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

SPONSOR Griego

DATE TYPED 2/25/05

HB

SHORT TITLE La Bajada Water Flow Recovery

SB 693

ANALYST Hadwiger

APPROPRIATION

(in $000s)

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$50.0

Non-Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

Department of Environment (NMED)

No comments were received from the Office of the State Engineer at the time this FIR was pre-

pared.

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 693 appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the Department of Finance and

Administration (DFA) to pay for planning by Santa Fe County to recover uninterrupted water

flow of the Santa Fe river for the village of La Bajada.

Significant Issues

DFA indicated that the unincorporated Village of La Bajada has experienced a decrease in the

amount of water allowed to flow downstream from Santa Fe. The Village believes that Santa Fe

effluent is being diverted and, as a result, the Village has experienced a decrease in water flow.

The Village has incorporated the La Bajada Community Ditch Inc. This organization would use

the appropriated funds in this bill to ask the Office of the State Engineer to determine if the City

of Santa Fe is illegally retaining effluent that should be allowed to flow downstream.

Senate Bill 693 -- Page 2

NMED noted that La Bajada is an agricultural community that uses Santa Fe River water for ir-

rigation. Much of the water in the Santa Fe River is actually treated wastewater discharged by

the Santa Fe wastewater treatment plant. In recent years a smaller percentage of treated waste-

water from the Santa Fe wastewater treatment plant has been discharged to the Santa Fe River.

Treated wastewater has been diverted to golf courses, parks and other uses to reduce pressure on

the local aquifer and in response to drought conditions. Reuse of treated wastewater has been

encouraged as a means to preserve, on a long term basis, clean ground water for critical uses

such as drinking water. According to NMED, one way to balance the concerns of SB 693 while

still encouraging reuse of treated wastewater could be to encourage better timed discharges that

facilitate use in agriculture, rather than restoring uninterrupted flow in the Santa Fe River.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $50,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 would revert to

the general fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DFA indicated that their Local Government Division (LGD) currently has in place a format

which allows appropriations to flow through the LGD to the local government (Santa Fe County)

then to the organization. The LGD's Community Development Block Grant Bureau would pro-

vide the oversight at the state level. The local oversight would be provided by Santa Fe County's

Project and Operation Division, who would act as the fiscal agent.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

NMED suggested a possible amendment to better capture the intent of the bill:

On page 1, lines 12 and 20, replace the word ‘recover’ with ‘restore’.

ALTERNATIVES

NMED noted that timed flows might address the needs of La Bajada and Santa Fe.

DH/sb