NM environment department sues CRRUA water system
NMED filed suit against CRRUA on May 28, 2025 after what it characterized as a decade of mismanagement. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
New Mexico's environment department on Wednesday announced it has filed a lawsuit against the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority and has asked the Third Judicial District Court to appoint an independent manager to oversee its operations.
The suit follows more than a decade of 'mismanagement at the utility,' NMED states in a news release, including recent and repeated failed arsenic tests. As Source reported last week, tests the agency itself took at CCRUA on May 7 recorded arsenic levels at the Santa Teresa Industrial Park plant that violated the federal limit, marking the third overage recorded at the plant in recent weeks, although the other tests were from voluntary tests.
New CRRUA arsenic violation prompts NMED to evaluate taking emergency action
CRRUA serves approximately 19,000 people in the border city of Sunland Park, Santa Theresa and the southernmost portion of Doña Ana County, an area with naturally occurring high levels of arsenic in the groundwater. Sunland Park and Doña Ana County jointly operate the utility, which is governed by a seven-member board.
At its May 13 meeting, the Doña Ana Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to send immediate notice to Sunland Park to start the termination process of the Joint Powers Agreement. Environment Department Secretary James Kenney subsequently urged Sunland Park to also sever its ties with CRRUA, and acknowledged in an interview with Source NM it was an unusual step for him to take.
'We're weighing in at this point because we've had it,' he said. 'While we're exhausting our enforcement, our legal approaches, we have another approach: We have to speak about it.'
Now, with its lawsuit, NMED is asking the courts to order CRRUA to:
• implement real-time arsenic monitoring • distribute free arsenic test strips for all CRRUA customers • provide an alternative drinking water source if arsenic levels exceed state limits • conduct monthly public meetings • and pay civil penalties which, per state law, fund drinking water and wastewater utility operators for communities across New Mexico
'While the Environment Department has invested significant technical resources to assist CRRUA in fulfilling its duty to deliver safe and reliable drinking water, its failures continue to threaten public health,' Kenney said in a statement on Wednesday. 'Today's lawsuit and request to appoint an independent manager to oversee CRRUA signals a new approach in Environment Department efforts to protect the health of communities when they turn on their tap.'
NMED's news release also notes that last July it placed 138 drinking systems across the state on notice, and that the City of Las Vegas and Cassandra Water System in Moriarity remain out of compliance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Camino Real Regional Utility Authority schedules water service outage
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) is planning a water service outage for Monday, June 2. Residents and businesses in the area between McNutt Road and Rita Street and Lonnie Street to Camino Real Drive will experience a water outage beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, June 2. Adjacent areas also may be affected. The water outage will enable CRRUA to repair a pressure relief valve. The repair work could take several hours and once service is restored, residents may notice discolored water due to naturally occurring minerals in the distribution system, CRRUA said. Although the water is safe to drink, CRRUA said it recommends waiting for the water to become clear before washing laundry. The discoloration should disappear within 24 hours. If it does not, residents should flush faucets for several minutes, the utility said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Countdown to clean fuels: New Mexico targets 2026 for new standards
May 31—New Mexico could implement new standards for more environmentally friendly transportation fuels, everything from gasoline to electricity, as soon as next year if the state Environment Department gets the OK. Meanwhile, efforts are afoot in Washington to block state requirements around clean cars, something Republican legislators in New Mexico hope will successfully trickle down to transportation fuels, too. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last year signed off on legislation to establish a statewide program around clean transportation fuel standards. The law requires annually reduced transportation carbon emissions — the top greenhouse gas emitter in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — in the coming years. The New Mexico Environment Department this month submitted proposed rules for the transportation program, and the rulemaking process is set to continue in early June. If approved, New Mexico would become the fourth state in the nation to adopt clean fuel standards. "Under Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's leadership, New Mexico is diversifying its economy while addressing climate emissions — proving once again you don't have to choose between the two," NMED Secretary James Kenney said in a statement. How it works The 2024 Democrat-backed legislation, House Bill 41, amended the Environmental Improvement Act to allow a state board housed within NMED, the Environmental Improvement Board, to enact a clean transportation fuel standard. NMED has spent the last year drafting the rules. The department submitted its proposal to the board two weeks ago, a draft that spanned more than 100 pages. Essentially, it sets up a market around transportation fuels, which are considered gasoline, diesel, petroleum gas, natural gas, hydrogen and electricity. Fuel producers