Off-Grid Living in Union County, New Mexico

Union County, New Mexico sits way out on the northeastern plains, and if you've been eyeing raw ranch land near Clayton for an off-grid setup, here's what my research actually turned up, and where I hit walls.

Zoning. I could not find a general zoning ordinance on the county's own site (unionnm.us). The only ordinance I found listed there was a Local Economic Development Act ordinance, which has nothing to do with land use. New Mexico's Zoning Enabling Act leaves it up to each county whether to adopt zoning, and plenty of rural counties like Union simply haven't. That doesn't mean there's zero regulation, it means I can't confirm it either way from official sources, so call the county directly before you assume anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Same story: no Union County ordinance on tiny homes, manufactured home placement, or full-time RV living turned up. The state's Construction Industries Division sets minimum standards for manufactured/modular housing, but day-to-day occupancy rules are usually set locally, and I found nothing specific to Union County.

Building permits. No county building department page or permit ordinance surfaced in my search. Statewide, CID administers construction codes by default in places without their own certified local building authority. Whether Union County has its own building department isn't confirmed here, so this is a direct question for the county.

Septic and composting toilets. This one is clearer. Union County isn't Bernalillo County (the one county in New Mexico with its own onsite wastewater ordinance), so it falls under the New Mexico Environment Department's statewide Liquid Waste Program. Anyone without access to a community sewer needs a Liquid Waste Permit from NMED before building. Composting toilets and other non-conventional systems also need NMED sign-off.

Greywater. No Union County-specific rule found, so the state's small-system exemption applies by default under NMED's regulations.

Rainwater harvesting. No county restriction found; New Mexico's Office of the State Engineer generally encourages residential rainwater collection statewide.

Wells and water rights. This is state-administered and it matters. You need a permit from the State Engineer through the local OSE District Office to use groundwater, and well drilling itself requires a licensed driller. Any Union County ordinance stricter than the state rule would apply, but I found no such county-specific well ordinance.

Utility disconnection. No state statute or Union County ordinance requiring grid hookup came up in my research. That said, subdivision covenants or lender requirements on a specific parcel could still require it, and those aren't things county government tracks.

Bottom line: Union County is thin on documented land-use ordinances, at least in what I could find publicly, which means a lot of your off-grid plan legality rests on state rules (septic, wells) plus whatever the county tells you directly about zoning and building. Call before you buy.