After tabling a scaled-down version of the governor’s strategic water supply proposal on Tuesday, the Senate Conservation Commission passed on a 5-3 no recommendation vote legislation that Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, described as a “softer version of the bill” with only a day left to push the legislation through both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The version of SB 294 that goes on to the Senate Finance Committee included two changes. 

The first change ensures that the $100 million appropriated for the strategic water supply cannot be spent until approved by the legislature during the 2025 session.

“The purpose of that really allows the New Mexico Environment Department to continue with its request for information.and continue to solicit proposals so that industry will provide the information we need so that when we get back together in the next session, we would have information that both the advocates, the legislature and many of you have asked us to collect,” NMED Secretary James Kenney said.

The second change involves the definitions of brackish water and treated brackish water.

Instead of defining brackish water as having 1,000 to 10,000 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids, the bill removes the upper limit. This comes following concerns expressed by people like Sen. Steven McCutcheon II, R-Carlsbad, on Tuesday.

The definitions also say that the treated brackish water must be sourced from aquifers that are at least 2,500 feet below the surface. 

The original proposal for the strategic water supply that the governor announced in December called for a total of $500 million to be spent on contracts with private industry to clean up both brackish water and produced water, which is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction.

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