HM 42

Page 1

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE STATE ENGINEER TO EVALUATE AND MAKE

RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO WATER DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

AUTHORITY FOR MUNICIPALITIES, COUNTIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS,

STATE UNIVERSITIES, MEMBER-OWNED COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS,

SPECIAL WATER USERS ASSOCIATIONS AND REGULATED PUBLIC WATER

AND ELECTRIC UTILITIES.

WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico wishes to conserve and

preserve its water supplies for use by its residents; and

WHEREAS, the state must consider implications of

interstate commerce as it strives to preserve and protect its

precious water supplies; and

WHEREAS, it is recognized by the state of New Mexico

that the public welfare of the state and conservation of water

within the state are promoted by allowing municipalities,

counties, school districts, state universities, member-owned

community water systems, special water users associations and

public utilities supplying water to municipalities or counties

to acquire and hold water rights for a forty-year water

development period, provided that they can show reasonably

projected needs within forty years; and

WHEREAS, it is recognized that the provision of water by

all public water utilities that are regulated by the public

regulation commission is essential to the public health and

HM 42

Page 2

welfare and the conservation of water within the state; and

WHEREAS, electric generation facilities, which use water

as a part of the generation process, are essential to the

public health and welfare of the residents of the state and

need the ability to plan for additional generation facilities

to provide power to future generations of New Mexico

residents; and

WHEREAS, there have been proposals to extend the forty-

year planning period to a one-hundred-year period for water

planning purposes for water used by municipalities and other

entities; and

WHEREAS, there have been proposals to adopt criteria to

be included in the water development plans, to make the plans

public, to have them be adopted by the appropriate governing

body and to update them regularly; and

WHEREAS, when planning for the future, it is necessary

to include representatives from agricultural interests and

from Indian nations, tribes and pueblos; and

WHEREAS, it is important to the planning for the future

of New Mexico and its residents that the state engineer

convene representative stakeholders to inform the state

engineer of their unique water planning needs for the purpose

of aiding the development of a set of recommendations to

address the issues stated above;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

HM 42

Page 3

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, in order to

conserve, preserve and develop the state's precious water

supplies to effectively plan for the future, the state

engineer be requested to convene representative stakeholders

for the purpose of informing and making recommendations to the

state engineer relating to planning authority that should be

allowed to municipalities, counties, school districts, state

universities, member-owned community water systems, special

water users associations and regulated water and electric

public utilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that interstate commerce

limitations on the state's ability to conserve the state's

water supplies be included in the evaluation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state engineer report

the state engineer's recommendations to the appropriate

interim legislative committee by August 1, 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the governor and the state engineer.