Protect Tesuque, New Mexico
Protect Our Drinking Water
Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts and the landowner, Juniper Capital are seeking approval from the state of New Mexico for a waste disposal plan that dumps partially-treated sewage adjacent to the Little Tesuque Creek. This plan threatens the water supply of our community and entire Tesuque region. It is also in direct violation of the laws that were created specifically to protect the aquifers of New Mexico. This is why Protect Tesuque sprung up as a grassroots movement fully committed to ensuring clean water for our community.
While our long-term focus is on ensuring state and county government enforcement of water protection laws well into the future, our immediate goal is to ensure defeat of Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resort’s unlawful permit through a New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) hearing process scheduled for May 19, 2025.
Together we can protect our water!
Our Objectives
#1
Stop Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts and the Bishop’s Lodge Hills and Villas from from dumping partially treated sewage into or near Little Tesuque Creek.
#2
Ensure immediate adoption of an environmentally sound solution for disposal of the sewage generated by Bishop’s Lodge Resort and the Bishop’s Lodge Hills and Villas.
#3
Secure prompt adoption and enforcement by County and State governments of suitable sewage and waste disposal regulations to protect the quality and viability of Tesuque Basin’s drinking water, acequias and ecosystem.
Support the movement to act locally and impact globally. Our success can serve as a template for other communities facing increasing similar challenges. Together, we can create a healthier planet!
The Backstory
- In 2024, Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts installed a waste water disposal system and began discharging partially treated sewage from 80+ residences and the resort itself into an undersized leach field. This system jeopardizes the drinking wells of the downstream community, including residents of Tesuque Valley and four Native Pueblos. Community members demanded a hearing from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), which was granted and is scheduled for May 19th, 2025. Watch this short presentation to learn how Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts’ waste disposal system poses such a huge threat to the aquifer.
- What is not filtered out: Pharmaceutical Residue • PFAS • Various Unregulated Toxic Chemicals • Emerging Contaminants • What are PFAS and TFAS?
- Simply put, Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts’ permit ignores the New Mexico laws and regulations that are designed to protect against the hazards of on-site treatment and disposal of liquid wastes. Under New Mexico law, every property owner is responsible for the safe treatment and disposal of the liquid wastes generated on their own property. The Liquid Waste Disposal Regulations they are disregarding are outlined here.
- Leading up to the May 19th hearing, we submitted a Motion for Denial of Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts’ Discharge Permit has been submitted. This motion outlines the violations and hazards our lawyers found in the resort’s discharge plan.
100% of Donations Help Protect Water
Protect Tesuque is a 501(c)(3) non profit corporation. All donations regardless of size are deeply appreciated and tax deductible.
Donate online, or mail a check payable to: Protect Tesuque
P.O. Box #446 · Tesuque, NM 87574
IRS EIN# 99-4221728
Direct Action
- Donate Now and Often: Donations are urgently needed to pay for the legal and hydrology expertise needed to stop Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts from contaminating our drinking water and to support our three objectives above.
- Join Our Weekly Protests: Saturdays from 11:00–1:00 at the Bishop’s Lodge Resort entrance or honk to show support.
- Spread the Word: Share what is happening with others being affected and who care. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube and join our our email list to stay up to date.
- Contact State Elected Officials: Demand that NMED is held accountable to follow the state Liquid Waste Disposal Regulations.
Bishop's Lodge Resort's Leach Field Location
Bishop’s Lodge Resort’s new leach field sits atop highly transmittable soils at the corner of their property and adjacent to the Little Tesuque Creek. It is located within a FEMA flood zone and, at certain times of the year, is only four feet above the water table.
Downstream Drinking Water Wells Threatened
Based on the elevation, the gradient of subsurface water and surrounding topography, any contamination will flow away from Bishop’s Lodge Resort and directly toward the drinking wells of hundreds of downstream neighbors. These wells are the only source of water for the residents of the Valley.
Land Acknowledgment
As a watershed protection organization, Protect Tesuque recognizes the long, continuing stewardship of this land by its First Peoples.
The Tewa name for Santa Fe is O’ga P’oghe Owingeh, meaning White Shell Water Place, and Tesuque Pueblo is Tay Sugeh Owingeh, meaning village of the narrow place of the cottonwood trees.
We are grateful for their guidance, and may we all continue to build in friendship as our local communities work together to protect this watershed from the immediate and future land development issues that we face.