The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." It mandates that individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law.[
For and on behalf of the district, the board shall have the following powers:
A. to have perpetual existence;
B. to have and use a corporate seal;
C. to sue and be sued and be a party to suits, actions and proceedings;
D. except as otherwise provided in the Water and Sanitation District Act to enter into contracts and agreements affecting the affairs of the district, including contracts with the United States and any of its agencies or instrumentalities. Except in cases in which a district will receive aid from a governmental agency, a notice shall be published for bids on all construction contracts for work or material or both involving an expense of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more. The district may reject any and all bids, and, if it appears that the district can perform the work or secure material for less than the lowest bid, it may proceed to do so;
E. to borrow money and incur indebtedness and evidence the indebtedness by certificates, notes or debentures and to issue bonds in accordance with the provisions of that act;
F. to acquire, dispose of and encumber real and personal property, water rights, water and sewer works and plants and any interest in them, including leases and easements;
G. to refund any bonded indebtedness or revenue bonds of the district without an election in accordance with the provisions of that act;
H. to have the management, control and supervision of all the business and affairs of the district and the construction, installation, operation and maintenance of district improvements;
I. to hire and retain agents, employees, engineers and attorneys;
J. to have and exercise the power of eminent domain and dominant eminent domain and, in the manner provided by law for the condemnation of private property for public use, to take any property necessary to the exercise of the powers granted in that act, both within and without the district;
K. to construct and maintain works and establish and maintain facilities across or along any public street or highway and in, upon or over any vacant public lands, which public lands are now or may become the property of the state, and to construct works and establish and maintain facilities across any stream of water or watercourse; provided, however, that the district shall promptly restore any such street or highway to its former state of usefulness as nearly as may be and shall not use the street or highway in such manner as to completely or unnecessarily impair its usefulness;
L. to fix and from time to time to increase or decrease water and sewer rates, tolls or charges for services or facilities furnished or made available by the district, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, standby charges for both water and sewers, and to pledge that revenue for the payment of any indebtedness of the district. Until paid, all rates, tolls or charges constitute a perpetual lien on and against the property served, and any such lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as provided by the laws of New Mexico for the foreclosure of real estate mortgages. The board shall shut off or discontinue service for delinquencies in the payment of the rates, tolls or charges or in the payment of taxes levied pursuant to the Water and Sanitation District Act and prescribe and enforce rules and regulations for the connection with and the disconnection from properties of the facilities of the district. For health and sanitary purposes, the board shall have the power to compel the owners of inhabited property within a sanitation district to connect their property with the sewer system of the district, and, upon a failure so to connect within sixty days after written notice by the board, the board may cause the connection to be made and a lien to be filed against the property for the expense incurred in making the connection; provided, however, that no owner shall be compelled to connect his property with such system unless a service line is brought by the district to a point within four hundred feet of his dwelling place;
M. to adopt and amend bylaws not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the state for carrying on the business, objects and affairs of the board and of the district; and
N. to have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers granted in this section. Such specific powers shall not be considered as a limitation upon any power necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of that act.
Bwsd is an SPA association is a special
function governmental unit, established by state
law, and immune from damages for liability under
the NMAA.
It is hereby declared that the organization of water and sanitation districts, having the purposes and powers provided in this act, will serve a public use and will promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants of said districts.
Water and sanitation districts may be created for the purpose of:
A. purchasing, acquiring, establishing or constructing waterworks to supply water for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes by any available means to persons within and without the boundaries of the district. For this purpose, any district has the power to extend its water lines outside the boundaries of the district for the purpose of securing a source of water supply or for the purpose of supplying the water to any lands of the United States, New Mexico or Indian reservations for use by any person, firm or corporation;
B. purchasing, acquiring, establishing or constructing sanitary sewers or a system of sewage disposal, garbage or refuse disposal;
C. purchasing, acquiring, establishing or constructing streets and street improvements, including without limitation grades, regrades, gravel, oiling, surfacing, macadamizing, paving, crosswalks, sidewalks, driveway approaches, curbs, gutters, culverts, drains, sewers, manholes, inlets, outlets, retaining walls, bridges, overpasses, tunnels, underpasses, approaches, artificial lights and lighting equipment, parkways, grade separators, traffic separators and traffic-control equipment and all appurtenances and incidentals or any combination of them, including real and other property for them;
D. establishing or constructing park and recreational improvements;
E. purchasing, acquiring, establishing, constructing or operating other public facilities or economic development projects; or
F. all of the improvements in Subsections A through E of this section or any combination of them within or without the district.
