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.
Below is a recent article from ALBUQUERQUE BUSINESS FIRST
that came out last week. The foreigners and their lawyers are resubmitting their drilling
application, while at the same time the first application is sitting in the New Mexico Court of Appeals awaiting oral arguments.
The article included the photo below,
which says more about the issue than the verbage
(water is MONEY $$$$$$$$).
Commentary will follow shortly.
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Augustin Plains Ranch refloats plan to pump water to ABQ
by Gary Gerew
Owners of the Augustin Plains Ranch LLC near Datil are again proposing to
build wells and a pipeline that would transfer 54,000 acre-feet of water
annually to the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho area.
APR says it already has spent about $3 million investigating the possibility
of the project and has now submitted an application with the Office of the State Engineer to see if an official hearing process can be established.
In 2007, the owners of the ranch, described on its website as a collection of
family foundations, submitted a plan to transfer the water. It was turned down in 2012 “because it was vague, over broad,
lacked specificity, and the effects of granting it cannot reasonably be
evaluated; problems which are contrary to public policy,” according to the
Office of the State Engineer. The ranch challenged the denial in court, but the
engineer’s decision was upheld.
If it is allowed the proceed, the project is estimated to cost $600 million,
said Whitney Waite, a spokeswoman for APR.
“After many months of work, we are pleased to present the OSE with an
application that provides information which we believe will allow the project to
move forward,” Michel Jichlinski, the project director, said in a news release.
“This is a very big step in developing a new and sustainable source of water for
New Mexicans for generations to come.”
The Augustin Plains Ranch owns more than 17,000 acres of land in the San
Augustin Plains, much of it sitting atop an aquifer.
The project, if developed, would involve drilling 37 wells on the ranch and
transporting the water northward through a 140-mile pipeline that would run
along existing highway right-of-ways, according to the application.
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APR said the state engineer’s office is expected to decide within several
weeks if a hearing should be pursued. That hearing process, according to APR,
could last for up to two years.
That would involve a comprehensive study of the area’s hydrology, potential
impacts to local communities, pipeline right-of-way issues, legal and compact
challenges among other issues, according to APR.
If approved, APR estimates water could begin flowing into the Albuquerque
area in about five years.
“The full and open hearing process will enable New Mexicans to be certain
that the project is viable, sustainable, and in the state’s best interest,”
Jichlinski said. “The research that will be conducted during the hearing phase
will be invaluable in providing data on this resource that is currently sorely
lacking. We look forward to having this conversation with all who are interested
and wish to fully understand the incredible potential of the San Augustin
Basin.”
According to its proposal, APR would build structures designed to capture the
run-off from the nearby mountain range and recharge the aquifer to replace what
water is withdrawn from it.
At this point, according to APR, it’s too early to determine what return
investors would receive. However, in an attachment to the application, the
investment bank Ewing Bemiss & Co. said it has reviewed the proposal and
believes it wouldn’t have problems attracting investors.
A for-profit group hoping to pump New
Mexico groundwater to the Rio Grande Valley and sell it to thirsty cities has
asked state water managers for a new hearing on a proposal the Office of State
Engineer turned down two years ago. Augustin Plains Ranch LLC, an investment
group that includes the owners of a ranch near Datil in the high country west of
Socorro, is again proposing to pump groundwater and send it through a pipeline
that would follow the Rio Grande north to the Albuquerque metro area. Proponents of the project say it could
provide an important new source of supply for the water-strapped Rio Grande
Valley. “This is a very big step in developing a
new and sustainable source of water for New Mexicans for generations to come,”
project manager Michel Jichlinski said in a statement announcing the company’s
new application. Critics say it is an illegitimate attempt
to privatize what is legally a public resource, and that the new application
suffers from the same legal flaw that caused the previous one to be thrown out.
In 2012, state Engineer Scott Verhines ruled against the Augustin Plains Ranch
proposal because the project’s developers never identified who would use the
water, and where. In a statement explaining his decision,
Verhines said Augustin Plains Ranch’s failure to “include specifics as to the
end user of the water” was one of the key reasons for the denial. Verhines’
ruling concluded that the state engineer needs to know where and how the water
is going to be used in order to consider the request. The new application includes letters from
the city of Rio Rancho saying it is “interested in discussing” the possibility
of buying Augustin ranch water. But the city’s letters offer no commitment, and
the amount of water Rio Rancho says it needs – “several thousand acre feet of
water” – is only a fraction of the 54,000 acre feet per year the company hopes
to sell. Augustin Plains Ranch repeats its prior
approach – listing all possible water uses in much of a seven-county area from
Socorro to Santa Fe. The ranch, in its filing with the state, said it hopes to
win preliminary approval for the application before specifying who will use the
water, and where. That drew quick criticism from attorney
Bruce Frederick with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center in Santa Fe, who
represented a number of the 248 people who protested the group’s previous
application. “The application is a public relations
piece and suffers from the same basic legal deficiency as the prior applications
– the ranch has again failed to identify any actual place or purpose of use of
water,” Frederick told the Journal. In parallel to its new application,
Augustin Ranch also is in court appealing Verhines’ denial of the previous
application. Project spokeswoman Whitney Waite said no decision has been made
about whether that appeal will continue. “How we’re going to handle the appeal is
still under review,” Waite said. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to be
heard in August by New Mexico Court of Appeals.