and importers who bring in a fuel that exceeds the state's carbon intensity standard — a set measure of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases — would have to buy "clean fuel credits" from those who produce below the standard. Entities can then sell, trade, retire or generate the credits. The clean fuel standard itself follows a 2018 baseline from carbon intensities generated by gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The proposed rule would mandate annual carbon intensity reductions in fuels, to meet legally required milestones: at least 20% below 2018 levels by 2030, and at least 30% below 2018 levels by 2040. "This is a hefty rule," said Michelle Miano, director of NMED's Environmental Protection Division. There are already entities waiting to participate in the market, Miano said. Participation is voluntary for entities generating credits, like utility companies. Public Service Company of New Mexico has voiced its support for the program, and other companies — like clean energy business 3Degrees and automotive tech and manufacturing company Rivian — that operate in other clean transportation fuel markets in the U.S. participated in a public comment period in January to support and influence how New Mexico's program will work. NMED officials also touted new economic opportunities that could come with the $3 billion alternative fuels market, attracting investments in industries like clean hydrogen or renewable propane. Not everyone is eager for the program rollout, though. House Republican Minority Leader Gail Armstrong of Magdalena warned the program risks higher fuel prices. It's an argument reminiscent of those during last year's legislative session, though Miano said larger market forces and oil prices drive rates at the pump, not clean fuel programs. "House Republicans had serious concerns about HB 41 from the start — and what's unfolding now confirms those concerns," Armstrong said in a statement to the Journal. "The governor's push for a clean transportation fuel program creates a costly new regulatory burden that builds an unnecessary framework of credit trading and compliance rules." She also said she's closely watching federal efforts to overturn mandates like this. Last week, the U.S. Senate passed multiple resolutions overturning waivers that allow states to adopt emissions standards more ambitious than at the federal level. It specifically targets mandates around advanced clean cars, trucks and heavy-duty engines — though not fuels. In response, a group of 11 governors, including New Mexico's, launched the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition of the U.S. Climate Alliance. It's an effort to defend states' clean transportation standards. "The federal government and Congress are putting polluters over people and creating needless chaos for consumers and the market, but our commitment to safeguarding Americans' fundamental right to clean air is resolute," the 11 governors said in a joint statement. Miano said since the clean transportation fuels program is state-based, it's largely insulated from "federal uncertainties." "That's the great part about this program, is that it is a state program and a state market," she said, "and that it will ensure that New Mexico is the place that receives the clean fuels and clean energy economic investments that are uncertain in other parts of the country."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Sunland Park considers creating its own water utility following CRRUA split
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Sunland Park city officials are now laying out their plans to move forward following the termination of the joint powers agreement that established the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA). CRRUA provides water and wastewater services to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa. Doña Ana County cuts ties with CRRUA after years of water quality issues During a press conference on Wednesday, May 28, city leaders announced they are preparing a resolution that would allow Sunland Park to create its own water and wastewater department. This comes after Doña Ana County voted to end its agreement with CRRUA, citing years of resident complaints about water quality. Doña Ana County takes steps to terminate Camino Real Regional Utility Authority 'Our staff is going to be presenting a resolution that is requesting support from the city council to establish our own water and wastewater department to make sure that we are prepared in case of the decision that the county wants to separate the assets, and we have to create our own water wastewater service,' Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea said. In addition to the possible creation of a new department, the city plans to request $1.2 million from municipal funds to address infrastructure problems, including the ongoing issue of discolored water that many residents have reported over the years. 'That will be necessary to address the tanks, the Anapra tank, the Middle Vista tank, and the Tierra Madre tank, all located within the City of Sunland Park, and hopefully reduce the number of incidents of discolored water within the city,' Perea said. The resolutions will be presented to the city council in the coming weeks, officials said. The transition away from CRRUA could take up to four years, with the agency continuing day-to-day operations during that time, according to city officials. In the meantime, Doña Ana County and the City of Sunland Park have activated a dedicated phone line and online form for CRRUA customers to report water-related issues or concerns. Assistance is available in both English and Spanish by calling (575) 525-5589. Doña Ana County activates support line for CRRUA customers For more information, or to access the support form, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
