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-HOUSE MEMORIAL 45
-57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
-INTRODUCED BY
-Joseph L. Sanchez
-A MEMORIAL
-RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER FOR THE FUTURE OF RURAL
-COMMUNITIES IN TAOS COUNTY AND THROUGHOUT NEW MEXICO AND
-REQUESTING THE WATER QUALITY CONTROL COMMISSION TO HEAR THE
-PETITION FROM TAOS COUNTY.
-WHEREAS, the supply of freshwater in New Mexico that is
-available for use by acequias, Indian nations, tribes and
-pueblos, consumers, agriculture, industry, renewable energy and
-economic development and for delivery to Texas is expected to
-diminish significantly over the next decade; and
-WHEREAS, the Produced Water Act, passed in 2019, called
-for the water quality control commission to adopt rules
-relating to the use of treated produced water; and
-WHEREAS, the governor's fifty-year water action plan
-specifically calls for the adoption of preliminary water reuse
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-rules to create a consistent and science-based regulatory
-program for the treatment and reuse of produced water outside
-of the oil and gas sector; and
-WHEREAS, New Mexico has the opportunity to lead the
-country in artificial intelligence and quantum computing
-technology and to develop environmentally responsible models
-for data center development for economic diversification; and
-WHEREAS, the growth of artificial intelligence, quantum
-computing and related technology requires energy and water
-resources; and
-WHEREAS, data centers supporting the use of artificial
-intelligence, quantum computing and conventional computing
-should be constructed in an environmentally and socially
-sustainable manner that will not negatively impact New Mexico's
-freshwater resources or negatively impact electricity use in
-the state; and
-WHEREAS, the scientific evidence is increasingly clear
-that produced water can be effectively treated for beneficial
-reuse as demonstrated by current and planned treatment and
-reuse of produced water in California and Texas; and
-WHEREAS, using produced water rather than freshwater to
-meet the water demand from data centers will safeguard New
-Mexico's freshwater resources; and
-WHEREAS, rural communities in Taos county and throughout
-the state have demonstrated admirable leadership in protecting
-.233465.1
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-freshwater resources but continue to face an uphill battle; and
-WHEREAS, a petition for a rule allowing for the reuse of
-treated produced water for industrial uses and delivery to
-Texas is being developed by a resident of Questa in Taos
-county; and
-WHEREAS, time is of the essence for the water quality
-control commission to hear this petition once it has been
-submitted and to promulgate rules enabling the beneficial reuse
-of treated produced water;
-NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
-REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it affirm the
-scientific evidence enabling the beneficial reuse of treated
-produced water and the importance of produced water as an asset
-for economic development, reducing poverty in rural communities
-and protecting freshwater resources in Taos county and
-throughout the state; and
-BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the water quality control
-commission be requested to consider the scientific evidence
-relating to the beneficial reuse of treated produced water and
-the petition from Taos county within ninety days of receipt of
-the petition and that any hearings held in relation to the
-petition be held in Questa; and
-BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
-transmitted to the governor, the secretary of environment, the
-secretary of economic development, the chair of the water
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-quality control commission, the state engineer, the chair of
-the interstate stream commission, the director of the Questa
-economic development fund, the mayor of the village of Questa
-and the members of the board of county commissioners of Taos
-county.
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-.233465.1
+Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Le gislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
+committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for th e accuracy of these reports if they
+are used for other purposes.
+
+F I S C A L    I M P A C T    R E P O R T
+
+BILL NUMBER: House Memorial 45
+SHORT TITLE: Importance of Water in Taos
+SPONSOR: Sanchez
+LAST
+UPDATE:
+ ORIGINAL
+DATE:
+
+2/4/26
+
+ANALYST: Davidson
+
+ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
+(dollars in thousands)
+Agency/Program FY26 FY27 FY28 3 Year
+Total Cost
+Recurring or
+Nonrecurring
+Fund
+Affected
+NMED Choose an
+item. Up to $25 No fiscal impact Up to $25 Nonrecurring General Fund
+Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
+*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
+
+House Memorial 45 is a duplicate of Senate Memorial 11.
+
+Sources of Information
+
+LFC Files
+
+Because of the short timeframe between the introduction of this bill and its first hearing, LFC has
+yet to receive analysis from state, education, or judicial agencies. This analysis could be updated
+if that analysis is received.
