NMED sues Camino Real utility, seeks court-appointed manager to address arsenic violations

State regulators say CRRUA has repeatedly failed to provide safe drinking water — or notify residents when it doesn't

Organ Mountain News report

SANTA FE - The New Mexico Environment Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to place the troubled Camino Real Regional Utility Authority under the oversight of a court-appointed independent manager.

The suit, filed in the Third Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, alleges a long pattern of mismanagement and repeated failures to provide safe drinking water to residents in the border community of Sunland Park and Santa Teresa.

If approved, the court order would function much like a receivership — stripping control from current leadership and putting daily operations in the hands of an outside manager.

NMED said CRRUA has routinely failed arsenic tests over the past decade, including recent monitoring by both its own staff and the state. Despite those violations, the utility has continued to provide unsafe water — and failed to notify customers as required by law.

RELATED: Doña Ana County terminates utility agreement with Sunland Park

“While the Environment Department has invested significant technical resources to assist CRRUA in fulfilling its duty to deliver safe and reliable drinking water, its failures continue to threaten public health,” Environment Department Secretary James Kenney said in a written statement. “Today’s lawsuit and request to appoint an independent manager signals a new approach in Environment Department efforts to protect the health of communities when they turn on their tap.”

Along with the request for an independent manager, NMED is asking the court to require CRRUA to:

• Implement real-time monitoring of arsenic levels
• Provide free arsenic test strips to all customers
• Offer an alternative drinking water source when state limits are exceeded
• Hold monthly public meetings
• Pay civil penalties that help fund water system operators across New Mexico

The action marks a shift in the state’s posture toward utilities that chronically violate drinking water standards. In July 2024, NMED warned 138 systems statewide they had 15 days to submit corrective plans — but many remain out of compliance.

Among those still facing enforcement are the City of Las Vegas and Cassandra Water System in Moriarty.

“If utility management cannot consistently provide safe, reliable drinking water to New Mexicans, the state will not hesitate to have them replaced,” NMED said.

A copy of the complaint is available here.