NOTICE is hereby given that on October 3, 2023, and revised on October 13, 2023, SunZia Transmission, LLC, 317 Commercial Street NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), 2401 Aztec NE, Mailstop Z120, Albuquerque, NM 87107 and San Antonio Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association, PO Box 85, San Antonio, NM 87832, filed with the STATE ENGINEER Application No. (RG-50 & RG-440 into RG-24379 POD5)-T for Permit under the Water-Use Leasing Act (NMSA 1978, Sections 72-6-1 thru -7) to temporarily change point of diversion and place and purpose of use of groundwater within the Middle Rio Grande basin of the State of New Mexico. Preliminary authorization was requested.

Bernalillo, Socorro, and Sierra 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 Sierra County Sentinel, the El Defensor Chieftain, and the Albuquerque Journal.

This application is for a temporary lease of a total of 100 acre-feet per annum of water rights for dust control and construction of the Sun Zia Transmission Line. This application has been granted partial preliminary approval from November 22, 2023 to February 29, 2024, for 64.0 acre-feet to enable continued construction of the Sun Zia Transmission Line.

The co-applicants propose to temporarily discontinue, for a period of 3 years commencing on date of approval from the State Engineer to June 30, 2026, the diversion and consumptive use of 100 acre-feet per annum of groundwater for Electrical Power Production and Related Purposes under RG-50 & RG-440. The move-from place of use and 9 groundwater points of diversion are located on land owned by PNM in Bernalillo County, New Mexico and described as follows:

Two points of diversion are located at the Reeves Generating Station, located on property described as a Tract of Land within the NW ¼ of Section 23, Township 11 North Range 3 East, NMPM, containing 79.99 acres, on land owned by PNM.

Seven points of diversion are located at the Delta/Person Generating Station, located on property described as Tract 1 (11.9369 ac.) and Tract 2 (10.0 ac.) of the Plat of Tracts 1 & 2 of Lands of Person Station, MRGCD Map 45, on land owned by PNM.

The co-applicants further propose to temporarily transfer the 100 acre-feet per annum consumptive use licensed groundwater rights to an existing well numbered RG-24379 POD5, located at a point where X = 326,030 m and Y = 3,760,985 m, UTM Zone 13 North, NAD 83, on land owned by the San Antonio Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association in Socorro County, New Mexico. The co-applicants propose to use the 100 acre-feet per annum of water licensed under RG-50 & RG-440 for Commercial purposes described as Dust Control/Construction of SunZia Transmission line on federal, state, and private land in Socorro and Sierra Counties along the SunZia Transmission Line.

To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District 1 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 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 January 31, 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. 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.

Published in the El Defensor Chieftain on December 7, 14 & 21, 2023

El Defensor Chieftain