Bishop’s Lodge wastewater permit approval recommended

Environment Department has final say after Tesuque group’s challenge rejected

A hearing officer has recommended the state Environment Department approve Bishop’s Lodge’s permit to discharge treated wastewater into a leach field.

A hearing was held in May over the permit, which generated significant public outcry from Tesuque-area residents who oppose the project due to concerns about the proximity of the new leach field to Little Tesuque Creek.

“No substantial evidence was presented at the public hearing that the Application should be denied,” wrote hearing officer Felicia Orth in her Monday report.

Now, it’s up to Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney to make the final call.

Following the May hearing, the bureau added conditions to permit approval: Within three months of approval, Bishop’s Lodge will have to collect samples of treated wastewater and sample for several inorganic and organic constituents.

Orth wrote the membrane bioreactor used at Bishop’s Lodge’s wastewater treatment plant “so thoroughly” treats wastewater that not only does it meet all water quality standards, but it is also considered the highest quality of reclaimed wastewater overseen by the Ground Water Quality Bureau.

Chris Kaplan, a spokesperson for Bishop’s Lodge, said in a news release the lodge was “encouraged” by the report and called it a step toward sustainable water use at the resort, which plans to use the treated wastewater for irrigation during some parts of the year.

“Bishop’s Lodge has been in operation for more than half a century; and, as the report acknowledged, the evidence presented in the May hearing demonstrates that the Lodge’s upgraded wastewater treatment facility meets all New Mexico water quality standards and then some,” Kaplan said.

Protect Tesuque, a group of Tesuque residents opposed to the wastewater discharge plan, has, throughout the process, argued the state’s liquid waste regulations are more protective of the environment than the ground and surface water protections. The latter regulation applies to discharges of 5,000 gallons per day or more, while the former applies to smaller discharges.

In the recommendation, Orth called the argument an “unusual opinion.”

Orth wrote that a permit issued under the ground and surface water protections requires a “high contact relationship” with the Ground Water Bureau, including regular sampling and monitoring throughout the fiveyear permit term. On the other hand, a permit under the liquid waste regulations typically allows a homeowner to have a septic tank installed without additional monitoring or oversight unless there’s a failure or the property changes hands.

Monday’s recommendation comes after months of acrimony between Bishop’s Lodge and Protect Tesuque. In July, the resort filed a lawsuit asking a state district judge to restrict what it described as unsafe protests by Protect Tesuque.

The group has denied accusations that protests were unsafe and pushed back in court last week, asking Judge Francis Mathew to deny the motion. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico weighed in, warning against efforts to chill free speech in a Monday news release.

“Bishop Lodge’s lawsuit is a textbook example of using the legal system to retaliate and intimidate,” said ACLU of New Mexico senior civil liberties attorney Kristin Greer Love. “The goal is to intimidate a community organization, drain their resources, and chill the speech of anyone else who might oppose them.”