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.167535.1

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 48

48

TH LEGISLATURE

- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -

FIRST SESSION

, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart

A JOINT 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,

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.167535.1

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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

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, 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

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.167535.1

stated above;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE 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.

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