San Agustin Plains decision headed back to court

On September 23 Augustin Plains Ranch, LLC appealed the Final Order Granting New Mexico State Engineer’s Motion for Summary Judgment. The judgment upheld the denial of the application to pump 54,000 acre-feet of water a year from the San Agustin Plains basin.

The appeal will go to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

The APR filed its first application at the end of 2007; public notice appeared in a December 2007 issue of El Defensor Chieftain.

“We started our opposition immediately, so that makes 17 years to date that we have been opposing this proposal,” Carol Pittman said.

Pittman’s property borders the Augustin Plains Ranch on their entire western side, and part of our northern and southern sides. She said the basin is bigger than the Augustin Plains Ranch, and is the only source of water for a number of large ranches as well as for subdivision dwellers.

“This community remains unalterable opposed to the project proposed by the Augustin Plains Ranch LLC. Mining 54,000 acre-feet of water each year from the Augustin Plains aquifer would eventually leave the community without water. The only beneficiary of this project is an international corporation,” Carol Pitman said.

Ann McCartney, Attorney at New Mexico Environmental Law Center, represented the Community Protestants on the remand and is not involved in the appeal, said the appeal was predictable and unfortunate.

“This ongoing litigation is a heartbreaking and significant drain on the lives and resources of the community members,” McCartney said.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected, the date of the appeal was not August 23, it was September 23. We regret the error.