By: State Senator Jim Townsend, District 34
Seven years, two months and 25 days.
That is how long it has been since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed bipartisan legislation directing the Water Quality Control Commission to promulgate rules governing the beneficial use of treated produced water.
Six years, one month and 11 days.
That is how long it took for the commission to adopt its first rule — a rule that, in my view, failed to create the workable framework the Legislature intended.
Thirty-seven days.
That is how long it took for a new petition to be filed asking the commission to revisit the issue.
Four months and 24 days.
That is how long that petition remained alive before the commission reversed course and tossed out its prior decision amid allegations of political interference.
Three months and 18 days.
That is how long petitioners spent before returning with a new, narrower proposal.
They did not simply refile the same petition. They narrowed it. They focused it on defined, non-potable uses. They worked to address concerns and create a path for a real, science-based hearing — not a statewide mandate, not a blank check, but a public process where evidence could finally be heard.
Forty-two days.
That is how long the new petition waited before the commission first considered whether it should move forward.
Even then, after hours of testimony and procedural arguments, the commission still did not vote.
Twenty-eight more days.
That is how long it took before the commission finally acted.
On May 12, the Water Quality Control Commission voted 7-4 to move the petition to a formal rulemaking hearing.
That should have ended the procedural delay. It did not.
Forty-seven days and counting.
That is how long it has now been since the commission voted to hold a hearing.
There is still no hearing date.
No schedule.
No explanation.
That timeline tells the story better than any speech ever could. At every step, New Mexicans have been told to wait. Wait for rules. Wait for another petition. Wait through procedural fights. Wait through another meeting. Wait for another vote.
Now, after the commission finally voted to move forward, we are waiting again.
A hearing is not approval. It is not endorsement. It does not decide the outcome.
A hearing is where science is tested. It is where experts testify. It is where public concerns are raised and answered on the record.
No one should fear that process.
Chairman Brancard is entitled to his opinion. He is entitled to oppose the petition. He is entitled to vote against any final rule after hearing the evidence.
What he should not do is delay the hearing itself after the commission has already voted to proceed.
New Mexico’s water challenges are not waiting. Drought is not waiting. Communities looking for long-term solutions are not waiting. Every additional day of inaction makes clear that delay itself has become the decision.
If Chairman Brancard intends to lead this rulemaking, he should schedule the hearing immediately.
If he has no intention of doing so before his term expires, then he should step aside and allow someone else to lead.
The Legislature acted.
The commission voted.
Now the chairman needs to do his job.