Legal Notices-Non-government

Valencia and Socorro 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 Valencia County NewsBulletin and the El Defensor Chieftain.

The applicants propose to discontinue the diversion and use of a farm delivery requirement of 1.8 acre-feet per annum (AFA) of surface water, inclusive of a consumptive irrigation requirement of 1.26 AFA, from the New Belen Acequia, with a point of diversion on the Rio Grande at the Isleta Diversion Dam (SP-1690-3), on land owned by Isleta Pueblo, at a point where X=346,037 meters; Y=3,863,880 meters, UTM Zone 13 North, NAD 83, for the irrigation of 0.60 acre of land owned by Kenneth Baca, described as the Northeast corner of Tract C-2, Lands of Gillie Sanchez, on MRGCD Map 87, within Section 19, Township 6 North, Range 2 East, NMPM. This move-from land is generally located 1.18 miles northwest of the intersection of NM State Road 314 and Square Deal Rd, Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico.

The applicants further propose to transfer said consumptive use of 1.26 AFA for domestic, irrigation, commercial and RV park related uses on 2.323 acres of land owned by Frank Villalobos, described as the Westerly Portion of Tracts 68 & 69 (1.3256 acres) and the Easterly Portion of Tracts 68 & 69 (0.9982 acres), located on MRGCD Map 121, within Section 2, Township 3 North, Range 1 East, NMPM, from proposed well RG-99995, to be located at a point where Latitude equals 34°31’3.13″N and Longitude equals 106°48’10.99″W, and to be drilled to an approximate depth of 250 feet and cased with a 5 inch casing. This move-to land is generally located 0.1 mile west of the intersection of Winery Rd and NM State Road 116, Socorro, Socorro County, New Mexico.

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 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 February 11, 2022. 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.