FOREIGNERS LOSE AGAIN

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FOREIGN WOULD-BE WATER THIEVES
TURNED DOWN!

"TELL THE GUMBA NO AGUA"

BUMPER STICKERS CREDITED FOR

AIDING IN DECISION!

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The following info was released yesterday by the

New Mexico Environmental Law Center.

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State Engineer Denies Augustin Plains Ranch
Groundwater Application

San Augustin Plains community members were overjoyed by the State Engineer's denial of the most recent iteration of Augustin Plains Ranch’s application to mine 17 billion gallons of water annually.

We have been saying it for years: Augustin Plains Ranch’s application for withdrawal of 54,000 acre feet per year of groundwater is speculative. On August 1st, the State Engineer agreed and denied the ranch's application to withdraw groundwater from its property near Datil.

Speculation means, simply, that an applicant has not clearly and specifically stated "the purposes, places of use, or amounts of use" for the water they are applying for, including details on how the water would be delivered to any users.

The Law Center and our clients convinced the State Engineer to deny the Ranch's first application in 2012 and we also won on appeal in state District Court in early 2013. Since then, the Ranch has filed multiple applications, corrections and modifications.

This has been a critically important fight for us and our clients. A bad decision would have set a precedent that could dry up rural communities throughout New Mexico.

Read More: See the Augustin Plains Ranch page on our website and read the State Engineer's Report and Recommendations

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LLC AGAINST THE ROPES - ROUND THREE COMING UP

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When we last spoke with you: The state engineer’s office had given the Augustin Plains Ranch LLC until the end of the year to provide more specifics on what type of water rights would be developed, how the water would be used and what municipalities or industries would benefit.

The foreigners, even with all of their legal-beagle trash working full time,
 couldn't come up with diddly-doodle, and so they LOST Round 2. 
 Now they have another "revamped" application submitted to the state engineer.
  Round 3 will start up as soon as the state engineer posts official NOTICE
 of the new application in the local papers.

  Our foreign operators seem unable to get a "taker" for the agua
 who will sign on the dotted line.  That's not surprising really. 
 Even the dimwits in Rio Rancho would be,
 could be, should be....hesitant about getting  involved 
 in un-American, anti-American crap like this.
 If the Modena Organization is encouraged in any way, 
you can be sure the Veterans groups and  pro-Americans
 across the state will be screaming bloody murder,
when all the facts come to light.
 And well they should.  According to law:

New Mexico water belongs to New Mexicans....

PERIOD!  Not to a bunch of foreign thieves

who hide behind lawyers and scumbags like
 their Project Director, Michel Jichlinski, whose
 firm got caught red-handed stealing millions and millions
 of American tax dollars on war zone contracts in Iraq 
and Afghanistan.  These people are dangerous....
 these people are pigs.

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STOP THE WATER GRAB!
“If your conduct is determined solely by considerations of profit
 you will arouse great resentment.” 
Confucius

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APPEAL IS MOOT, COURT IS MUTE, WHAT A HOOT!

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From the New Mexico Environmental Law Center:

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Corporation believes new application will get 
them all the water. Um, not so fast... 

The Augustin Plains Ranch LLC water

grab case began because the Ranch, which is owned by an Italian billionaire, seeks to monopolize 54,000 acre-feet of water (enough to supply half the needs of Albuquerque) to sell to the highest bidder.  Thanks to you,  we were able to fight them. "We led the effort to demonstrate that the application was unconstitutional," said Staff Attorney, Bruce Frederick. Based on our arguments, the State Engineer and a District Court Judge denied the Ranch's application. The Ranch appealed.

However, it appears the State Engineer is now working with the Ranch to deprive our clients of their day before the Court of Appeals. The State Engineer has accepted a second application from the Ranch. Although this second application is substantially identical to the first, the Ranch and the State Engineer convinced the Court that the Ranch's appeal was moot. The Court dismissed the appeal, sending us back to square one.
With your support, we will fight the Ranch's second application. We'll keep you apprised of the next steps. Stay tuned. 

