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Senate committee backs bill to promote brackish‑water treatment for strategic water supply
Summary
Lawmakers advanced HB 137 to fund and coordinate brackish‑water development, give the Office of the State Engineer and Environment Department roles in project review, and require public entities to receive grants; the committee approved the bill on a 10–1 vote after questions about contracting and oversight.
The Senate Finance Committee gave a do‑pass recommendation to HB 137, a bill to encourage development of brackish‑water supplies and treatment projects as part of a strategic water supply program.
The text directs the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) and the Environment Department (NMED) to coordinate project review and to establish guardrails for grants and contracts that would support treatment and distribution of brackish water. Proponents said the program would reduce demand on limited fresh surface water, create local jobs in water treatment, and support economic development.
Sponsor testimony described brackish water as deep saline or saline formations that can be treated for potable or industrial use. The sponsor said the bill would support project planning, characterization and grant or contract awards and emphasized that both agency permitting and the state’s water‑right processes would continue to apply.
Marla Schoetz of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and John Thompson of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District testified in support, citing potential to relieve pressure on surface water resources. Terry Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, told the committee that El Paso has been processing brackish water since 2007 and described the bill as important to drought resilience and green‑energy development.
Committee members asked detailed questions about who may receive grants, whether projects could involve private contractors, whether treated brackish water could be transferred between basins, and what public protections would exist if a private entity received state funds. Deputy State Engineer Tanya Trujillo and other agency witnesses said the state engineer would evaluate impairment and that OSE/NMED procedures would apply; they also said public entities are eligible for grants and that contracting approaches could include private partners as treatment providers under public‑entity arrangements.
Senator Trujillo (committee member) pressed for assurances about accountability and whether grant or contract terms would include protections (for example, clawbacks) if projects failed; witnesses said contract design would be set in solicitations and that the bill’s contracting authority could include terms to make treated water cost‑competitive for customers or to support capital costs. The sponsor and agency witnesses emphasized the bill’s role in the governor’s longer‑term water plan.
The committee adopted the bill on a recorded vote: 10 senators voted yes and one voted no. The no vote was cast by Senator Trujillo, who said she supported the goal but sought clearer, enforceable protections and preferred stronger public‑ownership guardrails in some cases.
The bill’s proponents said subsequent solicitations, posted community benefit plans and agency review would create opportunities for public engagement and oversight as projects move from planning to construction.
