HOUSE MEMORIAL 49

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Helen Garcia

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE APPROPRIATE LEGISLATIVE INTERIM COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF THE ESSENTIAL WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OF COMMUNITIES ALONG THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER AND TO RECOMMEND AN AMOUNT AND A SOURCE OF FUNDING TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.

     WHEREAS, incorporated and unincorporated communities along the international border with Mexico are among the fastest growing communities in New Mexico and also are among the poorest; and

     WHEREAS, the rapid growth of the communities has led to an increased need for adequate water and wastewater infrastructure; and

     WHEREAS, the growth has also posed a challenge to administrators who continually strive to provide sufficient and affordable housing, utilities and other public services; and

     WHEREAS, the federal environmental protection agency has lowered maximum arsenic containment levels for drinking water, and these levels cannot be met by many of the existing water systems without a substantial expenditure; and

     WHEREAS, the rapid growth of the communities and the income levels of the residents mean that the communities do not have the tax base to provide even a minimum acceptable level of water and wastewater infrastructure;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative council be requested to direct the appropriate legislative interim committee to conduct a study of the essential water and wastewater infrastructure needs of incorporated and unincorporated communities along the international border with Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interim committee recommend the amount of funding that will be necessary to meet those essential needs and a source for that funding; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interim committee report its findings and recommendations to the first session of the forty-eighth legislature; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.