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

SPONSOR Foley

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/29/08

HB 535

SHORT TITLE Ruidoso River Restoration

SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 535, Making an Appropriation for Restoration Efforts of the Ruidoso River,

appropriates $100.0 thousand from the general fund to DFA for river restoration.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100.0 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DFA notes that high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus effluent have been produced by the

existing 30-year-old wastewater treatment plant for the communities of Ruidoso and Ruidoso

Downs, which discharges into the Ruidoso River. Pursuant to a consent decree with the NM

Environmental Department and Forest Guardians (In the Matter of Petition for Review of State

Certification NPDES Permit NM0029165 and Forest Guardians Case 05-00159MV/LFG), the

municipalities must build a new wastewater treatment plant within three years and must be in

compliance with NMED/EPA standards for nitrogen and phosphorus within five years. The

wastewater treatment plant is currently in the design phase.

House Bill 535 – Page

2

This appropriation will be used to help meet the second requirement. As required by the consent

decree, a local restoration committee will be formed with representatives from the municipalities,

state agencies, and Forest Guardians. This committee will pursue required studies of the influx

of phosphorus and nitrogen, and will recommend and implement restoration projects.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Under the bill as written, the Local Government Division of DFA will be responsible for the

administration of the proposed legislation, using existing staff. DFA suggests that administration

of HB 535 may be better assigned to either the Office of the State Engineer or the Environment

Department, state agencies that have more knowledge and expertise in handling river studies and

restoration projects.

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