2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 74 - Environmental Improvement › Article 6 - Water Quality › Section 74-6-3 - Water quality control commission created. (Repealed effective July 1, 2026.)

A. There is created the "water quality control commission" consisting of:
(1) the secretary of environment or a member of the secretary's staff designated by the secretary;
(2) the secretary of health or a member of the secretary's staff designated by the secretary;
(3) the director of the department of game and fish or a member of the director's staff designated by the director;
(4) the state engineer or a member of the state engineer's staff designated by the state engineer;
(5) the chair of the oil conservation commission or a member of the chair's staff designated by the chair;
(6) the director of the state parks division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department or a member of the director's staff designated by the director;
(7) the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture or a member of the director's staff designated by the director;
(8) the chair of the soil and water conservation commission or a soil and water conservation district supervisor designated by the chair;
(9) the director of the bureau of geology and mineral resources at the New Mexico institute of mining and technology or a member of the director's staff designated by the director;
(10) a municipal or county government representative; and
(11) four representatives of the public to be appointed by the governor for terms of four years and who shall be compensated from the budgeted funds of the department of environment in accordance with the provisions of the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978]. At least one member appointed by the governor shall be a member of a New Mexico Indian tribe or pueblo.
B. A member of the commission shall not receive, or shall not have received during the previous two years, a significant portion of the member's income directly or indirectly from permit holders or applicants for a permit. A member of the commission shall, upon the acceptance of the member's appointment and prior to the performance of any of the member's duties, file a statement of disclosure with the secretary of state disclosing any amount of money or other valuable consideration, and its source, the value of which is in excess of ten percent of the member's gross personal income in each of the preceding two years, that the member received directly or indirectly from permit holders or applicants for permits required under the Water Quality Act. A member of the commission shall not participate in the consideration of an appeal if the subject of the appeal is an application filed or a permit held by an entity that either employs the commission member or from which the commission member received more than ten percent of the member's gross personal income in either of the preceding two years.
C. The commission shall elect a chair and other necessary officers and shall keep a record of its proceedings.
D. A majority of the commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business, but no action of the commission is valid unless concurred in by six or more members present at a meeting.
E. The commission is the state water pollution control agency for this state for all purposes of the federal act and the wellhead protection and sole source aquifer programs of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and may take all action necessary and appropriate to secure to this state, its political subdivisions or interstate agencies the benefits of that act and those programs.
F. The commission is administratively attached, as defined in the Executive Reorganization Act [9-1-1 to 9-1-10 NMSA 1978], to the department of environment.
History:
1953 Comp., § 75-39-3, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 190, § 3; 1970, ch. 64, § 2; 1971, ch. 277, § 50; 1973, ch. 326, § 2; 1977, ch. 253, § 74; 1987, ch. 234, § 81; 1993, ch. 291, § 3; 1997, ch. 82, § 1; 2001, ch. 246, § 14; 2001, ch. 267, § 1; 2003, ch. 165, § 2; 2007, ch. 183, § 1.
ANNOTATIONS
Delayed repeals.
— For delayed repeal of this section,
see
74-6-17 NMSA 1978.
Cross references.
— For exemption of water quality control commission from authority of secretary of environment,
see
9-7A-13 NMSA 1978.
For director of the New Mexico department of game and fish,
see
17-1-5 NMSA 1978.
For the chairman of the oil conservation commission,
see
70-2-4 NMSA 1978.
For the state engineer,
see
72-2-1 NMSA 1978.
For the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture,
see
76-1-3 NMSA 1978.
For the federal Safe Drinking Water Act,
see
21 U.S.C. § 349 and 42 U.S.C.S. § 300f et seq.
The 2007 amendment,
effective June 15, 2007, added the secretary of health as a member of the commission.
The 2003 amendment,
effective July 1, 2003, substituted "geology" for "mines" preceding "and mineral resources" in Paragraph A(8); added the last sentence in Paragraph A(10); in Subsection B, substituted "A member of the commission shall not receive, or shall not" for "No member of the commission shall receive, or shall" at the beginning, substituted "A member of the commission shall not" for "No member of the commission shall" preceding "participate in the", deleted "10" preceding "percent of his", substituted "preceding" for "proceeding" near the end.
The 2001 amendment,
effective June 15, 2001, substituted "parks division" for "parks and recreation division" in Paragraph A(5); added Paragraph A(9) and redesignated former Paragraph A(9) as A(10); and in Subsection B, inserted the period following "permit", "A member of the commission", and the last sentence.
The 1997 amendment,
effective June 20, 1997, in Subsection A, substituted "soil and water conservation district supervisor" for "person" in Paragraph (7) and "terms" for "a term" in Paragraph (9).
The 1993 amendment,
effective June 18, 1993, in Subsection A, substituted "secretary of environment" for "director of the environmental improvement division of the health and environment department" in Paragraph (1) and, in Paragraph (9), substituted "three representatives" for "a representative", deleted "health and environment" preceding "department" and inserted "of environment" following "department"; in Subsection E, substituted "federal act and the wellhead protection and sole source aquifer programs of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act" for "Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Water Quality Act of 1965 and the Clean Waters Restoration Act of 1966", and substituted "that act and those programs" for "these acts"; and in Subsection F, deleted "health and environment" preceding "department" and inserted "of environment" following "department".
Authority of division to propose regulations and act as interested party at hearings.
— In light of the fact that the legislature had seen fit to have the director of the environmental improvement division sit as a member of the commission, the division could propose regulations to the commission and then act as an interested party at the hearings.
Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corp. v. N.M. Water Quality Control Comm'n
, 1982-NMCA-015, 98 N.M. 240, 647 P.2d 873 (decided under former law).
Law reviews.
— For note, "On Building Better Laws for New Mexico's Environment," see 4 N.M.L. Rev. 105 (1973).
For annual survey of New Mexico law relating to administrative law, see 13 N.M.L. Rev. 235 (1983).
For comment, "Control of Industrial Water Pollution in New Mexico," see 9 Nat. Resources J. 653 (1969).