The Santa Fe River, running through Downtown captured on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. A bill which would give New Mexico the power to regulate surface water pollution and continue establishing a state program to permit discharges advanced through it’s third committee Friday, heading to the House Floor. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
A bill to enshrine the state’s right to regulate pollution in surface waters like streams and rivers and continue the yearslong process to develop a state program for permits, heads to the Senate floor after advancing through its third committee Friday.
Senate Bill 21, sponsored by Sens. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) Robert “Bobby” Gonzales (D-Ranchos de Taos) and Rep. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos), received a party line vote 6-4. It would need to continue through House committees, a floor vote and receive the governor’s signature before becoming law.
Currently, New Mexico is one of only three states that cedes regulation of pollutants in state waters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed law furthers the state permitting program currently under development in the New Mexico Environment Department.
The bill reinstates federal protections removed for rivers that don’t have continuous flow in the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision Sackett v. EPA, according to Rachel Conn, the deputy director with Amigos Bravos, a river nonprofit based in Taos which endorsed the bill.
“It’s very important work to restore these protections that have been these clean water protections that have been lost in recent years,” Conn said.
As layoffs continue at federal agencies, including the EPA, Conn said the bill offers important stability.
“It underscores the necessity for the state to take over permitting so permits can continue getting issued,” she said. “That provides regulatory certainty for dischargers in the state.”
The New Mexico Environment Department estimates 95% of rivers and streams in New Mexico no longer have federal protections, which require permits for pollution including sewage, industrial or construction wastes.
In data from October, the EPA said approximately 4,000 permits in New Mexico, including: more than 3,000 stormwater from construction; 89 permits for wastewater treatment plants or industrial facilities; 21 feedlot permits; 35 with municipal storm sewer permits; and 10 permits that cover permits for pesticide use.
Wirth said Friday lawmakers will need to determine in the future how the program will be funded, saying other states often fund programs in a “hybrid” fashion – partially with fees, partially with state money.
“Again, there’s no impact on the budget this year, this will be down the road,” Wirth told committee members.
The fees for the permits would be established in a future rule-making process. An analysis from the Legislative Finance Committee estimated that using fee structures from Colorado using the current permits could generate $3.4 million to $8 million based on complexity of the permits, but noted it could be higher.
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