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Dear Acequia Leaders,
Join the New Mexico Acequia Association and allies to support HB 121 (Chandler, Herrera, Wirth) "Water Use Lease Effective Dates", which will likely be heard in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week as early as Tuesday, January 31.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure fairness and due process in water lease applications to the State Engineer. HB 121 clarifies that the State Engineer can approve a permit for a water use lease only after requirements for public notice, opportunity to protest, and mandatory public hearings have been met.
It is vital to protect due process and transparency in any proposed changes to water rights that could affect existing and senior water rights, as well as our rivers and aquifers.
“Preliminary approval” is an unlawful administrative practice in which the State Engineer grants approval of water leases before communities have their legal opportunity to review and gather community input, and puts acequias, rivers, and aquifers at risk of impairment.
We have already seen damaging examples of this practice, such as the leasing of 5,000 acre feet of water on the Lower Pecos River (Intrepid Potash, Inc.) without proper notice or public hearings for impacted communities. Additionally, acequias in Lincoln County were impacted by these unlawful ‘preliminary approval’ leases to Ruidoso.
With increasing water scarcity and development pressures, it is vital that HB 121 is passed and legal due process requirements for existing water rights are strengthened and upheld.
NMAA has set up a simple platform that will allow you to send a letter to your legislators in support of HB 121. This takes just two minutes, and letters will automatically be sent to all members of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We encourage you to add in your name, acequia name, and (optional) one sentence about how this issue impacts your community.
Click here to write to your legislators and ask them to support HB 121
For additional information and more ways to take action, see these links:
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Attend the HENRC Committee Hearing on Tuesday, 1/31/23, at 8:30am in room 317 of the State Capitol. Arrive early to find parking and a seat.
If you have any questions, please reach out to: [email protected]
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