The Bear Mountain Coffee House & Gallery (Hwy 60),
and CWB Gallery (Main St), both in Magdalena, NM,
along with Carol Pittman from Datil, NM. We're working on net/mail sales details.
Patience.
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More coming....an update on the state of the water grab
(waiting for court....waiting....) and other notes
of interest to those fighting the foreigners:
the Modena Organization,
and their perky, smirky little Project Director,
Michel Jichlinski,the only guy that anyone
from these parts ever dealt with who was a Con Man
of such grand proportions, involved in the theft
of millions and millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
He is, you might say, a "NEW MEXICO TRUE"
Eurotrash "celebrity." .
. Jichlinski made a pitch on behalf of the "water grab" this past March 26 to the Interstate Stream Commission. We're told there were lots of questions from the commissioners, and not many real answers from our foreign friend. Snake oil salesman. ******************** Someone from the area recently sent Representative Don Tripp, (Socorro, Catron, and Valencia Counties) a short letter, raising concerns about the "water grab by foreign investors" and asking to hear Don's position. We got to see the correspondence. Don's reply is below. .
. We should note: Don has been active in the issue for some time, and showed up for both our Coalition Fundraiser held at The Golden Spur Saloon in Magdalena, as well as our "Prayer Vigil for Rain & Blessing of the Waters" held at Montosa Ranch last June. He doesn't seek the spotlight though, and unless you go to meetings and events, or subscribe to news feeds from legislators, you're probably uncertain of what's what. That's cool. But Don is very cool. .
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"....New Mexico has the Western characteristic of too little water, which is one of the standard Western gripes. Another is that it is economically a colony, a producer of raw materials, much of the profits from which, including a considerable part of the profits of the cattle industry, are siphoned off to the East and West Coasts. The ultimate development of the state is to an alarming degree dependent upon the decisions of people to whom it is not home, is not essential, but merely an investment to be held only so long as it yields a good return." . Oliver La Farge, 1952 Anthropologist, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author .
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —As the village of Magdalena’s water shortage nears its second week, Albuquerque police and residents have decided to step up and help out.
The Albuquerque Police Department is asking residents to stop by the Prisoner Transport Center and drop off bottles of water, which have become the only source of cooking and drinking for so many in Magdalena.
There will be a mobile command unit available at the Coors Boulevard and Ellison Drive NW Walmart to take donations Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a donation site at the Walmart located at Wyoming Boulevard and Academy Road NE on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“We just want to be a good neighbor here in New Mexico,” said Briane Dennison, APD Chaplain Commander. “Go down there and bless them with water… we’re looking to take two 25 ft. trailers full of donated water down to them.”
APD’s Operation Hope team also organized donations for Moore, Oklahoma after a tornado struck.
Using money from the Chaplain Unit Fund, APD has purchased two pallets of water. Since, Albuquerque residents have donated thousands of water bottles.
“It really shows the heart behind the badge,” said Dennison.
The deadline to drop off water donations is Friday at 8 a.m. If you’d like to donate money to the APD Chaplain Unit Fund, call 505-768-2131.
Below, Governor Susana Martinez talks about Magdalena's water problems with a KOB reporter.
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The new Augustin Plains Ranch LLC website, titled
"sanaugustinwater.com" - is a pathetic attempt to further
their PR campaign for the project. It's filled with nonsense,
and outright lies. Here's the photo and text
from their homepage:
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The proposed Augustin Plains Ranch water pipeline project, much like the San Juan Chama River Project before it, has tremendous potential to supply New Mexico’s middle Rio Grande Valley with an abundance of water for centuries to come. . The demand for water in our state already surpasses its availability, and the situation is becoming even more dire due to extreme drought. That is why the project’s supporters and sponsors are committed to developing this much-needed resource on behalf of all New Mexicans. This state-of-the-art, eco-friendly project will be unique, producing its own power for operation through hydropower and solar energy. But more importantly, the project will create a new, sustainable and abundant source of water independent of compacts with other states. . This will be accomplished by replenishing a massive, underground aquifer in western New Mexico with rainwater that is currently lost to evaporation. The project will provide water to New Mexicans where it is needed most, and will also improve river habitat and water quality in the Rio Grande. With support from local, state, and federal agencies as well as New Mexico’s local communities, this project can begin delivering this desperately needed water within five years.
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Well, golly. Here we are talking about the
Middle Rio Grande Valley, and we have a nice photo
of the Organ Mountains, FAR to the south of the Middle
Rio Grande Valley, down next to Las Cruces, in the MESILLA VALLEY.
