SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
State Engineer threatens licenses over border wall drilling
Two Arizona subcontractors drilled water wells without state authorization
Published
Modified
Two subcontractors who drilled unauthorized water wells near the border wall in the Columbus and Bootheel areas are facing penalties and the loss of their licenses to operate in New Mexico if they don鈥檛 take corrective action.
During 2026, federal border authorities directed contractors to pump local groundwater to support construction of border wall and related infrastructure along a strip of federal land, known as the Roosevelt reservation, that President Donald Trump placed under military control in 2025.
Ranchers in the Columbus and Hachita areas raised alarms about several new water wells on the periphery of their lands that had been drilled without state permits or required studies, raising the prospect of damage to natural springs and depleted resources.
New Mexico鈥檚 Office of the State Engineer announced Tuesday that it had issued notices of violation to Wyatt Drilling Arizona LLC and Arizona-based Cascade Drilling LP for repeated instances of nonpermitted well drilling in the Mimbres, Hachita and Lower Rio Grande Underground Water basins.
Both businesses declined to comment when reached by the Journal on Wednesday.
During OSE site visits from March to July, staff alleged they met with 鈥渓imited cooperation鈥� when they tried to inspect some sites.
"Our permitting process exists to protect the groundwater New Mexico families and farmers depend on 鈥� and we enforce it rigorously," State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson stated in a news release. 鈥淲hen outside operators show up in New Mexico and drill without a permit on federal land, it can threaten the livelihoods of New Mexicans, and we鈥檙e not going to tolerate it."
Anderson attended a town hall in Deming last month where local ranchers demanded the OSE investigate permit violations and take action against the subcontractors. Anderson and Nat Chakeres, the OSE general counsel, said they were negotiating with Customs and Border Protection for compliance with New Mexico water laws. For past border wall construction, the federal government had purchased water locally or trucked it in from another location.
On Monday, CBP said it had paused new well construction and was 鈥渨orking collaboratively with local landowners to ensure that construction activities do not adversely impact their water needs.鈥� Local ranchers have called for permanently capping and plugging the wells to prevent future pumping.
OSE said the drillers had not followed construction and plugging requirements and exposed groundwater resources to potential contamination. In particular, it said a borehole collapse at an unspecified site had not been addressed.
The notice gives the companies 30 days to submit corrective plugging plans and remediate the wells to state standards or face losing their well drillers鈥� licenses and civil penalties up to $3,400 per day.
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
