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

SPONSOR Cisneros

DATE TYPED 03-03-05 HB

SHORT TITLE NM Tech Taos County Aquifer Monitoring

SB 991

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$135.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the appropriation to New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in the General

Appropriations Act.

Relates to SB189, SB992

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

New Mexico Environment Department (NMED)

Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 991 – Making an Appropriation to the Board of Regents of New Mexico Institute of

Mining and Technology for the Taos County Aquifer Monitoring Program – appropriates

$135,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New Mexico Institute of Mining and

Technology for expenditure in FY06 for the Taos County aquifer monitoring program to design

and begin to implement a ground water database repository and design an implementation plan to

monitor and network test water wells with the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Re-

sources of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Any unexpended or unencumbered

balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the general fund.

Significant Issues

NMED indicates that Taos County is nearing the completion of an aquifer mapping data project.

The collected data will be incorporated into a decision-making tool for use by the Taos County

Board of Commissioners. Development and implementation of the aquifer mapping program

Senate Bill 991 -- Page 2

will allow Taos County to monitor and regulate new water well development and assess water

quality to ensure protection of the resource for current and future use. Such a decision-making

tool is necessary to ensure that the county can fulfill the mandates of the New Mexico Interstate

Stream Commission (i.e., requirement for regional water planning and meeting interstate stream

compacts), respect local water rights settlements, and fulfill the mandate of the New Mexico

Subdivision Act to regulate the development of ground water.

CHE adds that the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources geologic mapping

program is partly funded by the STATEMAP component of the National Cooperative Geologic

Mapping Program. NMIMT is in the twelfth year of a program designed to rapidly produce and

distribute state-of-the-art maps. New Mexico is the most successful state in the country in obtain-

ing STATEMAP funds, totaling $2,075,382 federal dollars. By June 2005, NMIMT will have

mapped 97 quadrangles (5,280 sq. miles) in twelve counties and all three congressional districts.

Modern digital geologic maps are essential for New Mexico’s environmental and economic

prosperity. Geologic maps are uniquely suited to solving problems involving earth resources,

hazards, and environments, and perhaps most importantly for the people of New Mexico, such

maps help identify and protect ground-water aquifers, aid in locating water-supply wells, and are

fundamental for all environmental studies and land-use plans.

CHE notes that this specific legislation was not presented to the commission for review. Accord-

ingly, the request was not included in the commission’s funding recommendation for FY06, al-

though the commission did recommend $4,468,900 for the Bureau of Geology and Mineral re-

sources, an increase of $579,400 over the previous year.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $135,000 contained in this legislation is a recurring expense to the general

fund allocated for expenditure in FY06. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at

the end of FY06 shall revert to the general fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology would retain oversight of this project.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to the appropriation to New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in the General

Appropriations Act.

Relates to SB189 in that SB189 seeks to appropriate $620,000 from the general fund to the

Board of Regents of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology for expenditure in FY06

and subsequent fiscal years to conduct a statewide aquifer mapping project by the Bureau of Ge-

ology and Mineral Resources.

Relates to SB992 in that SB992 seeks to appropriate $75,000 from the general fund to the Board

of Regents of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology for expenditure in FY06 for the

Taos County Aquifer Mapping Program to implement phase II of phase III geologic aquifer

mapping data collection with the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Senate Bill 991 -- Page 3

OSE indicates that Aquifer monitoring activities are presently being performed by the state engi-

neer, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other entities. Data collected are maintained in a USGS

database available for public use. Further, since both New Mexico Tech and the New Mexico

Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources are research institutions, the basic monitoring activi-

ties proposed in the legislation might be considered a deviation from their primary missions.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

OSE suggests that it cooperates with the U. S. Geological Survey to collect and store information

on groundwater levels. The program has been in place for many decades and is the primary

source of water level monitoring information. A study was performed recently to assess the

statewide water level measuring program. Criteria for the selection of monitoring wells have

been developed by the state engineer in coordination with the USGS and groundwater consult-

ants. Based on these criteria, and funding availability, recommendations were provided for im-

proved water level monitoring. These recommendations have been implemented and include

monitoring wells in Taos County.

OSE further notes that additional data collection and database development efforts are always

important to improve hydrologic understanding but these efforts should be coordinated with the

State Engineer. Groundwater modeling experts associated with the water users in the Taos area

have cooperated with OSE hydrologists to develop a new groundwater flow model. The model

may be applied to guide data collection. Model developers should be involved in the design to

expand monitoring efforts. The State Water Plan states that the OSE/ISC will coordinate the

creation of a multi-agency taskforce to identify, focus and prioritize studies and this avenue for

setting study priorities needs to be considered with this legislation.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

NMED observes that water resources in New Mexico are finite, yet demands for water continue

to increase as the population grows. Inadequate management of water resources could lead to

conflict and legal action against the State by other parties with resource rights. Development of

the decision-making tools contemplated by the Taos County Aquifer Mapping Program promises

to make management of the county’s water resources more efficient and effective. Such tools do

not appear to be in widespread use throughout New Mexico at the present time.

BFW/yr:lg