PUBLIC NOTICE - Permit to Change Point of Diversion, Place and Purpose of Use of Surface Water - El Defensor Chieftain (2024)

Story by El Defensor Chieftain | Jun 13, 2024

NOTICE is hereby given that on March 21, 2024 and revised on May 17, 2024, Platte Land & Water, LLC, c/o Timothy B. Walsh, 3900 E. Mexico Avenue, Suite 614, Denver, CO 80210; Resource Development and Infrastructure LLC, c/o Dorothy A. Timian Palmer, 3480 GS Richards Blvd. Suite 101, Carson City, NV 89703; and Santa Fe County, Paul Choman, P.O. Box 276, Santa Fe, NM 87504, filed with the STATE ENGINEER Application No. SD-03575-AMD-A into SP-4842 for Permit to Change Point of Diversion, Place and Purpose of Use of Surface Water within the Rio Grande Underground Basin of the State of New Mexico. Santa Fe, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Valencia & Socorro Counties are the counties affected by the diversion and/or in which the water has been or will be put to beneficial use. This notice is ordered to be published in the El Defensor-Chieftain, Valencia County News-Bulletin, Albuquerque Journal, and the Santa Fe New Mexican. The applicants propose to discontinue the Farm Delivery Requirement (FDR) of 47.142 acre-feet per annum (afa) of surface water, inclusive of a Consumptive Irrigation Requirement (CIR) of 32.999 afa with a point of diversion on the Rio Grande at the Isleta Diversion Dam Works (SP-1690-3) of the MRGCD, on land owned by the Pueblo of Isleta, at a point where X = 346,037 and Y = 3,863,880, meters, UTM Zone 13N, NAD83, for the irrigation of 15.714 acres of land owned by Platte Land & Water, LLC described as a portion of Tracts 19C and 20C on MRGCD Map 127, within Section 25, Township 3 North, Range 1 East and Section 30, Township 3 North, Range 2 East. The move-from lands are generally located south of Las Nutrias, west of NM Hwy 304 just south of Melecio Lane, Socorro County, New Mexico. The applicants further propose to transfer the above-described 32.999 acre-feet per annum of consumptive use water rights for domestic, commercial, industrial, municipal, water utility or related purposes to surface water point of diversion SP-4842 (Buckman Direct Diversion) located at a point where X= 395,052 and Y = 3,966,406 meters, UTM Zone 13N, NAD83, with a place of use described as lands within Santa Fe County water utility service areas as such service areas are currently configured and may be configured in the future and owned by various land owners. To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment located at 5550 San Antonio Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109. Any person, firm or corporation or other entity asserting standing to file objections or protests shall do so in writing (objection must be legible, signed, and include the writers complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address). If the protest does not include the complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address, it may be deemed invalid and not accepted for filing unless Protestant provides with the protest an affidavit stating that it does not have one of the above-listed elements/requirements (phone number, mailing address, email address, etc.). The objection to the approval of the application must be based on: (1) Impairment; if impairment, you must specifically identify your water rights; and/or (2) Public Welfare/Conservation of Water; if public welfare or conservation of water within the state of New Mexico, you shall be required to provide evidence showing how you will be substantially and specifically affected. The written protest must be filed, in triplicate, with the State Engineer, at 5550 San Antonio Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, on or before August 2, 2024. Facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted as a valid protest if the hard copy is hand-delivered or mailed and postmarked within 24-hours of the facsimile. Mailing postmark will be used to validate the 24-hour period. Protests can be faxed to the Office of the State Engineer, 505-383-4030. If no valid protest or objection is filed, the State Engineer will evaluate the application in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 72 NMSA 1978. Published in the El Defensor Chieftain on June 6, 13 & 20, 2024