Clean energy corridor nets county $5M
Projects include TSV water leaks, watershed management
Several Taos County entities just learned this week of a $5 million windfall contained in the state General Appropriation Act that was passed by New Mexico legislators in March during their 30-day session.
“The funding will come through Taos County, and then be distributed to the different groups, I think at least 10 recipients,” District 6 State Sen. Roberto “Bobby” J. Gonzales told the Taos News.
Among the beneficiaries, the Village of Taos Ski Valley will receive $750,000 to help address the high rate of water loss within its municipal water system. A recently-completed Water Master Plan showed unaccountedfor water (water lost through leaks or unauthorized connections) represented, on average, 80 percent of the community’s supplied-water from 2014 to 2020, or about 135,000 gallons per day. A typical public water system in the U.S. has a loss rate of 16 percent.
The windfall is thanks to legislators deciding to spend some of the state’s federal American Rescue Plan Act money on “a green corridor in Taos, including road erosion control, water line repairs, wildfire risk management and watershed management,” according to the budget bill.
Village Administrator John Avila told the Taos News that officials are ready to apply their portion of the funding.
“Replacing meters and concentrating repairs near meters and loss locations has been the target for our baseline maintenance to date,” he said. “The study shows the Kachina area is the most in need of correction, and the experts will help further direct line and apparatus replacement in that area. The Water Study Report also has recommendations for installing new water metering vaults throughout the system which would provide information to identify other target areas for water loss reduction.”
If “green corridor” has a familiar ring to it, it’s because the money is going toward the ambitious, $150 million “Clean Energy Transportation and Recreation Corridor” project that Taos Ski Valley, Inc. presented to Taos County commissioners several months ago, most of which remains unfunded. The collaborative project drew mixed reactions from community members
at the time, some of whom questioned the plan’s proposed use of public money for infrastructure developments that would benefit, at least in part, a private corporation.
Taos Ski Valley CEO David Norden apprised the village council of the (partial) disbursement schedule for the $5 million appropriation during the public comment portion of its regular meeting Tuesday afternoon. First he explained how the Clean Energy Corridor plan came into being.
“About six or seven months ago, I shared with you that the state was flush with cash and looking for big ideas,” he said. “And they were looking for ideas that were publicprivate in nature, with private investment focusing on the needs of the community, which has to do with transportation and watershed management, outdoor access, these types of things.
“They wanted big ideas, and we brought em’ a big idea,” Norden continued. “It was about $75 million. They said, ‘Keep going.’”
The estimated cost of Norden’s final proposal was more than double that, with state ARPA funds proposed to cover $110 million of the $154.8 million bundle of projects. The plan included $51.5 million in clean energy transportation projects — including solar battery storage and an emissions-free electric gondola to connect the ski resort’s two basins — and $38 million worth of road improvements, along with $27 million in outdoor recreation development and trail upgrades; nearly $40 million was proposed to be spent on watershed improvement projects, $28 million of which was to be paid for with state ARPA funds.
“We ended up with [a] $150-million proposal, which is what they were looking for, [and] they said they loved it, everybody loved it. It sounded wonderful,” Norden said. “And the state, at the end of the day, came through with $5 million,” about one-twentieth the amount of ARPA money the plan had sought.
“But with the $5 million,” Norden continued, “we were allowed the opportunity to provide an idea of where the $5 million would go, and I’m here to provide you that update.
“So $1.5 million is going to go to the county to clean up this erosion that is happening as you enter the canyon down by Valdez; $500,000 goes to [Taos] Pueblo so they can do some watershed management work; $500,000 goes to Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to complete their building. $500,000 goes to forest thinning efforts, $500,000 goes to the Rio Hondo Acequias Association for water quality monitoring, and $250,000 goes to Trout Unlimited. And $750,000 goes to the Village of Taos Ski Valley to improve the water lines that are losing water.”
Norden told the Taos News that the county has yet to determine exactly how the remaining $500,000 will be spent. Time is of the essence, however.
According to the fiscal impact report associated with House Bill 2, “Appropriations from the general fund revert to the general fund at the end of fiscal year 2023,” meaning the various entities will have to dedicate the money to projects by June 30 of next year.
Sen. Gonzales confirmed that the money needs to be spent ASAP.
“I think it’s just really something very positive for our county,” he said. “And we just need to make sure those contracts are properly executed and that they get the work done as soon as possible within the allotted time frame. It’s a very nice appropriation to the northern part of the state.”
Gonzales said the state is still up to its ears in surplus cash, thanks to federal pandemic relief and stimulus money, as well as the fees it collects from a red-hot oil and gas industry. But he worried that rising prices across nearly every sector of the economy mean those dollars won’t go nearly as far as people — or local government officials — might hope.
“The way things have escalated, cost-wise, I don’t know how much you can buy anymore,” he said. “And I was having a discussion with a subcontractor the other day, and he was saying he’s got a lot of work, but no materials. There’s a shortage of everything. Housing, rentals, drivers — it just goes on and on. Hopefully things turn around.”