A. The organization of a district shall be initiated by a petition filed in the office of the clerk of the court vested with jurisdiction in a county in which all or part of the real property in the proposed district is situated. The petition shall be signed by not less than twenty-five percent of the qualified electors of the district, none of whom shall be an officer, director or shareholder of any business entity with an economic interest in the subdivision and sale of land within the district; provided that at the option of a county and, after adoption of a resolution by the county authorizing the filing of a petition, that county may file a petition that shall be signed by the chair of the board of county commissioners. The petition and all other instruments relating to the formation of such districts shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county or counties in which the proposed district is located.
B. The petition shall set forth:
(1) the name of the proposed district consisting of a chosen name preceding the words "water and sanitation district";
(2) a general description of the improvements to be constructed or installed within and for the district;
(3) the estimated overall cost of the proposed improvements to be constructed or installed within and for the district;
(4) an estimated time table for the completion of all intended improvements;
(5) the need for the creation of the district and the construction or installation of improvements, stating the nature and extent of the anticipated use of the improvements by persons presently residing on land within the district and the nature and extent of the anticipated use of the improvements due to future development;
(6) a general description of the boundaries of the district or the territory to be included in it, with such certainty as to enable a property owner to determine whether or not the owner's property is within the district;
(7) the salary, if any, that the members of the board shall receive for their services; and
(8) a request for the organization of the district.
C. No petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared void on account of alleged defects, but the court may at any time permit the petition to be amended to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the description of the territory or in any other particular. Similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the organization of the same district may be filed and shall together be regarded as one petition.
Upon approval of the county special district commission as provided in the Special District Procedures Act [4-53-1 to 4-53-11 NMSA 1978], where applicable, the court shall fix a place and time, not less than twenty days nor more than forty days after receipt of the decision of the county special district commission, for hearing thereon and thereupon the clerk of the court shall cause notice by publication to be made of the pendency of the petition and of the time and place of hearing thereon; the clerk of the court shall also forthwith cause a copy of the notice to be mailed by United States registered mail to the board of county commissioners of each of the several counties, and shall notify the attorney general and the health and social services department of the hearing to be held for the creation of the district by mailing notice addressed to the same, such notice to be deposited in the mail not less than ten days prior to the date set for the hearing, and the attorney general and the health and social services department may appear and be heard at the hearings.
A. At any time after the filing of the petition for the organization of a district and before the day fixed for the hearing on it, the owner of any taxable property within the proposed district may file a petition with the court stating reasons why the property should not be included in the district and requesting that the property be excluded from it. The petition shall be verified and shall describe the property sought to be excluded. The court shall hear the petition and all objections to it at the time of the hearing on the petition for organization and shall determine whether the property should be excluded or included in the district.
B. In determining whether or not the petition for the creation of a water and sanitation district shall be granted, the district court shall consult and request an opinion from:
(1) the state engineer to determine whether the proposed district has adequate water rights to implement the proposed improvements; and
(2) the environmental improvement division of the department of environment to determine, as to the technological feasibility of the proposed improvements, whether the water proposed to be supplied is of an acceptable quality to conform with the state regulations and whether the liquid and solid waste disposal proposals can conform with state regulations.
C. The court may deny the petition or may order the petition to be modified if the court, after hearing on the petition, finds that:
(1) the proposed water and sewage improvements cannot conform with the state regulations;
(2) the water and sewage improvements cannot be implemented within a reasonable time taking into consideration applications for state and federal grants;
(3) there is lacking an actual or impending need for the water and sewage improvements proposed; or
(4) the boundaries of the proposed district contain land that has no actual or impending need for the water and sewage improvements or cannot be reasonably expected to utilize the water and sewage improvements, unless the land is otherwise required to be included in the proposed district by rule or regulation of a federal agency.
D. Upon the hearing, if it appears that a petition for the organization of a district has been properly signed and presented and that the allegations of the petition are true, the court shall order that the question of the organization of the district be submitted to the qualified electors of the district as set forth in the petition, as the boundaries were modified by the court in determining that only property to be benefited by the proposed improvements should be included within the boundaries of the district, at an election to be held for that purpose and conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978]. The election shall be held in the district not less than ninety days after the order is entered in accordance with the Local Election Act; provided that the date does not conflict with the provisions of Section 1-24-1 NMSA 1978.
