Summary:

 House Bill 356 (HB 356) provides that replacement wells within one hundred feet of the original well are not subject to protest. It allows an aggrieval and request for hearing to be filed. 


 

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill 356 (HB 356) alters Section 72-12-22 NMSA 1978 by prohibiting protests of replacement wells within one hundred feet of the original well. If aggrieved by the state engineer (OSE)’s action on the application, the applicant may file an aggrieval and request for hearing. It makes a few technical corrections.


 

Current Law:

 Owners of other water rights who claim injury as a result of the drilling of the replacement well may recover damages and may protest the granting of the permit to the OSE. Under current law, protests themselves do not prevent these new wells from being used during the pendency of the administrative hearing. According to OSE analysis,therefore, there is not much reason for another party to protest a replacement well. As a result, such protests are rare Because these wells are replacing valid existing wells, there are not likely to be many meritorious claims of impairment, conservation, or public welfare. This is because it is rare that a replacement well so close to the original would have significant hydrological effects beyond the effects of the original well. In some cases, the replacement wells may be drilled closer to neighboring properties than existing wells, and that may lead to impairment. But by far the most likely type of meritorious protests would be focused on whether the elements of the statute were met
 

Amendments:

 2/19/25
The House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee amended HB 356 by reinstating the language “and only the same” to emphasize that the replacement well must be drilled into the same underground stream, channel, artesian basin, reservoir or lake as the original well.