Legal Notices-Non-government

NOTICE is hereby given that on May 10 2023, Lawrence S. Tapia, 9914 AA 4th St., Albuquerque, NM 87114 and co-applicant Mitchell Paul Johnson, 16 Camino Ojo De La Casa, Placitas, NM 87043 c/o WaterBank, 610 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 111, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 filed with the STATE ENGINEER Application No. (RG-A0236-C into RG-91244-A)-T for Permit under Water-Use Leasing Act (NMSA 1978, §72-6-1 through §72-6-7) to temporarily Change Point of Diversion, Place and Purpose of Use of Groundwater within the Middle Rio Grande Basin, in the State of New Mexico. Preliminary authorization was requested and granted.

Sandoval and Socorro 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 the Albuquerque Journal and the El Defensor Chieftain.

The applicants propose to temporarily discontinue the diversion of 1.0 acre-foot consumptive use of groundwater per annum from existing, permitted well RG-A0236 located at the intersection of Latitude 34º 30′ 15.56″ North and Longitude 106º 47.6′ 6.78″ West (WGS84), owned by Lawrence S. Tapia, for irrigation and commercial use on 15.829 acres of land owned by Lawrence S. Tapia, described as Tracts 2A, 2B, and 3, MRGCD Map 122. The move-from lands and move-from well are generally located northwest of the intersection of Albert Miranda Rd. and Canal Rd., Veguita, Socorro County, New Mexico.

The applicants further propose to temporarily commence the diversion of 1.0 acre-foot consumptive use of groundwater per annum, from existing, permitted domestic well RG-91244 located at the intersection of Latitude 35º 18′ 16.70″ North and Longitude 106º 24′ 23.80″ West (WGS84), owned by Mitchell Paul Johnson, for commercial outdoor and indoor greenhouse use on 1.30 acres of land owned by Mitchell Paul Johnson, described as NE¼ NE¼ SW¼ Section 5, Township 12 North, Range 5 East, NMPM. The move-to place of use and move-to well are generally located 0.15 mile southeast of the intersection of NM Highway 165 and Camino Ojo De La Casa, Placitas, Sandoval County, New Mexico.

This application is filed under the Water-Use Leasing Act, NMSA 1978, §72-6-1 through §72-6-7, and is a temporary change.

Application is made for a permit that, if granted, would expire on June 15, 2025. Upon termination or expiration of the desired permit, the subject water right will automatically revert to the original Move-From point of diversion, place, and purpose of use.

To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment located at the District 1 Office, 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 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 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, 5550 San Antonio Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, on or before Friday August 4, 2023. 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. A copy of the written protest filed with the State Engineer must also be sent to the applicant by certified mail. 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.