Case Work: Water

State Water Plan 2018

SUMMARY:

The Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) is required to review the State Water Plan (SWP) at least every 5 years and amend or update it as needed. The SWP is supposed to be a strategic management tool that provides the Legislature, water managers, and the regional planning districts with a clear vision and policy direction for managing the state’s waters. In June 2018, the ISC released a draft State Water Plan update for public comment. The Law Center staff and Board reviewed the draft SWP, found it fundamentally flawed, and decided to devote resources to provide extensive comments on the SWP with the hope of improving the Plan so that it can provide the vision and direction the State and its communities need to build a more resilient water management future.

LATEST NEWS:

08/24/2018 – The Law Center filed comments on the draft State Water Plan. Amigos Bravos, a client of the Law Center on several cases (but not on the State Water Plan), also filed comments; included are two attachments: one is a draft 2016 report on the Water-Energy Nexus in New Mexico (the final version will come out soon) and the other is a report on how agencies can promote community participation.  Santa Clara Pueblo filed comments.
08/17/2018 – The Law Center posted draft Talking Points ahead of its final comments to the ISC.
07/09/2018 – The Interstate Stream Commission released its draft update of the State Water Plan (SWP) for public comment.  The public comment period was extended to August 25, 2018. The SWP is in three volumes: Part I: Policies, which is a very general listing of unranked goals and strategies; Part II: Technical Report, which is the most important part of the SWP, despite its title; Part III: Legal Landmarks, which is a useful overview of the legal basis for water planning in New Mexico.
12/13-14/2017 – State Water Planning Town Hall, “Advancing New Mexico’s Water Future”, attended by over 200 people from across the state. The Town Hall was convened by the Interstate Stream Commission and facilitated by New Mexico First. New Mexico First prepared a Background Report (November 2017) for participants to read prior to the Town Hall, and released the Final Report (January 16, 2018).

RELATED DOCUMENTS

• New Mexico Statutes 72-14-3.1 – State Water Plan Purpose and Contents
• 2003 State Water Plan
• 2003 State Water Plan – Synthesis of Public Comments
• 2003 State Water Plan – Implementation Report 2004
• 2003 State Water Plan – Progress Report 2006
• 2008 State Water Plan – Review and Proposed Update
• 2008 State Water Plan – Public Questionnaire 2009
• 2013 State Water Plan, “State Water Plan Review: Working Toward Solutions: Integrating Our Water and Our Economy“
• May 2017 – the University of New Mexico / Utton Transboundary Resources Center prepared a review for the Interstate Stream Commission: “A Comparative Analysis of State Water Planning Efforts in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Utah with Commentary on New Mexico Water Planning Statutes, Objectives, and Tribal Consultation.”