E. At the election, the qualified electors of the district shall vote for or against the organization of the district. If a majority of the votes cast at the election are in favor of the organization, the district court shall declare the district organized and give it a corporate name by which in all proceedings it shall thereafter be known. Thereupon the district shall be a governmental subdivision of the state, except a district created pursuant to a petition signed by the chair of the board of county commissioners of a county, which district shall be a subdivision of the county. Every district shall be a body corporate with all the powers of a public or quasi-municipal corporation.
NMS § 73-21-9
N.M. Stat. § 4-37-1
“13 All counties are granted the same powers that are granted municipalities except for those powers that are inconsistent with statutory or constitutional limitations placed on counties. Included in this grant of powers to the counties are those powers necessary and proper to provide for the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity and improve the morals, order, comfort and convenience of any county or its inhabitants. The board of county commissioners may make and publish any ordinance to discharge these powers not inconsistent with statutory or constitutional limitations placed on counties.
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Bluewater Water and Water Sanitation District (BWSD) search of Affordable Funding and Technical Assistance
Note
In 2020 Bwsd had :
Adequate technical, managerial and operational capacity
full board of directors support and was actively participating with Construction Program Buero (CPB) New Mexico Environmental Department NMED , and newly hired engineers who were hired by BWSD to develop collaboratively with all participants in the efforts of critical view engineering firms completion of BWSD wastewater permit for 2020.
All board members were working cohesively in seeking additional funding of $400,000 to meet newly created requirements for American steel act and capital outlay request to address aging failing infrastructure and request for DWSRF debt forgiveness(principal forgiveness) so as to provide affordable water for BWSD stakeholders while maintaining the purposes of a Water Sanitation District by New Mexico Statute N.M. Stat. § 73-21-1 It is hereby declared that the organization of water and sanitation districts, having the purposes and powers provided in this act, will serve a public use and will promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants of said districts.
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." It mandates that individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law.
opinion :
Providing affordable funding to Community Public water systems will not only improve capacity but it will help maintain existing capacity
As stated in the Analysis of the Use of Drinking Water
It is important for the primacy and funding agencies to collaborate when working with systems receiving DWSRF loans, to ensure the DWSRF funds are put to effective use and projects meet all necessary requirements prior to initiation. This ensures that public health goals are met and that the water system will maintain or increase capacity, as well as ensuring a steady stream of DWSRF loan disbursements. Effective collaboration between these programs advances capacity development goals, making more water systems eligible to apply for infrastructure financing, if necessary
BWSD sought affordable funding in fy2020 New Mexico State Legislative session after completing a new water well and arsenic treatment system. BWSD was in the process of seeking affordable funding in the 2020 legislative session for completion of a proposed build of a wastewater treatment plant that had already been approved and was 90% completed in the professional preliminary Engineering report performed first by Sullivan design and later completed in its entirety by Critical Design. The wastewater treatment plant was and continues to be a shovel ready project that is ready to go through the bidding processes that will complete the PER 100%
Cost of overruns and cost of installation of new fence to protect BWSD assets cost BWSD Nearly $68,000.00 out of operational banking account.
In April of 2020 New Mexico Environmental Department notified BWSD that the CWSRF Loan 079 and RIP Loan 00018 were executed in February of 2018. The loans were based on audited financials from the years 2014-2016. NMED claims that those audited financials did not include project 3393-DW because it was not yet in repayment. NMED also claimed that In addition, when applying for CWSRF Loan 079 and RIP Loan 00018, Bluewater did not disclose the drinking water loan to CPB or that they had committed the same pledged revenue source for both the NMED loans and DWSRF loan. NMED sought disclosure through the loan ordinance and attorney opinion. Prompted by information Mr. Spencer shared with NMED, including a January 29, 2020 letter Mr. Spencer sent to Senator Munoz and provided to NMED Cabinet Secretary Kenney, CPB recently reviewed the most recent three years of audits for Bluewater. Our review of the most recent publicly available audits for Bluewater indicate that adequate funds will not be available to repay the loans executed with NMED.
