Committee advances bill raising penalties for water-law violations, including illegal sales

The Senate Conservation Committee voted to advance a measure that increases civil penalties for violations of the New Mexico Water Code and creates an alternative per-barrel penalty for illegal commercial sales of diverted water.

Sponsor representatives and the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) said the state has seen rising reports of illegal water use, including commercial sales tied to industry and other uses, and argued that current penalties have not deterred some offenders. Elizabeth Anderson, state engineer designate, told the committee the change would modernize enforcement tools and help the agency get illegal diversions under control.

The bill raises the maximum daily penalty for violations and adds an alternative maximum penalty for illegal water sales: $25 per barrel sold (a barrel is 42 gallons), or double the economic benefit to the violator, whichever is greater. The sponsor and counsel said the per-barrel alternative responds to oil-field and other commercial sales where the unit economics make a per-day penalty insufficient as a deterrent.

The bill retains language emphasizing that for violations that involve over-diversion, repayment of over-diverted water is the preferred remedy and that monetary penalties are intended for situations where repayment is impossible or would not deter future violations. The state engineer—s office said normal, inadvertent over-diversions by irrigators typically will be handled by repayment and not by monetary penalties.

Committee members asked how enforcement operates in practice, whether all wells are metered and how the office follows up on complaints. Counsel and the state engineer explained that OSE has district Watermasters and administrative staff who investigate reports, examine meter records and may issue notices that could lead to administrative hearings and penalties if violations are confirmed.

Supporters including the Interstate Stream Commission, the League of Women Voters and conservation groups testified for the bill as a necessary deterrent. Several senators who represent agricultural districts cautioned that penalties should not sweep in inadvertent, good-faith errors and sought clarifying language; the sponsor agreed to work with Judiciary staff on technical clarifications before the bill moves forward.

The committee voted to advance the measure to Senate Judiciary and then to the full Senate; the clerk reported a due-pass recommendation by the committee.