NM HM45

Requests the Water Quality Control Commission to hear a petition from Taos County regarding rules for beneficial reuse of treated produced water (water extracted during oil and gas operations) within 90 days of receipt, with hearings to be held in Questa

Affirms scientific evidence supporting the treatment and reuse of produced water for industrial purposes, citing successful programs in California and Texas as models

Addresses growing water demands from data centers supporting artificial intelligence and quantum computing, proposing treated produced water as an alternative to freshwater to protect New Mexico's diminishing freshwater supply

References the 2019 Produced Water Act and the governor's fifty-year water action plan, both of which call for developing rules on produced water treatment and reuse outside the oil and gas sector

Directs copies of the memorial be sent to the governor, secretaries of environment and economic development, Water Quality Control Commission chair, state engineer, and Taos County officials