Governor signs legislation to protect NM waters following SCOTUS decision

Advocates praise new law, say it establishes a necessary framework after U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision

By Hannah Grover
Courtesy of NM Political Report

The San Juan Watershed Group takes a sample from the San Juan River in August in Farmington to test for E. coli. Hannah Grover

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill into law that advocates say will help restore the protections that waters in New Mexico lost following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
​
The Sackett decision removed Clean Water Act protections from seasonal waterways. Due to the arid nature of the state, New Mexico was among those most impacted by the Sackett decision. 

Another reason why New Mexico was particularly impacted is that it is one of three states that rely on the EPA to oversee surface water permitting.

Senate Bill 21 establishes a permitting system for waters that lost their protections following the Sackett decision and paves the way for the state to eventually take over the surface water permitting from the EPA.

“New Mexico’s most precious resources are our streams, lakes, and wetlands. But this scarce resource is under singular attack,” Tannis Fox, senior attorney with Western Environmental Law Center, said in a statement. “This law establishes the necessary framework to protect our waters from pollution, and safeguard New Mexico’s communities, Tribal waters, acequias, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation economy now and for the future.”

The New Mexico Acequia Association was among the groups pushing for the legislation, which it says is necessary to safeguard the ways of life in acequia communities.

“Our land-based communities depend on clean water in our streams, headwaters, and wetlands to irrigate our fields and care for our livestock,” Paula Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, said in a statement. “A state-based permitting system will help protect our acequias and farms for the future.”

After the Sackett decision was announced, the group American Rivers listed all of the waters in New Mexico as 2024’s “Most Endangered River.” Emily Wolf, the Rio Grande coordinator with American Rivers Action Fund, said the Supreme Court’s ruling left 95% of the state’s waterways “vulnerable to pollution and degradation.”

“With the signing of this bill, we will have a critical framework for clean water protections for all our waters, and communities, in New Mexico,” Wolf said in a statement.