Legal Notices-Government

Socorro and Valencia Counties are the Counties affected by the diversion and in which the water has been or will be put to beneficial use. This notice is ordered to be published in El Defensor Chieftain and Valencia County News-Bulletin.

Under this application, per lease agreement, the applicants propose to temporarily discontinue the diversion of 45 acre-feet per annum (afa) of ground water from nine (9) wells under RG-537 et al. being well RG-537 located at a point where X=820,100 and Y=1,332,200; well RG-537-S located at a point where X=813,600 and Y=1,331,370; well RG-537-S-2 located at a point where X=811,973 and Y=1,331,283; well RG-537-S-3 located at a point where X=811,835 and Y=1,331,360; well RG-537-S-4 located at a point where X=811,835 and Y=1,336,931; well RG-537-S-5 located at a point where X=815,800 and Y=1,309,350; well RG-537-S-6 located at a point where X=339,000 and Y=1,314,500; RG-537-S-7 located at a point where X=811,740 and Y=1,334,100; RG-537-S-8 located at a point where X=339,339 and Y=1,353,931, all in feet, NM State Plane, NM West Zone (NAD 83) owned by the City of Belen for municipal purposes on land owned by various owners within the City of Belen municipal water system, City of Belen, Valencia County, NM.

The applicants further propose to commence the temporary farm delivery requirement of 45 afa surface water inclusive of a consumptive irrigation requirement of 31.5 afa from the Socorro Ditch, with a point of diversion on the Rio Grande at the San Acacia Diversion Dam (SP-1690-4), on land owned by the MRGCD located at a point where X=326,225 meters and Y=3,792,219 meters, UTM, Zone 13 North, NAD 83, for the irrigation of 15 acres of land owned by Jake Chavez, described as Tract 84C3B (0.56 ac), Tract 84A (1.1448 ac), pt. Tract 84B1 (13.2952 ac), MRGCD Map 158, within Section 25, Township 2 South, Range 1 East, NMPM. The move-to lands are located approximately 0.5 miles south of Pueblitos Road and Chaparral Loop in Socorro, Socorro County, NM.

This application is filed under the Water-Use Leasing Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 72-6-1 through 72-6-7.

The surface water rights appurtenant to the subject move-to lands were previously severed under permit SD-04701 into RG-960 et al., approved by the State Engineer on September 20, 2000.

Application is made for a permit that, if granted, would expire on December 31, 2030. Upon termination or expiration of the desired permit, the subject water right will automatically revert to the move-from place of use pursuant to the applicable provisions in that permit.

To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District 1 Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment at (505) 383-4000 located at 5550 San Antonio Drive 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 writer’s 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 the 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) Detriment; if detriment, 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 Office of the State Engineer, District 1 Office, located at 5550 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109-4127, on or before July 16, 2021. 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.