The New Mexico Supreme Court yesterday rejected a nonprofit group’s effort to block a proposed wastewater permit for Bishop’s Lodge.
Chief Justice David Thomson, after several minutes of deliberation, made the morning announcement from the bench.
He said the case did not meet the legal standard for emergency intervention.
The ruling also vacated a June 9 order to pause the New Mexico Environment Department’s review of the permit.
NMED issued a draft permit earlier this year.
It would increase the resort’s discharge limit from about 15,000 gallons per day of treated wastewater to 30,000 gallons.
The plan is to release the treated effluent into a new leach field located about 100 feet from Little Tesuque Creek.
The grassroots nonprofit Protect Tesuque formed after the luxury hotel first announced its wastewater plans in June 2024.
The option for appealing the ruling appears to remain a possibility, since the draft permit has not yet attained final approved status.
Last year, Bishop’s Lodge installed a new Membrane BioReactor treatment facility.
Representatives of the resort say the new plant treats wastewater to a level that exceeds state and federal quality standards.
