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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Nunez

DATE TYPED 3/8/05

HB 1014/aHENRC

SHORT TITLE Impounding Of Surface Water For Livestock

SB

ANALYST Aguilar

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB-900

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

New Mexico Environment Department (NMED)

New Mexico Livestock Board (NMLB)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HENRC Amendment

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee amendment to House Bill 1014 includes

additional language providing that g the provisions of the bill shall not apply to stockmen or live-

stock owners who may build or construct water tanks or ponds with a capacity of ten acre feet or

less on a dry water course for the purpose of watering livestock.

HB 1014/aHENRC further requires the state engineer to issue a permit to impound and use wa-

ters for applications on a perennial stream if the capacity of the impoundment is ten acre feet or

less and will not impair senior or acequia water rights.

Significant Issues

The state engineer notes uncontrolled uses, including domestic wells and livestock water im-

poundments and the impacts of livestock surface water impoundments and domestic wells on the

flows of New Mexico’s interstate streams have been the focus of considerable attention in recent

House Bill 1014/aHENRC -- Page 2

years. The authority of the state engineer to administer all uses of the waters of the state is im-

perative to the successful management of the resource.

The state engineer further notes language regarding water tanks and ponds for livestock watering

is similar to language removed from the statute in the 2004 legislative session. This provision

allows these tanks and ponds to be built with a capacity of ten acre feet or less regardless of the

number of livestock being watered.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 1014 removes the 10-foot height requirement for all dams that the state engineer re-

views to ensure the design is safe. This bill places design review and approval requirements only

on dams that exceed 10 acre-feet of storage, regardless of height.

HB 1014 conditions the requirement to apply to the state engineer for water impoundments to

those desiring to impound perennial surface waters. In the event the proposed impoundment is

not from perennial waters and 10 acre feet or less, state engineer approval is not required.

HB1014 removes factors the state engineer may consider in the permitting process.

Significant Issues

As provided in HB 1014, the state engineer would no longer have approval responsibility over

proposed dams based on height, only on the volume of impoundments.

HB 1014 requires a state engineer permit for watering of livestock only if the proposed im-

poundment would impound perennial surface waters of the state. Under the current statute, a

state engineer permit is required to impound any surface water for stock watering purposes,

whether the stream to be impounded is perennial or intermittent, though an expedited permitting

process must be followed for proposed impoundments of ten acre-feet or less that are not on per-

ennial streams. This expedited permitting process is simple and not burdensome on stock own-

ers.

The state engineer notes uncontrolled uses, including domestic wells and livestock water im-

poundments and the impacts of livestock surface water impoundments and domestic wells on the

flows of New Mexico’s interstate streams have been the focus of considerable attention in recent

years. The authority of the state engineer to administer all uses of the waters of the state is im-

perative to the successful management of the resource.

The adjudication of water rights in the State of New Mexico is a time consuming and costly

process. Without records of all water uses, the time and monetary expense of each adjudication

rises. Without a permitting process for all livestock water impoundments, the state engineer is

forced to use other more costly measures to delineate those uses during the adjudication process.

Lack of permitting requirements in areas administered via a priority call, requires additional time

and resources.

HB 1014 removes language by which the state engineer determines the maximum amount of wa-

ter required per livestock unit and takes into account regional and climatic conditions. The state

engineer reports removing this language in a worst case scenario would allow the construction of

a livestock water impoundment that could hold ten acre-feet of water for the purposes of water-

ing one animal.

House Bill 1014/aHENRC -- Page 3

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Page 2, line 18 adds “perennial” to the impoundment of surface waters. This causes the subsec-

tion to conflict with subsection “B” which provides the state engineer shall issue a permit for

those applications where impoundments are not on a perennial stream.

Removing the height restriction results in the exception provided for erosion control structures in

Section 72-5-32 NMSA 1972 being irrelevant.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The state engineer notes sections 72-5-32 and 72-9-3 NMSA 1972 were amended in 2004 to fol-

low the recommendations of a task force established through HJM-4 (2004) that included repre-

sentation from the office of the state engineer, NMSU, the New Mexico Cattle Growers Associa-

tion, the New Mexico Farm Bureau, the Northern New Mexico Stockman’s Association, New

Mexico Acequia Association, and the New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The

primary objective of this task force was to protect both the acequias of New Mexico, the needs of

stock growers to impound surface water for stock production, and the flows of New Mexico’s

interstate streams.

PA/lg:sb