As used in the Sustainable Development Testing Site Act:

A. "permittee" means a person who holds a testing site permit;

B. "planning commission" means a county planning commission appointed pursuant to Section 4-57-1 NMSA 1978; provided that, if no county planning commission has been appointed pursuant to that section, "planning commission" means the board of county commissioners;

C. "sustainable development" means a live-in environment composed of structures and systems that inherently produce utilities and life-support systems free of existing conventional grids and disposal systems. "Sustainable development" includes:

(1) the inherent provision of on-site energy needs via renewable resources;

(2) the inherent provision of water needs while minimizing the withdrawals from ground water and surface water systems in accordance with state water law and the rules and policies of the state engineer;

(3) the inherent provision of sewage treatment needs with zero discharge;

(4) the reuse of materials discarded by modern society; and

(5) the development of organic foods and fuel;

D. "sustainable development research" means activities conducted at a sustainable development testing site that test ideas, concepts or inventions designed to lead ultimately to sustainable development;

E. "sustainable development testing site" means an area that is:

(1) two acres or less in size;

(2) situated wholly outside the planning and platting jurisdiction of a municipality; and

(3) subject to a testing site permit and existing federal laws and regulations; and

F. "testing site permit" means a permit, issued by a planning commission, that designates an area as a sustainable development testing site and specifies:

(1) the sustainable development research that can be conducted within the site by the permittee; and

(2) the county codes, ordinances, rules or permits that are not applicable to the permittee and the research.

History: Laws 2007, ch. 34, § 2.

Effective dates. — Laws 2007, ch. 34, § 9 makes the act effective July 1, 2007.