+
+SUMMARY
+
+Synopsis of House Memorial 45
+
+House Memorial 45 (HM45) requests the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) to
+consider the scientific evidence regarding the reuse of treated produced water and then requests
+the petition of Taos County within ninety days of receipt of said petition that hear ings held in
+relation to the petition be held in Questa.
+
+The bill also requests copies of the memorial to be submitted to the secretaries of the Department
+of the Environment, Economic De velopment, the State Engineer, Director of the Interstate
+Stream Commission, the governor, the mayor of Qu esta, and other representatives of Taos
+County
+
+This bill does not contain an effective date and, as  a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
+Legislature adjourns, which is May 20, 2026.
+
+House Memorial 45 – Page 2
+
+FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
+
+Memorials do not contain appropriations and ar e not enforceable as state law. The study
+requested in this memorial is within the normal operations of the agencies involved and is
+unlikely to result in significant costs.  However, the study requested in  this memorial could be
+duplicative of already existing studies and or work ing groups within the agency and could result
+in additional, potentially duplicative time and financial costs for the agency.
+
+The commission, administratively  within NMED, could need a dditional contract funding to
+implement the memorial.
+
+SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
+
+WQCC is already tasked with, per its statute and the Produced Water Act, considering the
+potential uses of treated produced water. Mult iple petitions from the state and private groups
+have been made to WQCC to expand the use of treated produced water beyond its current
+statutory bounds, though no expansion has been granted. The memorial could potentially be
+duplicative of existing statute and law.
+
+Produced Water
+
+Produced water is a byproduct of hy draulic fracking and is unique to the area it is drilled from,
+resulting in each barrel of produced water having a unique dissolved solids structure. Produced
+water, depending on the area it is created from, has been found to have varying levels of toxic
+and radioactive substances in it.
+1 New Mexico produces roughly 2 billion barrels of produced
+water annually. Portions of this water are recycled and reused in oil production, with the industry
+sourcing approximately 60 percent of its drilling water from  reused produced water in recent
+years.
+
+Projects to clean produced water for industrial use, a standard that varies depending on the
+intended use, have not been achie ved at a large scale and would re quire infrastructure the state
+does not currently have. Cleaning produced water by removing total dissolved solids (TDS) so
+that it can be used beyond the oi l field also requires the remo val of radioactive and toxic
+constituents, a level of purifica tion that would necessi tate substantial infrastructure. Currently,
+there are no plans to treat produced water to drinking water standards, which would require
+reducing TDS concentrations to less than 500 parts per million.
+
+A study done by the U. S Environmental Protection Agency notes
+2:
+Based on information provided in this study, this is primarily due to the availability of
+other wastewater management options that ar e lower cost, such as reuse within the oil
+and gas field or disposal in Class II UIC wells, as well as the cost associated with treating
+produced waters to a level suitable for disc harge. Industry indicated that unless the
+produced water has total dissolved solids concentrations generally of less than a few
+thousand milligrams per liter , treatment using membranes (e.g., reverse osmosis) or
+
+1 https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-oil-and-gas-production-wastes
+2 https://www.env.nm.gov/opf/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/05/108-110.pdf
+House Memorial 45 – Page 3
+
+distillation would be necessary to  generate water that is suit able for agricultural uses or
+for discharge to surface waters. The cost of  such treatment is not currently competitive
+where other wastewater management options are available.
+
+Research from the New Mexico Produced Water Consortium out of New Mexico State
+University found a range of TDS in produced water from the Permian Basin between 100,800 to
+201,500 TDS mg/L.3.3
+
+A recent study also done by the New Mexico Produced Water Cons ortium noted th at treated
+produced water and subsequent in tegration with the treated water and human cells resulted in
+little to no effect on the cells. However, the study did conclude that, “Produced water (PW) could
+be an alternative water resource after treatm ent for fit-for-purpose a pplications. However,
+comprehensive studies assessing the impact of tr eated PW exposure on human health are still
+lacking.”
+
+CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
+
+House Memorial 45 is a duplicate of Senate Memorial 11.
+
+AD/ct/dw/ct
+
+3 https://nmpwrc.nmsu.edu/resources/documents/2022-JHM-Characterization-of-PW-and-Pecos-River-quality.pdf