NMED is requiring that Bluewater submit a plan to NMED CPB by May 1, 2020 outlining the steps the System intends to take to improve debt capacity and ensure the ability to repay the CWSRF 079 loan and the RIP 00018 loan. If Bluewater cannot demonstrate an adequate plan to increase revenue and/or decrease expenses to increase debt capacity, NMED will cancel the loans. The grant funds awarded by NMED through CWSRF 079 and RIP 00018 are tied to the loans. This means that if NMED cancels the loans, Bluewater will lose a combined total of $1,060,000 in grant funds for their wastewater project.
The meeting held with CBP, NMED and NMFA, February of 2018 with BWSD where members of the board along with the secretary and accountant of BWSD were reassured and encouraged to continue forward with the waste water plant project promising funding to complete waste water treatment plant project with newly hired engineering team by the name of critical design. BWSd expressed concern of being able to afford to proceed forward without having to increase rates further than already established. It was in this meeting BWSD was reassured and encouraged to continue forward with the wastewater treatment plant project with the reassurance from all the agencies in attendance a successful path forward. Every one there was aware of the completion of the drinking water state revolving fund project and the upcoming waste water treatment plant project and a very detailed discussion concerning affordability that was held there to address BWSD concerns of proceeding forward with the hiring of new engineers (critical design) after the Dealings with previous engineers who charged for time and materials VRs lump sum as required by state law for the entire duration of the DWSRF project . This breach of contract cost BWSD $62,150. in overruns out of BWSD’s operating account and an additional $8,000.00 to install a fence protecting newly built well water Arsenic treatment plant.
In NMEDs April 3rd 2020 letter to BWSD regarding the two loans administered for upgrading the Bluewater Water and Sanitation District (Bluewater) wastewater treatment plant , NMED stated that Bluewater is at risk of losing these loans based on inability to repay and that BWSD did not disclose the drinking water loan to CPB or that they had committed the same pledged revenue source for both the NMED loans and DWSRF. This is a false claim
Dian Nunez later stated via email Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 6:16 PM
Hello,
Beginning April 15th, I will begin work on the following:
Reach out to Judy Kahl via phone Wednesday April 15th at the Construction Bureau about the plan due to NMED CPB by May 2020 outlining the steps the System intends to improve debt capacity and ensure the ability to repay the CWSRF 079 Loan dn the RIP 00018 Loan. Items to address over the phone:
Discuss the fact that three years of financials were presented as part of the loan package requirement which included the NMFA Loan Balance for two of those three years. BWSD did not have a loan with NMFA the first of the three years.
Request for the Loan Ordinance and Attorney Opinion on file providing proof that BWSD did not disclose the loan.
Request a month extension to allow me to review the financials for accuracy, analyze financial to determine where the District stands.
The plan will be based on the financial standing of the District.
Propose plan and present to the Board for approval.
REACHED OUT TO JUDY KAHL TODAY 04.15.20 AND LEFT A VOICE MAIL MESSAGE FOR A CALL BACK. COLLECTED DATA TO PRESENT OUR CASE REGARDING THE ALLEGATION THAT BWSD DID NOT DISCLOSE THE NMFA LOAN. BOTH THE DFA REPORTS FOR 2016 AND 2017 LIST THE NMFA LOAN. IN ADDITION, BWSD WAS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT BALANCE SHEETS FOR 2015 THROUGH 2017 WHICH LIST THE NMFA LOAN.
According to the 2020 Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund – Loan Management Policies
IX. LOAN REFINANCING POLICY
A. While certain high cost debt can hinder essential new water system improvement projects, federal guidelines restrict the circumstances under which
the DWSRLF may refinance existing loans.
The following are required for a DWSRLF loan to be eligible for refinancing:
1. The refinancing occurs in connection with a “new money” project;
2. The loan proposed for refinancing must have been originated no earlier than 1993;
3. The project financed by the original loan must have undergone a public review process that is consistent with the SERP, including concurrence by all requisite state and federal consulting agencies;
4. The environmental effects of the project must have been analyzed and studied in a manner consistent with the SERP; and
5. The project financed by the original loan must have been used for a purpose consistent with the eligible purposes defined by federal regulation and must have complied with all applicable state and federal regulations
BWSD dwsrf project financed by original loans failed to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations as stated above in section A paragraph 5. 2020 Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund – Loan Management Policies. Solivan design engineering charged time and material through completion of the entire DWSRF project Vrs lump sum as required by state law.
Is this why BWSD is not able to receive additional subsidies Through programs like Cbdg programs (found in section VI of DWSRLF Loan Management Policies)
that can help address out of compliance issues located at BWSD Waste Treatment Plant?
