HOUSE ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE AGRICULTURAL AND WATER RESOURCES

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 418

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

AN ACT

RELATING TO WATER; REQUIRING ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL OF PERMITS FOR THE DIVERSION AND USE OF GROUND WATER FOR USE OUTSIDE THE AREA OF ORIGIN.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 72, Article 12 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] APPLICATION FOR USE OF GROUND WATER OUT OF AREA OF ORIGIN.--

          A. Any person intending to withdraw water from an underground water source and transport it for use outside the area of origin shall apply to the state engineer for a permit to divert and use the water out of the area of origin, in addition to fulfilling all other permit application requirements of Chapter 72, Article 12 NMSA 1978.

          B. Before approving an application submitted pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the state engineer shall, at minimum, consider the following factors:

                (1) whether the proposed diversion and use are consistent with regional water plans of the area of origin and of the area of proposed use;

                (2) whether the source of supply can reliably sustain the diversion's anticipated firm yield and whether the diversion will exceed the recharge rate of the ground water aquifer in the area of origin; provided that if there is not enough information to establish the aquifer's firm yield, recharge rate, volume of water or quality of that volume of water, the state engineer shall not approve the application until sufficient information is provided;

                (3) whether the board of county commissioners of the county out of which the water is proposed to be diverted has adopted a resolution declaring that it is or is not in the public interest for the application to be granted;

                (4) whether the governing body of any acequia or community ditch located in the area of origin has adopted a resolution declaring that it would or would not be detrimental to the acequia or community ditch or its members for the application to be granted;

                (5) the amount of potable water in the area of origin available for future appropriation; and

                (6) the availability of alternative sources of water for the proposed use that would not rely on the diversion of ground water out of its area of origin.

          C. This section shall not apply to one or more applications by a single applicant for the diversion of less than five hundred acre-feet of water per year.

          D. This section shall not apply to:

                (1) an appropriation or diversion by a municipality to facilitate regional municipal water service if the municipality has historically transported water between the area of origin and the proposed receiving area identified in the application;

                (2) a diversion project that transports water out of the area of origin that is authorized and approved and for which construction began or was completed on or before July 1, 2017;

                (3) temporary diversions of no longer than two years; or

                (4) diversions of nonpotable water containing not less than one thousand parts per million of dissolved solids for oil and gas exploration or production, prospecting, mining, road construction, agriculture, generation of electricity, use in an industrial process or geothermal use.

          E. For the purposes of this section "area of origin" means the physical location of a ground water aquifer, the boundaries of which are reasonably ascertainable and which may or may not coincide with the administrative boundaries of ground water or river basins established by the state engineer."

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