EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The New Mexico Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is officially investigating the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) for potential “fraud, waste and abuse,” the New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC) announced in a news release sent Wednesday, Aug. 28.
CRRUA provides water and wastewater service to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa.
NMELC said that on Monday, Aug. 19, OSA responded to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa community members’ request for an investigation into CRRUA.
CRRUA is being investigated “for any and all violations of environmental protection laws; consumer protection laws; the New Mexico Open Meetings Act; and waste, fraud, and abuse of state and federal funds,” according to NMELC.
In the document attached below, OSA informed NMELC that it already has initiated the CRRUA investigation.
As we previously reported, the utility has been under fire for months over concerns about water quality and discolored water. Some residents have told KTSM that the issues have been going on for years.
“It was definitely a surprise to hear that the New Mexico State Auditor’s Office had already begun an investigation into CRRUA. The New Mexicans who have been suffering from arsenic contaminated drinking water, excessively high monthly charges are entitled to know what their state government is doing to remedy the situation. They deserve better than the same paternalistic course of, ‘Don’t worry we are taking care of it,” Daisy Maldonado, director, Empowerment Congress NM said.
The OSA said it would incorporate the community’s input and allegations in the request into the OSA’s investigation, as well as refer all allegations of state law violations for compliance testing during this year’s annual comprehensive audit of CRRUA, according to NMELC.
“Each year, the OSA requires all independent public accountants performing audits on behalf of the OSA to test for state law compliance. This includes compliance with the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Act and New Mexico Drinking Water Regulations, which apply the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as well as consumer protection laws and the New Mexico Open Meetings Act,” read the news release.
“Many people have encountered high bills for the past three to four years, some in the thousands. We need this investigation to see what is going on. It seems like everything is being swept under the rug about CRRUA’s finances. Where did all the federal and state funding that CRRUA has received in the past go? Certainly not to the two arsenic treatment plants that were down for a year and a half,” Vivian Fuller, a Santa Teresa resident and CRRUA customer said.
Additionally, the OSA agreed to consider holding a public meeting for the community members to directly meet with and share their concerns with the OSA regarding their experiences with and services provided by CRRUA.
Community members and NMELC have since responded to the OSA in order to coordinate on a time, place, and location for the OSA to meet with community members in Sunland Park, but the OSA has yet to reply, according to NMELC.
“I think hiring another company to run the water should be considered in order to gain trust with the community. The landfill is located near water wells, and I am concerned about the potential health impacts from that. I also wonder, when it comes to increasing revenue, why don’t they charge all the commercial trucks coming from El Paso who dump their trash in the landfill instead of hitting up the water customers? The costs associated with this bad water are too much. I installed a water softener 4 months ago and the filter is yellow and slimy within 3 days! The filters are meant to last six months and cost $50 each. I will bypass the water softener because they are too expensive to be replacing them every week,” José Saldana, a Sunland Park resident and CRRUA customer said.
NMELC said community members would also like to invite Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to this meeting to hear directly from both community members and her state agencies on the matter, given the Governor has yet to host her own public meeting in Sunland Park that she publicly committed to last month.
“More transparency and accountability are needed from our state agencies and leaders responsible for ensuring CRRUA serves the public in a fair, compliant, and safe manner. If the OSA is conducting an investigation into CRRUA, it behooves the OSA to be in contact with, be informed by, and directly work alongside the community members who have and continue to experience harms caused by this public utility and the local government,” NMELC Staff Attorney Kacey Hovden said.
