Legal Notices-Non-government

Valencia County is the County 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 Valencia County News-Bulletin.

The applicants propose to discontinue the diversion of 225.72 acre-feet per annum (afa) for irrigation purposes from existing failing well RG-28855 POD1 located at a point where Latitude is 34° 34′ 58.73″ North and Longitude is 106° 47′ 25.04″ West, for the irrigation of 75.24 acres of land described as Tracts 102-A, 102-D, 103-B, 104-A-2-B, 63-A, 104-B-2-B, 113-B, 104-C-2-B, 104-E-2, and 63 on MRGCD Map 109, and Tract 94 A-1-A-1-B on MRGCD Map 112.

The applicants further propose to commence the diversion of 225.72 afa from replacement well RG-28855 POD2, for irrigation, at the place of use described above, to be drilled under Emergency Authorization Section 72-12-23, NMSA to a depth of approximately 350 feet, with a 16-inch casing, located at a point where Latitude is 34° 34′ 59.43″ North and Longitude is 106° 47′ 8.90″ West. The move-from and move-to wells and place of use are on land owned by Florian H. and Stephanie M. Sanchez and are generally located approximately 0.5 miles northwest of the intersection of Pronto Rd and Highway 116 in Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico.

The right under RG-28855 is supplemental to surface waters of MRGCD and no new appropriation of water above the applicants’ right to divert up to 225.72 acre-feet per annum from all sources combined under Permit RG-28855 is requested by this Application. A separate Application to lease additional water from the City of Belen with an Emergency Authorization was previously submitted to District 1 and has been preliminarily approved but will not be exercised under this Application.

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 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 Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, on or before Friday, July 8, 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.