Saturday, December 8, 2007

County to discuss water protest

Anyone wanting to express an opinion can write letter to county manager

Evelyn Cronce El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

Socorro County Commissioner Stanley Herrera has introduced a resolution to the county commission asking them to protest a huge water project that affects both Socorro and Catron counties.

Augustin Plains Ranch LLC has filed an application with the New Mexico State Engineer's Office with a proposal to drill 37 wells, all with 20-inch casings, and all approximately 2,000 feet deep, to be located in Catron County on land owned by the company. The company's office is located in New York.

The application states that the proposed wells are generally located north and south of U.S. 60 between the Catron-Socorro County Line and Datil. The proposed place of use includes all of Catron and Socorro Counties.

The resolution to protest the application will be discussed at the Dec. 11 Socorro County Commission meeting. Socorro County Commission Chairman Jay Santillanes said the commission has made contact with the corporation and would like to talk to them to get a better understanding of their plans.

There is no public hearing scheduled at the Socorro meeting at this time. Santillanes said if the commissioners follow protocol during the meeting, they would not accept comments or questions from the audience on this topic. He said the procedures are sometimes subject to change at the discretion of the commissioners during the meeting.

Anyone who wants to express an opinion to the commission is encouraged to submit a letter to the County Manager's Office, 106 Park Street, Socorro, NM 87801, or contact his or her district commissioner directly. To get more information on how to contact a district commissioner, contact the County Manager's Office at 575-835-0589.

A public meeting held in Datil on Tuesday, Dec. 4, concerning the application was well attended. State Rep. Don Tripp spoke at the meeting. He said the meeting was an informational meeting intended to explain to people how to file a protest. He said the group also discussed fundraising possibilities should legal action become necessary.

The published legal notice states the company intends to use 54,000 acre-feet of ground water per year. The notice states the water will be used for domestic, livestock, irrigation, municipal, industrial and commercial purposes of use, including provide water via a pipeline to the Rio Grande. The water would be used to meet Rio Grande Compact requirement for deliveries to the State of Texas.

Tripp said the water would come from the San Agustin Basin that is a closed basin. A closed basin has no inlet or outlet. He also said this is not a short-term project being proposed, because laying a pipeline to the Rio Grande could be a 20- or 30-year project.

Datil property owner Sandra Nance said the residents are working on Phase 1, getting protest letters written and sent. The residents hope to call for the New Mexico State Engineer's Office to schedule a public hearing on the application.

An objection or protest may be mailed to the Office of the State Engineer, 121 Tijeras NE, Suite 2000, Albuquerque, NM 87102-3465, or faxed to 505-764-3892 provided the original is hand-delivered or postmarked within 24 hours after transmission of the fax. To be considered, an objection or protest must be filed with the state engineer not later than 10 calendar days after the date of the last publication of this notice. The Chieftain last published the notice on Dec. 5, so protests must be in by Dec. 15.

ecronce@dchieftain.com

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