NM officials withdraw $1.2 million fine against El Paso Water

A bridge spans the Rio Grande between Texas and New Mexico on September 9, 2021. More than 1.1 billion gallons of untreated sewage was pumped into the Rio Grande by El Paso Water after a series of main breaks in August 2021. (Photo Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

The fight between Texas and New Mexico over the sewage spill of more than 1 billion gallons into the Rio Grande near Sunland Park is over.

A federal district court judge in Texas approved a settlement last week with New Mexico environmental officials, dropping a $1.2 million fine against El Paso Water Utility.

The Aug. 6th ruling from Western District of Texas Judge David Briones officially dismissed the case, which resulted with both parties agreeing to pay for their own costs and attorney fees.

The fine from New Mexico environment officials stemmed after a catastrophic break in two sewage mains in August 2021. El Paso Water said the utility’s only option was to divert an eventual 1 billion gallons of untreated sewage into the Rio Grande near Sunland Park, N.M. over five months.

The Rio Grande, which acts as both the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, also meanders across the Texas and New Mexico state lines in that reach.

Officials with the New Mexico Environment Department filed two enforcement actions, including the $1.2 million fine in June 2022, saying the spill posed threats to New Mexico’s health and environment. El Paso Water called the accusations “false and misleading” at the time, and pointed to environmental reviews the utility commissioned finding no wildlife harmed by the spill.

Now, New Mexico is dropping the case against El Paso Water altogether.

State environment agency attorneys determined there was no chance the case would succeed, said Drew Goretzka, a spokesperson for the agency.

“The people of Sunland Park were heavily impacted by the over billion gallons of sewage released by El Paso Water,  that’s why we filed this case” Goretzka said. “However, after evaluating its legal merits, we’ve decided to withdraw it.”

There is no expectation that the New Mexico Environment Department will appeal.

Texas environmental officials fined the El Paso utility just over $2 million dollars for the spill, but allowed for it to go towards the estimated $7 million spent on cleanup, according to a September 2023 settlement with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

In a press release from El Paso Water, the utility will provide New Mexico environmental officials with information, documents and materials from the spill, in exchange for the dismissal for the fine.