With Mother Earth Day around the corner and the legislative session just behind New Mexico, new laws are on the way to protect the state’s environment.
Each year, legislators bring hundreds of proposals to address climate change, water, wildfires, energy resources and other environmental topics. While not all of the efforts were successful, some key measures have now been signed into law. These measures may reduce the number of homes destroyed by wildfires in the future and could provide new water sources for industrial development while safeguarding freshwater resources.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has already signed several bills that were introduced in the recently concluded State Legislature session to protect freshwater resources, improve forest health and help wildlife. The legislation includes the Strategic Water Supply, the Wildfire Prepared Act and Game Commission reform.
Water Is Life
The water legislation advances the state’s 50-year water plan that was announced last year and puts into motion the governor’s plans to treat brackish water for industrial uses.
“Today marks a turning point for New Mexico’s water future,” the governor said after signing the strategic water supply bill, House Bill 137. “The Strategic Water Supply program unlocks economic opportunities by providing brackish water for manufacturing and clean energy development, while preserving our freshwater for other vital uses.”
Brackish water is salty water trapped deep beneath the earth’s surface. While it may sound like a good idea to treat this nonpotable water for industrial uses, some advocates warn that New Mexico does not know enough about the brackish water aquifers to safely extract it. However, research has been underway for years at the Brackish Water National Desalination Research Center in Alamogordo to find more efficient, less expensive ways to treat the brackish water. Exactly how much treatment will be needed for the brackish water depends in part on what basin it is extracted from.
“House Bill 137 represents a new day for New Mexico’s water future, securing critical funding for local brackish water projects and unprecedented resources for aquifer mapping,” bill sponsor Rep. Susan K. Herrera, D-Mora, said in a statement. “This legislation was a heavy lift that required much communication, debate and collaboration. It marks a transformative step forward in how our state manages and conserves our most precious resource.”
Lujan Grisham also signed legislation to restore protections to New Mexico surface waters that are no longer protected by the federal Clean Water Act following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Because many of New Mexico’s waters are intermittent or seasonal, they no longer have protection under the Clean Water Act.
“I am deeply grateful to see this bill signed into law today, so that no matter what happens at the federal level, New Mexico can help protect our precious water supply for many generations to come,” bill sponsor Rep. Kristina Ortez, D-Taos, said in a statement. “This critical legislation ensures decisions on New Mexico’s water future will be made here, by those who know these waters best.”
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, also praised the legislation and said in a statement that “New Mexico is once again leading the way—today in protecting our precious water resources.”
“These protections are vital in the wake of the Federal Administration and Supreme Courts’ undermining of national water quality protections,” the congresswoman said. “Because as we know, water is life, and I am deeply grateful to our state leaders for protecting our life-giving waters.”
The Forest For the Trees
In terms of forest health, Lujan Grisham signed the Wildfire Prepared Act, which will provide assistance to political subdivisions and other qualified organizations that are helping homeowners with projects intended to decrease the likelihood of the residence burning.
The state’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department described this as “landmark legislation” that creates the Wildfire Prepared Program.
“The 2,500-plus structures lost to wildfires between 2022 and 2024 alone underscore the need for this critical legislation,” EMNRD Secretary Melanie Kenderdine said in a press release. “It will give homeowners resources to make their properties safer and maintain insurance coverage, while, at the same time, helping to protect our neighborhoods and communities.”
State Forester Laura McCarthy said in a press release if at least 80 percent of homes in a neighborhood meet the protection standards outlined in the Wildfire Prepared Act, it will “significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic loss.”
Animal Style
When it comes to wildlife, Lujan Grisham signed a bill changing the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to a wildlife department and raising many hunting and fishing license fees. The governor included a partial veto in the bill, removing the changes to removing a commissioner from the Game Commission.
“This is an overall win for hunters, anglers and all who care about the future of New Mexico’s wildlife,” Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said in a statement. “It’s disappointing the governor chose the eleventh hour to veto a key provision that would have insulated game commissioners from political pressures. That piece of the bill that had united support, but that’s politics for you.
While many of the hunting and fishing licenses will increase in cost, the bill creates a reduction in cost for people who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“There is a lot to celebrate about this bill becoming law, from increased funding for the Department to more clear authority to keep wildlife populations healthy for the future, especially bird species that are in decline and need help,” Judy Calman, the New Mexico director of policy for Audubon Southwest, said in a statement. “While we are disappointed politics wasn’t fully removed from the Game Commission, we are committed to finding a solution that will further ensure wildlife management decisions are based on science and not political influence.”