New Mexico’s environmental regulators have withdrawn a $1.2 million fine against El Paso Water as part of a settlement of the lawsuit filed by the city-operated water utility.
The fine was issued in June 2022 by the New Mexico Environment Department for alleged violations of environmental regulations tied to El Paso Water’s discharge of sewage into the Rio Grande in 2021. The sewage discharge was caused by breaks in sewage lines in West El Paso.
El Paso Water’s lawsuit , filed in federal court in December 2022, denied New Mexico’s allegations that the utility violated New Mexico environmental laws and argued that New Mexico environmental regulators had no jurisdiction in the matter because the discharge occurred in Texas.
U.S. District Court Judge David Briones Aug. 6 issued a order dismissing the lawsuit and dismissing all claims at the request of both agencies. El Paso Water officials announced the fine was withdrawn on Aug. 9.
As part of the settlement, El Paso Water will continue to provide the New Mexico Environment Department with information, documents and materials pertaining to the sewage discharge, according to the utility’s news media release.
El Paso Water also was fined $2.01 million in 2023 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the sewage discharge.
However, the commission agreed to let El Paso Water use the fine money to help pay for the estimated $7 million bill to clean up the sewage discharge.
The Frontera Force sewage pipelines broke in multiple places in West El Paso in August 2021 as the utility was in the middle of a three-phase project to replace the corroded pipelines.
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The utility determined that diverting the untreated sewage into the Rio Grande near Doniphan Drive was the best way to keep the sewage away from homes and businesses.
Sewage was diverted from August 2021 until January 2022, when a major portion of the sewage pipeline replacement project was completed.
The utility's environmental monitoring found no lasting environmental problems on the Rio Grande from the sewage discharge, a utility official has said.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com ; @vickolenc on Twitter , now known as X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Water's $1.2M New Mexico fine dropped in settlement of sewage discharge case
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