Thursday, August 15, 2024
SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO WATER UTILITY IN HOT WATER AGAIN
Residents Ask Dept. of Justice & State Auditor to Investigate CRRUA as Tap Water Turns Yellow Yet Again
SUNLAND PARK, NM—On Friday, August 2, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, on behalf of community members in Sunland Park and Santa Teresa, submitted a request to the New Mexico Department of Justice (DOJ) and the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor to investigate the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) for violations of environmental protection laws; consumer protection laws; waste, fraud, or abuse of state and federal funds; and violations of the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.
Read the 24-page official request here.
This community-informed request comes months after the New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) March 2024 request to these Offices for an investigation of CRRUA, and is in response to the ongoing public water crisis that the public utility has failed to adequately address, take responsibility for, and remedy.
Daisy Maldonado, Director of Empowerment Congress NM, said, “It is outrageous with CRRUA’s long history of delivering unsafe, non-potable water, for it to increase rates that essentially passes the responsibility onto its customers to ensure it has the capability to deliver safe, clean drinking water.”
CRRUA continues to provide public water that does not comply with federal health standards; consistently fails to meet public notice requirements for contaminations and violations; and continues to ignore NMED’s attempts at enforcement. …
Read full release