NMED News:SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) filed a motion Thursday in Federal Court in North Dakota to withdraw from litigation challenging the 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule.
NMED believes the positions taken in the 2015 lawsuit are inconsistent with its current position on the proposed rule issued by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in February, in which the EPA seeks to revise the definition of a “Water of the United States.”
“New Mexicans understand the value of water as a natural and cultural resource,” said Environment Department Secretary James Kenney. “Ephemeral streams, wetlands and groundwater are equally as important as the Rio Grande River. All of our state’s precious water resources must be afforded robust legal protections.”
The proposed definition of a “Water of the United States” would exclude 96 percent of New Mexico’s waters, including all ephemeral streams (those that contain water only during or in response to rainfall), some intermittent streams (those that contain water for only part of the year), groundwater, certain wetlands and more. If the proposed rule becomes law, EPA would no longer require federal Clean Water Act discharge permits from facilities that discharge pollutants into excluded surface waters.
Given that New Mexico is an arid state that receives approximately 15 inches of rain per year statewide, EPA’s proposed rule would disproportionately impact New Mexico’s waters. Combined with the effects of climate change, New Mexico’s waters may become more intermittent and therefore even less protected under this proposed rule.
EPA is accepting public comments on the newly proposed WOTUS rule through April 15. Additional information on the proposed rule and how to comment are available on EPA’s website.
NMED is developing comments to submit to EPA on the 2019 WOTUS Rule.
