TITLE 3: TAXATION
CHAPTER 29: MISCELLANEOUS STATE TAXES AND FEES
PART 13: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT ACT
3.29.13.1 ISSUING AGENCY: Taxation and
Revenue Department, Joseph M. Montoya Building, 1100 South St. Francis Drive, P.O.
Box 630, Santa Fe NM 87504-0630
[4/15/97; 3.29.13.1 NMAC - Rn, 3
NMAC 29.13.1, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.2 SCOPE: This part applies to every
person operating a public water supply system.
[4/15/97; 3.29.13.2 NMAC - Rn, 3
NMAC 29.13.2, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Section 9-11-6.2
NMSA 1978.
[4/15/97; 3.29.13.3 NMAC - Rn, 3
NMAC 29.13.3, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[4/15/97; 3.29.13.4 NMAC - Rn, 3
NMAC 29.13.4, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: 4/15/97, unless a later
date is cited at the end of a section, in which case the later date is the
effective date.
[4/15/97; 3.29.13.5 NMAC - Rn
& A, 3 NMAC 29.13.5, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.6 OBJECTIVE: The objective of this part
is to interpret, exemplify, implement and enforce the provisions of the
Environmental Improvement Act.
[4/15/97; 3.29.13.6 NMAC - Rn, 3
NMAC 29.13.6, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.7 DEFINITIONS: “PUBLIC
WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM”:
A. For so long as the definition of “public water supply
system” in Section 20.7.1.103 NMAC is consistent with the definition in Section
74-1-13 NMSA 1978, a person who is considered to be an operator of a “public
water supply system” for purposes of Section 20.7.1.103 NMAC is an operator of
a public water supply system for the purposes of the water conservation fee.
B. A public water supply system which temporarily has fewer
than 15 service connections remains a public water supply system. If a system
permanently reduces its service connections below 15 and the system does not
serve 25 or more individuals for 60 days or more, it no longer is a public
water supply system.
[10/15/93, 4/15/97; 3.29.13.7
NMAC - Rn & A, 3 NMAC 29.13.7, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.8 CERTAIN PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS NEED
NOT FILE: A public water supply system which does not produce water and
therefore owes no water conservation fee is not required to file returns for
the water conservation fee.
[10/15/93,
4/15/97; 3.29.13.8 NMAC - Rn, 3 NMAC 29.13.8, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.9 WATER PRODUCED:
A. When water is extracted from any surface or subsurface
source by or for a public water supply system, that water is produced for
purposes of the water conservation fee. A public water supply system produces
water when another person, not a public water supply system, extracts water
under contract with or as agent for the public water supply system. Water is
produced only once.
B. Example 1: M, a
New Mexico municipality, produces water from its own wells. M's sewerage system
collects waste water and transports it to a treatment plant. After solid wastes
have been removed, some of the water is withdrawn for use in watering a golf
course. The water used to water the golf course is not produced for the
purposes of Section 74-1-13 NMSA 1978.
C. Example 2: A, a New Mexico municipality, operates a
public water supply system. The system's main reservoir is a lake. M also
produces water from wells and produces water by diversion from streams in other
watersheds. Some of the water produced from the wells and streams is pumped to
the lake for storage. M does not produce water a second time when M withdraws
from the lake the well and stream water stored in the lake.
D. Water used in the production of
water, such as in priming pumps, and returned directly to the surface or
subsurface source from which it was extracted is not produced for the purposes
of the water conservation fee. Water used in the production of water but not
returned directly to the source from which it was extracted is produced for the
purposes of the water conservation fee.
E. Example 3: D, the water department of a municipality,
extracts water from wells. Periodically D uses some of the water from the wells
to flush the pipes and tanks of its well pumping plant. The flushed water and
sediment is discharged into an arroyo. The water is not returned to the source
from which it was extracted. It is produced for the purposes of the water
conservation fee.
[10/15/93, 4/15/97; 3.29.13.9
NMAC - Rn, 3 NMAC 29.13.9, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.10 WATER CONSERVATION FEE - WHO MUST REPORT
AND PAY:
A. A public water supply system must
report and pay the water conservation fee due both on water which it produces
and on water which it acquires if the water is acquired from a person not a
public water supply system who has not reported and paid the fee with respect
to that water.
B. Example 1: H and L are both public water supply systems.
H is a New Mexico municipality which distributes water by pipe to businesses
and residents within its boundaries. H acquires all of the water distributed
from L, another New Mexico municipality, which extracted the water from wells
and surface sources. L must report and pay the water conservation fee with
respect to all water which it produces, including the water sold to H. H has
not produced water, owes no water conservation fee and need not file water
conservation fee returns.
C. Example 2: E is an agency of the United States. E
maintains facilities in New Mexico. E produces water from wells associated with
its New Mexico facilities. E uses half of the water for its own purposes and
sells the remainder to L, a New Mexico county and a public water supply system.
L distributes the water by pipe to residences and businesses in the county. E
is immune from the application of the water conservation fee and does not
report or pay the water conservation fee with respect to any of the water E
produces. L must report and pay the water conservation fee with respect to the
water acquired from E because the water has been produced but no fee has been
paid.
[10/15/93, 4/15/97; 3.29.13.10
NMAC - Rn, 3 NMAC 29.13.10, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.11 APPLICATION OF FEE - USE OF WATER NOT DETERMINATIVE:
A. The water conservation fee applies
solely to the production of water by a public water supply system.
B. Example 1: Z is an individual who owns and lives alone
in a single family residence. Water for the residence is supplied by a well.