Let’s look at the following funding sources provided by the DWSRF 2020 Intended Use Plan
GOALS OF NEW MEXICO’S DWSRLF PROGRAM
1. DWB will regulate and assist PWSs in New Mexico to provide safe, clean, affordable drinking water to the citizens and visitors of New Mexico. The DWB will support PWSs using the set-aside funds to maximize SDWA compliance, promote public health protection, affordable drinking water, PWSs’ sustainability, and PWSs’ capacity with a focus on PWSs serving populations of 10,000 or fewer and particular emphasis on those serving 3,300 or fewer.
DWB Short Term Goals
DWB will provide targeted assistance through the Capacity Development Program to systems that are on the DWSRLF Comprehensive Priority List but are unable to qualify for the Fundable Priority List because of capacity deficiencies. DWB will always target systems that are out of compliance for assistance and training.
If these policies were being administered unbeknownst to BWSD during the last three years despite being very vocal of the challenges that followed the decision NMED made to cancel the loan/grant funding. BWSD has clearly expressed the need for programs that would help address capacity deficiencies in a proposal to all counties
VI. DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND ADDITIONAL SUBSIDY
C. The amount of additional subsidy provided will be promulgated each year in the State’s Intended Use Plan and is subject to federal appropriation. Pursuant to CFR §35.3525(b), DWSRLF capitalization grant recipients must provide at least 6% but no more than 35% of the capitalization grant amount for additional subsidy for state-defined Disadvantaged Communities. From time to time, Congress may require capitalization grant recipients to provide additional subsidy to its loan recipients.
X. REFERENCES
A. Statutes, Regulations and Rules:
1. Safe Drinking Water Act – [Title XIV of the Public Health Service Act] [Section 1452 – State Revolving Loan Funds]
2. Drinking Water State Revolving Funds - [CFR Title 40 Chapter I Subchapter B Part 35 Subpart L]
3. EPA’s Interim Final Rule for the DWSRF - [CFR Title 40 Parts 9 and 35, FRL– 6846–5, RIN 2040–AD20]
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires states to provide an exact amount of additional subsidy. States must give exactly 49% of the capitalization grant award to eligible entities as principal forgiveness or grants (or any combination of these). However, states may take DWSRF set-asides from the remaining 51% of funds, and some of these DWSRF set-aside funds may be used for LSL inventories and Lead Service Line Replacement LSLR-related technical assistance."
PUBLIC LAW 106–107—NOV. 20, 1999 113 STAT. 1487
(3) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘Federal financial assistance’’ has the same meaning as defined in sec- tion 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, under which Federal financial assistance is provided, directly or indirectly, to a non-Federal entity.
(4) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local government’’ means a political subdivision of a State that is a unit of general local government (as defined under section 7501(a)(11) of title 31, United States Code).
(5) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non-Federal entity’’ means a State, local government, or nonprofit organization. (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means any corporation, trust, association,
cooperative, or other organization that—
(A) is operated primarily for scientific, educational,
service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest;
(B) is not organized primarily for profit; and
(C) uses net proceeds to main
We want the law of New Mexico to reflect affordable funding opportunities to community public water systems to be made available through newly passed constitutional amendment 2 in the recent 2022 election for the purposes of providing affordable funding to community public water systems to help promote sustainable capacity for the purposes of providing affordable funding to make possible for CPWS to serve a public use and promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants
Article IX, New Mexico Constitution
H. Nothing in this section prohibits the state from expending state funds or resources for the purpose of providing essential services primarily for residential purposes if the assistance is granted pursuant to general implementing legislation approved by a majority vote of those elected to each house of the legislature. The implementing legislation shall provide for accessibility to essential services primarily for residential purposes and include safeguards to protect public money and other public resources used for the purposes authorized in this subsection. As used in this subsection, "essential services" means infrastructure that allows internet, energy, water, wastewater or other similar services as provided by law.
D. Nothing in this section prohibits the state or a county or municipality from creating new job opportunities by providing land, buildings or infrastructure for facilities to support new or expanding businesses if this assistance is granted pursuant to general implementing legislation that is approved by a majority vote of those elected to each house of the legislature. The implementing legislation shall include adequate safeguards to protect public money or other resources used for the purposes authorized in this subsection. The implementing legislation shall further provide that:
(1) each specific county or
the Anti-Donation Clause has been amended several times to exclude certain subsidies that are in the public interest.
