, and appeared in an Apaluma promo video that was later taken down.^[4]
2026-01Sixteen organizations wrote to Kenney in January 2026 demanding transparency and public input on the Project Jupiter air permits.^[5]
2026-07-09The Department of Justice's July 9, 2026 letter on its investigation into the permit's comment file was addressed to Kenney.
2026-09-18Wrote to the developers of a proposed Grant County data center on September 18, 2026, expressing 'disappointment' at their lack of community engagement.

The record

The cabinet secretary whose agency decides Project Jupiter's air permit — and who, per internal emails, directed his staff to write Apaluma, his former cabinet colleague's AI company, into NMED contracts without a bid. He starred in the company's promo video ('I'm already having, like, an affection towards Luma… like lightning in a bottle') — a video that later vanished.

The DOJ's fraud investigation into the permit's comment file landed on his desk in July 2026.

Relationships · 5

Leads

NM Environment Department (NMED)

Appointed

James O. Browning

Petitioned by

WATR Alliance

Linked (relates to)

Site Layer 1 LLC (Granite Renewables)

Relates to

Site Layer 1 LLC (Granite Renewables)

In the timeline · 5

Jul 1, 2026The hearing exists because roughly 6,700 people wrote in Jul 2, 2026Max Shepherd is appointed hearing officer; the final decision goes to Rhoderick Jul 29, 2026Two days later, the hearing moves five weeks earlier Sep 24, 2026Two southern counties go opposite ways Oct 2, 2026A new hearing officer — and still no hearing date

Dated entries in the record that involve this party. Appearing here is not an allegation — it means the graph draws an edge from this dossier to that event.

In the Watch · 4

eventApaluma awarded ~$1.48M no-bid NMED contracts

eventElevate NM pro-permit ad campaign (Jan 29–Mar 2 2026)

eventOracle NMED permit-support letter, signed Pitcock (Mar 2026)

eventThe Apaluma promo video — Kenney stars, then it vanishes

Sources · 5

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