Overview
- CBP instructed contractors to stop drilling new groundwater wells in New Mexico, a move the agency said will allow coordination with the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a groundwater strategy.
- State investigators have counted at least eight wells drilled without state permits and inspected two that were pumping about 200 gallons per minute, raising concerns about large-scale extraction near ranch water supplies.
- The wells were drilled on the federally owned Roosevelt Reservation, a narrow strip north of the border, creating legal questions over whether federal control affects New Mexico’s permit rules for non-tribal wells.
- Ranchers say the drilling and potential pumping threaten livestock and livelihoods after a severe drought forced herd reductions, with one rancher reporting his 12 domestic wells yield only three to seven gallons per minute each.
- The directive leaves key uncertainties: officials have not said whether already-drilled wells may be pumped, named federal contractors include Caddell, Fisher, Barnard and Spencer, and the pause could shift how water is sourced for ongoing construction.