Furthermore, since the New Deal, state courts being heavily influenced by the federal courts interpreting the federal constitution generally have come to accept the Carolene Products (1938) view that courts apply minimal scrutiny to decisions about economic matters that neither affect fundamental rights nor involve discrimination against discrete minorities.! This is so even though, unlike the federal constitution, state constitutions contain many provisions explicitly addressing state fiscal structure." No New Mexico appellate opinion, however, has ever straightforwardly applied rational basis review to reject an anti-donation challenge to a subsidy a governmental entity has bestowed on a private person
powers granted to water and sanitation districts are broad and incidental to the "core governmental services" which confer upon the districts "quasi-municipal" status to promote the "health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the [public
It is hereby declared that the organization of water and sanitation districts, having the purposes and powers provided in this act, will serve a public use and will promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants of said districts.
The Community of Bluewater village has incurred great cost and harm due in part to the loss and lack of affordable funding and technical assistance to help bring BWSD infrastructure located at the wastewater treatment plant back into compliance with state and federal regulations
The loan forgiveness that was requested was denied multiple times.
As I learned the correct term for loan forgiveness aka principal forgiveness that I later discovered is mandated through primacy states that administer state revolving funds are both mandated and incentivized to utilize the principal forgiveness program to small communities with low populations in rural areas. As of today, according to the agencies of New Mexico the state revolving fund principal forgiveness option is against the state constitution and in order to utilize the principle forgiveness program BWSD would have to sue NMED or NMED would have to sue BWSD. If the funding BWSD requested in the later part of 2019 and 2020 was made available, my community Would have not been so negatively affected by not having enough funding to come into compliance with state and federal regulations. Original Members of the board probably would still be United and effectively working towards serving more adequately the purposes of a sanitation district.
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." It mandates that individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law.[
Water and sanitation districts are created for the purpose of "purchasing, acquiring, establishing or constructing waterworks to supply water," and "purchasing acquiring, establishing or constructing sanitary sewers" for sewage disposal in serving the public’s interest.
N.M. Stat. § 73-21-1
It is hereby declared that the organization of water and sanitation districts, having the purposes and powers provided in this act, will serve a public use and will promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants of said districts.
N.M. Stat. § 72-4A-2
A. The legislature finds that:
(1) New Mexico is in a desert where water is a scarce resource;
(2) the economy depends on reasonable and fair allocation of water for all purposes;
(3) the public welfare depends on efficient use and conservation of water;
(4) New Mexico must comply with its delivery obligations under interstate compacts; and
(5) public confidence and support for water use efficiency and conservation is based on a reasonable balance of investments in water infrastructure and management.
B. The purpose of the Water Project Finance Act is to provide for water use efficiency, resource conservation and protection and fair distribution and allocation of New Mexico's scarce water resources for beneficial purposes of use within the state.
The Local Assistance and Other State Programs set-aside allows states to use up
to 15 percent of their annual capitalization grant to assist in the development and implementation of local drinking water initiatives and other state programs, (e.g.,
capacity development and source water protection). This set-aside can also be used for direct financial assistance to water systems. A maximum of 10 percent out of the 15 percent set-aside
funds can be spent on any single effort. An advantage of this set- aside is that source water and wellhead protection activities are more broadly defined compared to the State Program Management set-aside requirements. Examples of activities include: developing and implementing asset management plans for communities, providing
grants to systems considering regionalization or consolidation and providing loans for the implementation of source water quality protection efforts.
The general powers of a water and sanitary district as contained in NMSA 1978, § 73-21-16(N) (1985) provide for the exercise of implied powers in furtherance of the specific powers granted by statute. To the extent that implied powers are granted to quasi-governmental corporations, these powers are to be construed in such a way as to give effect to the legislative purpose, not to expand or contract that purpose. Alexander v. Anderson, 1999-NMCA-021, ¶¶ 10-13, 126 N.M. 632, 973 P.2d 884 (refusing to adopt a broad interpretation of the term "agricultural use" under the Property Tax Code because such an interpretation would give greater tax relief than the legislature intended to give as evidenced by the statute's plain language). As Territorial Chief Justice Benedict phrased it, these corporations are "limited in character, yet hav[e] powers sufficient to discharge the duties imposed upon them." Donalson, 1 N.M. at 265. Those duties are set by statute.