Protect New Mexico Waters

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On May 25, 2023 the US Supreme Court issued a decision in Sackett v EPA that drastically reduced clean water protections across the nation and in New Mexico. The opinion narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act by eliminating protections for wetlands, except in very limited circumstances. In addition, protections for streams were limited to only those streams that are “relatively permanent” making the decision especially devastating for arid states like New Mexico.

According to Amigos Bravos Deputy Director Rachel Conn, “New Mexico is only one of three states that does not have its own surface water permitting program, meaning New Mexico relies on the EPA to permit point-source discharges and does not have the infrastructure in place to protect state waters that aren’t protected by EPA, which under recent federal actions, including today’s decision, make up as much as 96% of New Mexico’s waters. This magnifies the need for New Mexico to create its own surface water permitting program and secure primacy for regulating discharges to the waters in our state. The US Congress and New Mexico officials need to act fast to protect water bodies that our nation and state rely on for drinking, irrigating, fishing, and fueling local economies.”

After the removal of federal water protections, CCW partnered with other New Mexico groups to create the Protect New Mexico Waters campaign, with a goal of securing state mandated protections for New Mexico waterways through policy work, petitioning and messaging. CCW member Beata Tsosie-Peña published an op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper titled “State must step up to protect ephemeral waters,” highlighting the devastating importance of the Sackett v EPA decision. New Mexican rivers were also named #1 in the “America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2024” report of American Rivers.

As a result of the work with Protect NM Waters, in 2024 the New Mexico State Legislature allocated $7.6 million of special appropriations to begin the process of creating a state surface water quality permitting program. As a member of Protect New Mexico Waters, CCW continues to for the 2025 Legislative Session, in collaboration with other coalitions, focusing primarily on setting up the systems necessary for the upcoming state permitting and regulations.