Restore protection for New Mexico's rivers and streams 💦

Please adopt the strongest possible protections for New Mexico's surface waters

I urge the Water Quality Control Commission to fulfill the promise of SB 21 by adopting strong, comprehensive implementing rules during the upcoming rulemaking process. The stakes are too high for weak rules. Federal reversals have stripped Clean Water Act protections from up to 95% of New Mexico's streams and up to 88% of its wetlands — protections that had been in place for half a century during which industry, agriculture, wildlife, and communities thrived. SB21 created the legal framework we need. It establishes a state-level permitting system for waters no longer protected by federal law, and granted New Mexico the authority to administer permits for those few waters still federally protected through EPA oversight. But the law is only as strong as the rules written to implement it. That responsibility now rests with the Commission. I respectfully urge you to adopt strong rules to implement SB21 grounded in three core principles: -- Protect the full breadth of New Mexico's surface waters. Rules must cover our free-flowing rivers, the small streams and drainages that feed them, and the wetlands that filter pollutants and recharge our aquifers. -- Fully protect Tribal waters. Rules must recognize and honor the rights and interests of Tribes, Pueblos, and other Indigenous communities regarding the waters that sustain their cultures and livelihoods. -- Ensure robust public participation. New Mexico's waters must remain in New Mexican hands. Rules must include meaningful, accessible opportunities for communities to participate in permitting decisions that affect their water. I supported SB 21 because I believe that New Mexicans — not distant bureaucracies — should control the future of our water. SB21 made that possible. Now the Commission must make it real.