New Mexico Environment Department launches third-party audit of CRRUA operations
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 6, 2024
Contact: Jodi McGinnis Porter, Deputy Communications Director
Office of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
505.500.9400 | jodi.mcginnisporter@exec.nm.gov
New Mexico Environment Department launches third-party audit of CRRUA operations
Review of technical, financial, and administrative operations will help ensure CRRUA is able to provide safe drinking water for Sunland Park residents
DOÑA ANA COUNTY — On April 29, 2024, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) signed an agreement with the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) to perform a comprehensive performance evaluation (CPE) to evaluate what led to operational failures that resulted in unsafe drinking water delivered to CRRUA customers.
The CPE will begin May 28, 2024 and review all aspects of CRRUA operations, including financial, administrative, and technical, to identify shortcomings and provide a set of recommendations to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water. The audit, findings, and recommendations will be made public and shared through community meetings.
Since issuing the Administrative Compliance Order on March 1, 2024, NMED performed water sample testing on three occasions, including random, unannounced testing and regulatory compliance testing. The test results for arsenic are summarized below.
Sample Date
Sample Type
Arsenic MCL Exceedances
Arsenic value (mg/L)
March 15, 2024
Multiple locations, arsenic testing only
Industrial Park
0.016
March 21, 2024
Multiple locations, all compliance constituents
1673 McNutt Road
0.013
April 4, 2024
Regulatory compliance testing at four treatment plants, all compliance constituents
None
Below MCL
All other constituents tested within safe drinking water levels.
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NMED does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age or sex in the administration of its programs or activities, as required by applicable laws and regulations. NMED is responsible for coordination of compliance efforts and receipt of inquiries concerning non-discrimination requirements implemented by 40 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 7, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 13 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. If you have any questions about this notice or any of NMED’s non-discrimination programs, policies or procedures, you may contact: Kate Cardenas , Non-Discrimination Coordinator | NMED |1190 St. Francis Dr., Suite N4050 | P.O. Box 5469 | Santa Fe, NM 87502 or (505) 827-2855 or nd.coordinator@env.nm.gov . If you believe that you have been discriminated against with respect to a NMED program or activity, you may contact the Non-Discrimination Coordinator.
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Sydney Lienemann, PhD (she/her)
Deputy Cabinet Secretary - Administration
New Mexico Environment Department
Email : sydney.lienemann@env.nm.gov
Mobile: (505) 670-6852
1190 St. Francis Drive |Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED
www.env.nm.gov