Legal Notices-Non-government

Bernalillo County and Valencia County 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 Albuquerque Journal (Bernalillo County) and in the Valencia County News-Bulletin (Valencia County).

Under this application, per lease agreement under NMSA 1978 Section 76-6-1, the applicants propose to temporarily change the point of diversion of up to 35 acre-feet per annum of San Juan/Chama River water from a point of diversion on the Rio Chama where X=347,493 meters and Y=4,059,153 meters, UTM Zone 13N, NAD83, Tierra Amarilla Grant, on land owned by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (file SD-02847-M), Rio Arriba County, to two wells, RG-19378 and RG-19378-S, wells and land owned by Earnest Enterprisers, LTD Co., both located within a radius of 100 feet of the point where X=342,790.8 meters and Y=3,877,792.7 meters and of the point where X=342,794.2 meters and Y=3,877,791.9 meters, UTM Zone 13N, NAD 83, in Section 3, Township 9 North, Range 2 East, NMPM, on Lot 110, of the AFC #3 Subdivision. The ten (10) acres of move-to land are located on Lots 110 and 111 of said subdivision, at 4141 Barcelona Rd. SW, Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

The applicant, Rajan G. Pillai, further proposes to offset the pumping effects on the Rio Grande through the release of water from the San Juan River into the Rio Grande under Contract No. 0-07-40-R1070 between the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the City of Belen. The City of Belen and Rajan G. Pillai have entered into a lease agreement whereby Rajan G. Pillai will lease up to 35 acre-feet of San Juan-Chama Project water annually from the City of Belen for commercial and/or other uses to include mobile home park and related purposes, beginning April 12, 2022 and ending December 31, 2030.

This Application is filed under the Water-Use Leasing Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 72-6-1 through 72-6-7.

Application is made for a permit that, if granted, would expire on December 31, 2030. Upon termination or expiration of the desired permit, the subject water right will automatically revert to the move-from place of use pursuant to the applicable provisions in that permit.

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, April 28, 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.