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Editor's Note:
The Court apparently said nothing
about how their decision was reached,
and gave no indication about where
they stand here.  Not unusual. 
But get ready for a whole new fight on the
new application from the Modena lawyers.
This batch of Eurotrash has deep pockets,
and surely they've been spreading cash
around Santa Fe.  Scum draws scum.
Evil feeds on evil.
The next round will probably get a
lot nastier that the first go-round.
A den of thieves.  Robbers. 
Santa Fe - Holy Faith.
Faith in what?

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 Michel Jichlinski, Project Director for

Augustin Plains Ranch LLC

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People are going to need some fortitude, tenacity,

imagination, guts, and especially wisdom

if they're going to stand any chance here.
Say a prayer, then go put on
your game face boys and girls.

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COURT TOMMOROW CANCELLED & A LETTER

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[Photo above was received and added to the post August 23.] 
Pecos River Canyon, about 30 miles from Santa Fe,

 a favorite spot for New Mexico public servants to be sick,
on sick days.
Folks are speculating those are the Appellate Court judges
in the photo above.  Good.  I hope it's them.  
Fishing can make you honest.  

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Here's something we just got from Don Wiltshire:

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"Save your gas and put your Duct Tape away:

 The New Mexico Appellate Court hearing over the matter of the Augustin Plains Ranch LLC's application to mine water, set for Thursday, August 21st has been CANCELLED! 
What does this mean? Is this a good thing?
 We don't know. We will find out.
 We will let you know!"

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Thanks Don!

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 From El Defensor Chieftain

Socorro, New Mexico

Letters to the editor (08/21/14)

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Water project doesn’t benefit counties
Are you incensed? Well if you are not, you should be.
The Augustin Plains Ranch, LLC just filed another amended application for 54,000 acre feet of water on the Plains of San Agustin. In their new application, they only want the water for export to the Rio Rancho and Albuquerque area, to include the Middle Rio Grande area. None of it is to be applied to the ranch property. The permit only lists the following beneficial uses: municipal, industrial, commercial, and other (to offset surface water depletions, replacement, sale and/or lease).
This water mining project is not for the benefit of Catron and Socorro Counties; it is targeted for the upper portion of the Middle Rio Grande Basin. There will be no royalties or other payments to offset the loss of this water for the counties. The adjacent land owners and most of the properties in the north basin of the San Augustin Plains will have their property values greatly diminished due to the lack of available ground water.
The north basin will also undergo hydrocompaction and deferential settlement, with a strong likelihood of tension cracks forming due to the types of sediments from which the ground water is being extracted. (These sediments were saturated with water soon after their deposition when water was able to attach to the sediment grains keeping them apart. As the sediments accumulated some of the water got squeezed out and forced into the more open-pored sediments.) When over pumping occurs, the water holding the sediment particles apart can no longer add to supporting environment and sediments collapse into each other. With hydrocompaction, once the ground water is extracted there is no possibility of recharging the aquifer.
Dr. Frank Titus, a hydrogeologist, told me in a personal communication, before his passing; that he thought that the pumping being proposed would deplete the basin in about 10 years. The question then is what are the options when no water is available in the north basin? Your county commissioners need to address this problem, as well as those of you who are reading this article.
The Augustin Plains Ranch, LLC proposal also states that they intend to recharge the basin as they are pumping down the water table. In this environmental setting that is just ludicrous. We are in the sixth week of our monsoon season, and no water has yet flowed down any of the ephemeral channels in this part of the basin. Their idea that they can capture this overland flow and put it back into the ground before it is lost to evaporation is just plain stupid.
The water that occasionally flows out onto the plains is used by the native plants and the ranchers that have property below these draws. If the Augustin Plains Ranch blocks these draws with structures to divert the flows, that would be considered a “taking” and would require additional permits from the state engineer. Any structure like those being proposed is a point of diversion and requires a permit from the state which I did not see in their application.
I would like to know what is the benefit to our counties; a couple of maintenance jobs and temporary construction jobs? This proposal only benefits some other part of the state and the Augustin Plains Ranch, LLC owners. We get our resources plundered to what end? If the citizens of our counties don’t care about this, then we deserve what happens if they prevail. We all need to protest in writing and make our voices heard.
Also, contact the San Augustin Water Coalition at
www.sanaugustinwatercoalition.net
Dennis Inman
Geologist

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