New Mexico Senate Bill 21/22 was signed into law on April 8, 2025, bringing together the Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (PDES) Act and Water Quality Act amendments in a single piece of legislation to ensure water quality protections and water resources are safe and sustainable. SB 21/22 is part of the broader water and environmental legislation passed in 2025 that focuses on restoring critical clean water protections and safeguarding drinking water across the state in conjunction with HB 137 and SB 37.
The goal of SB 21/22 is to improve and restore overall clean water protections. The legislature amended The Water Quality Act to establish a permitting and water quality standards system for groundwater discharge. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) must establish a Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (PDES) to regulate the discharge of pollutants into the state’s waters.
Why Does SB 21/22 Matter to New Mexico?
SB 21/22 fills a massive regulatory shortcoming and will protect New Mexico’s primary water resources, safe drinking water, community health, and the long-term viability of agriculture and recreation. SB 21/22 is New Mexico’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision in 2023, which resulted in the loss of federal protections for nearly all of the state’s streams, rivers, and wetlands—with New Mexico not having an all-inclusive groundwater discharge permitting system left the unprotected waters vulnerable, named the most engaged in the United States by American Rivers in 2024. The new state-level permit system for pollutant discharges into the surface water creates the authority for New Mexico to enforce the federal Clean Water Act, regardless of federal protection status. Additionally, the state will focus on polluted groundwater, directly place cleanup accountability on polluters, and establish a dedicated funding source.
The anticipated benefits of SB 21
- Improved water quality of surface and groundwater protections from pollution, which protects drinking water, agriculture, recreation, and wildlife.
- Reduced risks associated with contaminated water to protect the future of New Mexico’s public health.
- Economic benefits for locations with clean water are more attractive for business growth and development and support industries that rely on clean water, such as outdoor recreation and agriculture.
- Local controls give authority to New Mexico to oversee the protection of its water resources, not having to rely on federal regulations.
- Protection for vulnerable communities that face higher risks of the impacts of water pollution.
- Polluters will be held accountable as the responsible party for cleaning up contamination through updated enforcement policies.
How will this be funded?
SB 21/22 outlines a dedicated funding source to support the cleanup of New Mexico’s contaminated sites through responding, investigating, and remediating, and all polluters bear the burden of costs to clean up their pollution, not state tax dollars. Initially, SB 21/22 planned to appropriate a $50 million fund for groundwater cleanup efforts and surface water quality fees and penalties directed to a water quality management fund for administering the new permit rules similar to the final bill. The final bill also establishes penalties for violations of the PDES Act, including fines and imprisonment.
With the implementation of SB 21/22, similar to the federal Clean Water Act, there are exemptions. An exemption may include traditional farming and ranching activities and associated acequia operations to remove unneeded regulatory burdens on essential agricultural practices, only existing surface waters in farm production, and if the discharge is nontoxic.
What’s next?
New Mexico will move forward to establish a comprehensive state permitting program. It may look to get authorization from the U.S. EPA for surface water permitting, which would be one of the few remaining states to do this. Overall, New Mexicans will have greater control over the quality of surface waters. Developing and implementing a permit will not happen overnight, and it will likely take a few years to be fully effective; this is a critical first step and a long-term commitment to secure the future of essential water resources.
Source: SB 21/22 – WATER QUALITY & POLLUTION
Written by: Andrew Kalemba, Operations Specialist at the Southwest EFC
Featured Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay
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