Ongoing Critical Issues
- Paul Spencer, W.I.L.L. for Prosperity
- Dec 26, 2023
- 9 min read
Quality of water is Quality of life.
Water is life.
Please review 👉 by-laws👈 for BWSD:
Current critical issueI have been informed that Grants Cibola County Schools/GCCS has decided without any input from Bluewater Water & Sanitation District/BWSD or residents of BWSD, to install their own septic system rather than utilizing BWSD facilities. These facilities have been established, built and provided for both drinking water and wastewater services. I was informed that BWSD has communicated to GCCS that BWSD is not going to allow GCCS to hook up to our system. This claim is false, and no record of communication has been provided to support these claims.
GCCS has failed to communicate their plans to the Board of Directors that GCCS does not intend to not hook up to BWSD’s facilities. They are no better or any different from any other resident located in our district whose residence or place of business is required to hook up to both drinking water and wastewater services per BWSD by-laws; Article VII, Water and Sewer System Operations, Section 1, Page 17, 3rd paragraph, see below:
“For health and sanitary purposes the Board shall have the power to compel the owners of inhabited property within the Sanitation District to connect their property with the sewer system of such district, and upon failure to connect within sixty days after written notice by the Board to do so, the Board may cause such connection to be made and a lien filed against the property for the expense incurred in making such 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 400 feet of his/her property line.
BWSD seeking affordable funding and technical assistanceIn 2020 before BWSD lost the already committed 1.2 million dollars allocated for the new wastewater treatment plant because of the decision of state agencies to not provide additional funding (“principal forgiveness” provided by the Clean Water Act/CWA) to upgrade BWSD’s wastewater treatment plant knowing full well BWSD was out of compliance in the area of groundwater being that the sewer lagoon is not lined with plastic. State agencies chose to look the other way and withhold the already approved and allocated 1.2 million dollars, stating BWSD could not afford the loan portion of the grant funding after NMED/DWB certifying in January 27, 2020, that BWSD had met all the eligibility requirements of the Rural Infrastructure Act/RIA and the regulations.
The 30% vacancy confusion caused by state agencies inability to retain full-time employees is shown here as their indecisiveness caused confusion and contention at the local level after the state agencies changed their minds 2-3 months later and stated we needed to find additional funding—once again, raising rates where BWSD customers are now left to choose between having running water or electricity. Do not forget, the reason BWSD funds were depleted was in part due to a hired engineering group who charged time and materials versus lump sum. This is due to the 30% vacancy here in the New Mexico Environmental Protection Agency as well as a 50% vacancy in the United States Environmental Protection Agency. These vacancies allowed, in part, BWSD’s drinking water project to incur $86,000 in overruns; this contributed to causing our running banking account to only have $32,000 in March of 2020 causing BWSD to loose 1.2mllion dollars in grant funding because of insufficient funds.
Due to BWSD’s inability to find any other source of funding or plan to provide funding after exhausting all other funding resources including legislative funding, BWSD residents were unable and unwilling to have their rates raised even higher–due to BWSD water rates already being 50% higher than surrounding areas. BWSD followed state representatives' request to ask the Grants Cibola County Schools for funding and GCCS said they could not provide funding outside of school property.
BWSD Collaborative efforts seeking funding opportunitiesIn continuing efforts to seek affordable funding BWSD was involved in many discussions with all levels of government. In a particular discussion with state legislators and school officials GCCC expressed plans of drilling their own well for fire suppression, because I informed them that with current infrastructure service lines from main lines are not adequate in meeting fire suppression and this is the reason we were asking for help. After GCCS said they would drill their own well for fire suppression, I stated BWSD would be more than willing to purchase their water if it does not need to be treated for arsenic and could be sold for a cheaper price than what BWSD sells treated water.
In the same 2020 discussions with state legislators and school officials we spoke of the different options of providing wastewater services preferring GCCS continue to use the same wastewater lines and manholes already in place. If they choose to use the wastewater lines on the north-side, there would be additional cost of services because that route would require use of a manhole lift station and cost of electricity would increase. BWSD encouraged GCCS (environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solutions) to use the wastewater lines on the south side because they are gravity fed and will not increase electricity consumption and cost of services.
The reason BWSD brought up the issue of wastewater was to address everyone participating in the phone call with Northwest Council of Governments/NWCOG, state legislators, GCCS and other government entities (addressing the upcoming 2021 Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan/ICIP), for the need of affordable funding for BWSD to address the failing aging infrastructure (clay pipes) leading to the wastewater treatment plant. State rules changing in middle of the game
Both State Revolving Funds mandate and incentivize the use of principal forgiveness through the Clean Water Act under which the state revolving funds operate.
BWSD meets all requirements for the Loan Refinancing Policy except for item #5 where hired engineering firm charged time and materials versus lump sum.
