Legal Notices-Non-government

Sandoval, Bernalillo, and Valencia 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 Rio Rancho Observer, Albuquerque Journal, and the Valencia County News-Bulletin.

Under Application No. SD-09968 into RG-6745 et al., the applicants propose to discontinue the use of a farm delivery requirement (FDR) of 227.8668 acre-feet per annum (AFA) of surface water, inclusive of a consumptive irrigation requirement (CIR) of 159.5067 AFA, from the Otero Lateral and the Peralta Main Canal, with a point of diversion on the Rio Grande at the Isleta Diversion Dam (SP-1690-3), on land owned by the Pueblo of Isleta located in the projected NE1/4 NE1/4 SW1/4 of Section 24, Township 8 North, Range 2 East, NMPM, Pueblo of Isleta Grant, at a point where X=346,037 meters and Y=3,863,880 meters intersect, UTM Zone 13N, NAD 83, Valencia County. New Mexico, for the irrigation of 75.9556 acres of land owned by T. Scott Edeal, described as Tract Z, Replat Showing Land of T. Scott Edeal and Patricia A. Welk (24.4297 acres), MRGCD Map 76, Section 34, Township 7 North Range 2 East NMPM; Part of Tract C-2-A, Replat Showing Land of T. Scott Edeal and Patricia A. Welk (7.0490 acres) and Part of Tract C-3-A, Replat Showing Land of T. Scott Edeal and Patricia A. Welk (15.8980 acres), both found on MRGCD maps 76 and 79 within Section 34, Township 7 North, Range 2 East and Section 3, Township 6 North, Range 2 East NMPM; Part of Tract C-4, Land Division Plat of Tract C, Land of Edeal Dairy (15.6606 acres), Part of Tract D-1, Land Division – Lots D-1, F & G (Formerly Lot D), Lands of Edeal Dairy (1.0703 acres), Part of Tract F, Land Division – Lots D-1, F & G (Formerly Lot D), Lands of Edeal Dairy (2.8462 acres), and Part of Tract G, Land Division – Lots D-1, F & G (Formerly Lot D), Lands of Edeal Dairy (9.0018 acres), all found on MRGCD Map 79 within Section 3, Township 6 North, Range 2 East. The move-from lands are generally located approximately 1 mile north of the intersection of New Mexico Highway 47 and Edeal Road near the town of Valencia, Valencia County, New Mexico.

The applicants further propose to transfer the above-described 159.5067 AFA CIR water rights to vested and permitted wells under Permit RG-6745 et al., consisting of 35 system production wells, all located within the City of Rio Rancho metropolitan area within Sandoval County, New Mexico for municipal and related purposes of use within the service area of the Rio Rancho Municipal Water System, as currently configured, and as to be configured in the future.

Diversion of water under City of Rio Rancho’s permit RG-6745 et al. shall not exceed 24,020.16 AFA for domestic, commercial, industrial, housing subdivision, and related purposes of use within the service area of the Rio Rancho Municipal Water System. No increase in diversion is contemplated by the transfer of water rights under this application. This application is made for the purpose of complying with the Conditions of Approval of Permit No. RG-6745 et al., which requires the City of Rio Rancho to offset the impacts of groundwater pumping on surface flows of the Rio Grande and its tributaries.

Under companion Application No. (RG-6745 et al. into SD-09968)-T, the applicants request that the water rights transferred be temporarily retained at their original move-from location for irrigation use for a period of ten (10) years from the approval of the transfer by the State Engineer, subject to the approval by the State Engineer, by reason that the water rights are not immediately needed for the exercise of Permit RG-6745 et al.

To view the application and supporting documentation, contact the State Engineer District 1 Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment. The District 1 Office is 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, at 5550 San Antonio Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, on or before March 3, 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. 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.