Here's a map of what is, for most political and historical
purposes and definitions, the Middle Rio Grande Valley,
published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History.
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Well, you can see what kind of ignorant fools we're
dealing with. They can't even illustrate their text correctly.
That picture is NOT from the area we're talking about. It's about a hundred miles south.
"Well, it does't matter. Not in the slightest."
Oh yes it does, our little moron. Our little PR pimp. This kind of BS is blatantly illegal.
It's misleading. It's bad advertising practice. A photo is the product in action, one might say. You're talkin' Middle Rio Grande Valley, and showin' Mesilla Valley. It's false advertising. Someone needs to report you guys to the Attorney General's Office. Maybe I will. Misleading people on WATER right now ought to be a hanging offense. . There might be a method to their madness. They'll have that used-car salesman disguised as an attorney from Las Cruces that serves in the State Legislature, Joseph Cervantes, crawling into bed with them, thinking he'll get some of the water moved south, to Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley. That would be absolutely wonderful for the gospel of "growth" that Cervantes preaches in the public pulpits on behalf of the "best interests" of southern New Mexico. "Best interests" as defined by developers, agri-business, bankers, hustlers, and ignorant politicians. . Oh, I see what's going on here now. You guys are clever. But you're still breaking the law. Misrepresentation may be common at your office, but it doesn't fly too well if you get caught. . Small-town PR flacks.
Ignorant. Amateurish. Fraudulent.
Must be that bunch over at The Waite Company at work.
It's amazing. You'd think the foreigners would get
someone worth a shit. Hell, they've got the money. Or are they just too damned 'TIGHT' - still have the first buck they ever made. . You know the type.
The Scotch and the Jews have both had to suffer
racial stereotyping because of this very trait
among some bad apples in their population -
the cheap ones, the slow-to-pay, the greedy,
no charity (except when it's public),
no soul.
Cash is the sole/soul denominator.
The worst. The pigs.
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Anyhow, it's all as bland as can be and
loaded with misinformation. We'll take each
page and dissect it on the blog over time.
It's neat that I can just copy it, (and I have),
page by page, and we can all examine it, together,
and take a careful look at what they're
claiming - dissect the data. . They never put a copyright on the site. It's unbelievably stupid. It's a commercial site. I don't copyright because I want my material spread to the four directions. Not to copyright the company message seems strange at best, or incredibly dim-witted on the other end. What, was the company attorney on a bender? Who are these dismal failures? And who pays them? The masters seem as stupid as the slaves, and vice-versa. Why does the San Augustin Plains water issue draw such secretive, fraudulent, worthless, un-American, anti-American, shysters to the table? Who also refuse to pay for a good PR outfit. . What's wrong with these people? Too much good food and wine? Too much EUROTRASH life? (A cop told me that EUROTRASH is a new term in law enforcement for all the scam artists from EUROPA that enter the American scene for operations of all types. A new twist on white trash - this defines it geographically, trash from the Old Country - EUROTRASH.)
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Anyway, here's an example of show-and-tell with their site.
Para # 2 on their website homepage states:
The demand for water in our state already surpasses its availability, and the situation is becoming even more dire due to extreme drought. That is why the project’s supporters and sponsors are committed to developing this much-needed resource on behalf of all New Mexicans. This state-of-the-art, eco-friendly project will be unique, producing its own power for operation through hydropower and solar energy. But more importantly, the project will create a new, sustainable and abundant source of water independent of compacts with other states.
The LLC has been on this "green" and "eco-friendly"
campaign as of the last six months or so - they keep
coming up with new sales ideas. This one's a lie.
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Paragraph #3 states:
This will be accomplished byreplenishing a massive, underground aquifer in western New Mexico with rainwater that is currently lost to evaporation. The project will provide water to New Mexicans where it is needed most, and will also improve river habitat and water quality in the Rio Grande. With support from local, state, and federal agencies as well as New Mexico’s local communities, this project can begin delivering this desperately needed water within five years.
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Water
Water, water, water!
Water is essential for all life— --plant, animal and human life.
Water is clear Water is colourless Water is tasteless Water is transparent Water pours on Earth as rain.
Water covers about 3/4of the Earth's surface Water bodies are ocean, sea, lake, river Water can be had from wells by digging the Earth Water naturally occurs as mineral water as at spa.
Water is in liquid form Water is in solid form (ice) Water is in gaseous form (water vapour) Water is as snow and snowflakes.
Water is secreted from the body- -as urine, tears, perspiration, and saliva.
Water is a chemical compound Water is composed of two elements Water molecule contains— -one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. Water boils at 212 degrees F or 100 degrees C Water freezes at 32 degrees F o 0 degrees C.
Water, water, water!
chandra thiagarajan
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I'll get back to this when I have time.
Right now I need to water the roses and sunflowers
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