Off-Grid Living in Catron County, New Mexico

I've been digging into Catron County for a while now because it's such an odd case: it's New Mexico's biggest county by land area, yet roughly three-quarters of that land is federal, which the county has zero authority to zone. So when people ask "can I just go off-grid out there," the honest answer is "it depends which layer of government you're asking, and on how much of this the county has actually bothered to write down."

Zoning. I could not find a comprehensive zoning-district code on Catron County's own site. What's published is an Environmental Planning & Review ordinance and a Comprehensive/Capital Improvement Plan from 2007, plus water planning and highway measures. That's not the same thing as a modern zoning code with districts and setbacks. Since so much of the county is federal land anyway, whatever authority the county does have applies only to private and state trust parcels.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I found nothing at the county level specifically addressing tiny homes or RV living. Absent a local rule, the state's Construction Industries Division (CID) minimum codes and the IRC's Appendix Q would likely be the default baseline, but you should confirm this directly with the county before you assume anything.

Building permits. New Mexico's CID sets the statewide minimum construction code, and that's the office pointed to for Catron County permitting. I didn't find a distinct Catron County building code text, so treat the state CID rules as your baseline and check with the county planning contact for local process.

Septic. This one's clean. New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) regulates liquid waste statewide, and Catron County has no separate ordinance (Bernalillo County is the lone exception in NM). Helpfully, NMED lets homeowners self-install a conventional system after passing a homeowner qualification exam at the local NMED Field Office. You'll need proof of ownership, a site diagram, and a floorplan showing bedroom count for the application.

Greywater. Permitted under the statewide NMED rule allowing small residential systems without a permit. No Catron-specific amendment found.

Rainwater harvesting. No county restriction found. The state Office of the State Engineer generally encourages residential rooftop harvesting.

Wells and water rights. This is where the state gets very involved. OSE maintains an active subdivision-review relationship with Catron County and a dedicated well/water-rights lookup for the county, so expect to go through a formal state permitting process for any well, administered by the district office covering your groundwater basin.

Utility disconnection. I found no county or state rule requiring hookup to electric, water, or sewer. Given the rural, unincorporated character of most of Catron County, this is presumptively unregulated, but a specific subdivision covenant could override that, so check with county planning for your parcel.

Bottom line: state agencies (NMED, OSE, CID) do the heavy lifting here far more than the county does. Call ahead before you buy or build.