X. 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 DWSRF may refinance existing loans.
The following are required for a DWSRF 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 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 did not receive the help it requested in 2019 and 2020 This has caused concern for the safety, health, peace and general welfare of the community residents and its leaders who have all been greatly impacted by these ongoing issues which need resolution. We are a small impoverished community in an impoverished state where 85% of New Mexico communities fall under the median household income level and 80% of community public water systems are operated by volunteer board members who sit at a disproportionate disadvantage. Actions taken in September of 2021 by the New Mexico Drinking Water Bureau and New Mexico Environmental Department changed the rules of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) of New Mexico because New Mexico state legislators were upset that there was $336 million in the CWSRF sitting stagnant for years—so the state agencies changed the rules without public participation reallocating state revolving funds intended for small communities with low populations in rural areas to bigger cities with full-time paid staff.
State revolving funds are competitive. Now due to changes made on September 20, 2021, by the Drinking Water Bureau/DWB and NMED, communities throughout New Mexico are now competing with bigger cities for funding which was originally intended for small communities with low population in rural areas for the purpose of helping communities serve safe, clean and affordable water for the health, safety, peace and general welfare of their residents. This coupled with the issue that James Kenney, Secretary Cabinet of New Mexico Environmental Department, stated in the 2023 legislative session finance committee that the Drinking Water Bureau has the equivalent of one person focused on providing infrastructure funding support to the 1,068 public water systems in New Mexico.
Affordable Funding and technical assistance priorities need to be placed for improving and maintaining community public water systems future sustainability and resiliency through affordable funding and technical assistance to help these political subdivisions/CPWS thrive and improve their powers and authority necessary to provide for the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity and improve the morals, order, comfort and convenience of its inhabitants. A huge majority of communities in the United States of America are struggling to address infrastructure projects which would rebuild, update and improve aging, failing water and wastewater infrastructure projects because “after community public water systems pay all their bills, they only have less than 1/2% to invest in their water and wastewater infrastructure” (this statement according to Southwest Environmental Finance Center).
If BWSD is any representation of what we as a society have to look forward to in the upcoming future, we need to do all we can do to change the course of our failing government and all the agencies and bureaucracies which are impeding upon our rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This confusion, misunderstanding and subsequent misinformation is caused by government vacancies that communities like BWSD and its residents (United States citizens) and as well as local and state government officials who are misinformed and underserved when statements from such agencies indicate “it is unconstitutional for BWSD to utilize the principal forgiveness policy provided by the Clean Water Act here in the State of New Mexico”. The state of New Mexico is a participant and beneficiary of the State Revolving Funds provided by the federal government that was just injected with 550 billion dollars through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that also continues to carry out the mandates and incentivizes the use of principal forgiveness through the Clean Water Act, under which the State Revolving Funds operate.
Residents of Bluewater Village as would any other community inhabitants are not and will not be receptive to a wastewater treatment plant being constructed in the middle of their community especially when leaders of the community cried to all who would listen for help in addressing the out of compliance issues BWSD had faced in needing an qualified accountant asap to prevent any future losses. (What good is a law if the law cannot adequately provide funding to implement and enforce the law? Since 2014 N.M. mandates every government entity to have a certified accountant.) BWSD is recognized as a government entity and has longstanding established bylaws, regulations and governing policies. Plans to build a 2 million dollar wastewater treatment plant on school grounds instead of investing in the Bluewater Village communities' aging failing infrastructure is not indicative of a healthy functioning government at all levels; there is no excuse for these unwarranted actions of building a wastewater treatment plant in the middle of the community when there’s already established facilities for such connections to be made.
BWSD’s continued request for help were brought to everyone's attention when BWSD sought collaborative solutions to come into compliance with state and federal regulations . Yearly audits are required and BWSD clearly understood this when BWSD asked for help in finding a qualified accountant and for accounting services. Because of Covid and other issues nobody answered BWSD’s Request for proposal of accounting position. BWSD asked local and state offices for assistance but was told that they could not help. Due to massive piles of heavy overwhelming regulations that have been created by government consequently have overwhelmed and overburdened communities nationwide, many communities have been led to be faced with systemic failures, so too have the agencies who were created to help community public water systems stay in compliance; this systemic failure being admitted to by Secretary James Kenny stating that they (government officials: agencies) have failed to meet their mission and they have failed to meet their goals for years.
BWSD has sought for collaboration with all stakeholders, government agencies and organizations to provide an agreeable path forward to achieve sustainable development and serve safe, clean, affordable water for all its inhabitants. The failures of government agencies and government offices cannot be allowed to determine the quality of life or the people’s ability to thrive and improve their powers and the authority necessary to provide for the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity and improve the morals, order, comfort and convenience of its inhabitants.
Join us in petitioning the decisions and actions by GCCS and New Mexico state agencies who are developing and building a wastewater treatment plant at the Bluewater Elementary School yard located in the middle of the Bluewater Village Community, in clear violation of the local governing entity’s authority and the Bylaws of the Bluewater Water and Sanitation District, instead of investing in and prioritizing the existing wastewater infrastructure at a reduced burden to New Mexico taxpayers.
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