The well is used by no one else. Although Z extracts water, Z is not a public
water supply system, owes no water conservation fee and need not file a water
conservation fee return.
C. The use to which water produced by a
public water supply system is put has no bearing on the application of the
water conservation fee. The fee applies to all water produced by the public
water supply system. Section 74-1-13 NMSA 1978 provides no exemptions or
deductions of water produced.
D. Example 2: P, a New Mexico municipality, operates a
public water supply system, which includes a plant to render the water potable.
P extracts water from ground and surface sources which is then piped to the
plant. Prior to arrival at the plant, some of the water is diverted for
watering vegetation, street cleaning and fire-fighting. P also uses untreated
water to flush the system's pipes; the flushed water is discharged into the
environment. The remaining water is made potable. Most of the potable water is
distributed to businesses and residences for their consumption. Some is used to
fill the municipal swimming pool.
(1) P argues that the water conservation fee
is intended to provide funds for the testing of water for consumption by
humans. Therefore the fee should apply only to water distributed to its
businesses and residences for consumption. Water used for other purposes is not
subject to the fee.
(2) Regardless of the intended use of the
revenues generated by the water conservation fee, Section 74-1-13 NMSA 1978
clearly imposes the fee on the production of water by a public water supply
system. Imposition is not conditioned on use of the water. The water
conservation fee applies to the total amount of water extracted by P from the
subsurface and surface sources.
[10/15/93,
4/15/97; 3.29.13.11 NMAC - Rn, 3 NMAC 29.13.11, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.12 EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND INDIAN
GOVERNMENTS:
A. The water conservation fee does not
apply to water produced by the federal government or any of its agencies or
instrumentalities. The federal government is immune from such a fee under
provisions of the United States Constitution. The immunity applies regardless
of the use to which the water is put. The fact that the federal government is
immune from paying the fee, however, does not preclude the state of New Mexico
from entering into contracts with the federal government, under which contracts
appropriate charges are made for services provided.
B. Example: F is a federal agency with facilities in New
Mexico. F produces water, mainly for its own use. F also sells small amounts of
water to two private businesses adjacent to its New Mexico facilities. Neither
business is a public water supply system. F has no obligation to report or pay
the water conservation fee on the water sold to the businesses. Neither
business has an obligation to report or pay the fee.
C. The water conservation fee does not
apply to water produced by any Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or any agency or
instrumentality of the Indian nation, tribe or pueblo on the land of that
Indian nation, tribe or pueblo. Indian governments are immune from the water conservation
fee on water produced on their land by provision of federal law and treaties.
The immunity applies regardless of the use to which the water is put. The fact
that an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo is immune from paying the fee, however,
does not preclude the state of New Mexico from entering into contracts with the
Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, under which contracts appropriate charges are
made for services provided.
D. The immunity of federal and Indian governments from application
of the water conservation fee to water produced by those governments does not
extend to water acquired by those governments from public water supply systems
which are subject to the fee.
E. Example: B is a federal military reservation located
near a New Mexico municipality. B produces water for its own use. B also
acquires water produced by the municipality's water department, a public water
supply system. The water conservation fee applies to water produced by the
municipal water department and sold to B.
[10/15/93, 4/15/97; 3.29.13.12
NMAC - Rn, 3 NMAC 29.13.12, 11/15/01]
3.29.13.13 DEFAULT WATER USAGE LEVELS:
A. For the purposes of Section
3.29.13.13 NMAC:
(1) “community water system” means a public
water supply system which serves at least 15 service connections used by
year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents;
(2) “noncommunity water system” means any
public water supply system that is not a “community water system” or a
“nontransient noncommunity water system” and includes but is not limited to
seasonal facilities, such as children's camps or recreational camping areas and
year-round facilities which serve more than 25 persons who are not residents
thereof, such as gasoline service
stations, marinas, rest areas and restaurants which are not served by a
community water system; and
(3) “nontransient noncommunity water system”
means a public water supply system that is not a “community water system” and
that regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons for more than 6 months
per year, including but not limited to schools and factories.
B. Community and noncommunity water
systems which do not meter water produced shall report and pay amounts of water
conservation fee due based upon estimated water usage in accordance with
Subsection C of Section 3.29.13.13 NMAC. The operator of the public water
supply system will estimate annual usage by selecting the usage factor in the
table below and multiplying the usage factor by the number of persons served.
The result is then divided by 12 to convert the annual estimate to a monthly
estimate for monthly reporting periods, divided by 4 for quarterly reporting
periods or by 2 for semi-annual reporting periods. The water conservation fee
applies to the estimated water usage for the reporting period.
C. Default Water Use Estimates
(1) For Noncommunity Water Systems - 18,250
gallons annually per person served.
(2)
For Community Water Systems:
Public
Water Supply System
Size
by Population
Usage
Factor:
Gallons
Used Annually per Person
Less
than 100
52,825
101
- 500
56,181
501
- 1,000
59,537
1,001
- 2,500
62,893
2,501
- 3,300
66,249
[10/15/93, 4/15/97; 3.29.13.13
NMAC - Rn & A, 3 NMAC 29.13.13, 11/15/01]
HISTORY
OF 3.29.13 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History:
The material in this part was derived from that previously filed with
the State Records Center:
TRD
Rule WCF-93, Regulations Pertaining to the Environmental Improvement Act,
Section 74-1-13 NMSA 1978, filed 10/15/93.
History of Repealed Material: [RESERVED]
NMAC
History:
3 NMAC 29.13, Environmental
Improvement Act, filed 4/1/97.
3.29.13 NMAC, Environmental
Improvement Act, filed 11/1/01.
