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.
So, after an ongoing fight of ten years+, one of the New Mexico delegation "steps up" as they say....good for Senator Marty!....Tommy Udall's probably daydreaming about how much money he could make helping the foreigners....just because he's a liberal and this is really an environmental and basic justice issue doesn't mean that he'll help the cause necessarily....rich liberals are just as bad as the flip side of the coin, rich conservatives....when these people smell more cash at the trough there's no bets on who's in your corner.... Here's the good Senator's op-ed piece from last Thursday's Socorro Defensor Chieftain. . http://www.dchieftain.com/opinion/columns/water-grab-on-the-plains-of-san-agustin/article_d329e5c8-32a6-11e8-b246-fbbb7f7947fc.html
The next round with the foreigners is now scheduled:
Thursday, November 12, at 1:15 pm
Socorro County Courthouse
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We'll have more up about the issue at hand -
the who-what-why - but basically it's a legal strategy
by the enemy: trying get an earlier decision
that ruled in the good guys' favor
to be set aside. It's legal wrangling. This is NOT a hearing on their latest application.
More coming.
* GOOD NEWS! Some members of the New Mexico Legislature's Interim Committee on Water and Natural Resources have all made recent statements questioning or outright opposing the WATER GRAB. Eileen Dodds of the Water Coalition got some terrific information at their Aug 31-Sept 1 meeting. We'll have some quotes and more in our next posting.
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Drought Fears Subside - LLC Shuts Up!
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Compare the above to the situation
in July of 2013 - 27 months ago.
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At this point in 2013, and for months and
months following, the foreigners kept up the
salesman's spiel that only NEW sources of
water would save us from the drought,
such as, or most especially, the aquifer they want to tap, the San Augustin Plains aquifer.
Our only hope was to welcome the
thieves and end up buying what was ours
to begin with. What bullshit.
There were other new sources of water,
and so we tapped into these other "reserves"
one might say. Keep the devil out of here.
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They've now shut their traps about drought. We pray further that they'll eventually shut up about all of it, and stay in (or go back to) their homelands, where fraud, theft, and lying must be typical national pastimes. At least among the high and mighty.... at least (or especially) when it involves Americans. It certainly appears as such.
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
A
ranching family is asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on a
fight over a $600 million proposal that calls for piping billions of
gallons of water from rural western New Mexico to more populated areas
of the drought-stricken state. Attorneys for Ray and Carol Pittman filed a motion Monday asking the
court to order the state’s top water official to reject the latest
application by Augustin Plains Ranch to pump and pipe water to
supplement dwindling supplies in the Rio Grande Valley. The commercial venture’s previous application was rejected two years
ago. It was one of the most contested filings in the history of the
state engineer’s office, and critics also have raised concerns about the
latest application. The court filing argues the application seeks to appropriate about
17.6 billion gallons of water a year but fails to indicate how or where
the water will be used. “By keeping the intended use vague, the ranch hopes to speculate in
future water markets and ultimately sell to whoever the highest bidders
may be in seven counties,” said Bruce Frederick, an attorney with the
New Mexico Environmental Law Center, which is representing the Pittmans. Frederick said that under state law, the state engineer has a duty to
dismiss applications that fail to state a purpose for the water or an
end user. The state engineer’s office is reviewing the latest application but has yet to make any decision. Officials with Augustin Plains Ranch said the court filing is an
attempt by opponents and special interests to block what would be a
public process if the state engineer grants a hearing on the
application. “Their desire to use the court to circumvent the state engineer
before that office has had a chance to do its job puts the cart before
the horse and wastes time and money,” said Whitney Waite, a spokeswoman
for the ranch. She said the latest application is more specific than the last one
and includes information about the feasibility of the project, technical
details and demand for drinking water.
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And here's a more detailed account from the
New Mexico Environmental Law Center:
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Residents ask state Supreme Court to rule in Augustin Plains water grab case
Santa Fe, NM — Today, a retired couple from western New
Mexico asked the state Supreme Court to order the State Engineer to
dismiss a massive speculative water appropriation application from
Augustin Plains Ranch, LLC (“APR”).
In their petition for a writ of mandamus, filed by attorney Bruce
Frederick of the non-profit New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Ray and
Carol Pittman state that a second application filed by APR this summer
is “identical in all material respects” to the application that APR
filed in 2007. The 2007 application was denied by State Engineer Scott
Verhines and a District Court after five years of litigation. Just like
the 2007 application, the 2014 application seeks to appropriate 54,000
acre-feet of water per year (afy), but fails to indicate exactly how or
where the water will be used, as required by the state Constitution. “By
keeping the intended use vague,” said Frederick, “the Ranch hopes to
speculate in future water markets and ultimately sell to whoever the
highest bidders may be in seven counties.”
Under state law, the State Engineer has a non-discretionary duty to
dismiss applications that that fail to specify any particular purpose or
place of use of water or end user. Courts use writs of mandamus to
compel recalcitrant government agencies to perform clear duties required
of them by law. In this case, the Pittmans petitioned the state Supreme
Court to “order the State Engineer to promptly reject [APR’s] 2014
application.” “The State Engineer must reject the 2014 application for
the same legal reasons that he denied the 2007 application,” said
Frederick.
The Pittman’s efforts come in response to legal maneuvering undertaken
by APR and the State Engineer this summer. The Pittmans along with 80
neighbors eventually persuaded the State Engineer and a District Court
to deny APR’s 2007 application because it was ‘vague, over broad, lacked
specificity, and the effects of granting it cannot reasonably be
evaluated.’[1] APR then appealed to the Court of Appeals, where the case was fully briefed.
INTERVIEWS, IMAGES and EXHIBITS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST Contact:
Bruce Frederick
Staff Attorney
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
505-989-9022, ext. 21 bfrederick@nmelc.or nmelc.org
The battle between the forces of light and those of darkness
is a subject/theme that's been explored by artists of all types - painters, musicians, writers, and now even television and film creators -
for as long as man's mortal mind has been aware of
spiritual realties that exist here on earth.
The battle is ancient, real, and ever-changing. And of course, the most well known soldier in the war against the forces of darkness, at least as far as Judeo/Christian mortals are concerned, is Saint Michael the Archangel.
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How fitting that today (9/29) we celebrate the feast day
of Saint Michael the Archangel, the protector and patron of the people of Socorro and the local region -
(San Miguel, Spanish for St. Michael).
The Socorro County Commission has
come out AGAINST the WATER GRAB.
"The fearlessness and fidelity of this mighty champion
roused
the faithful Angels, who rallied to his standard, repeating with
one accord: "Who is like unto God?" Then followed that
tremendous
battle between the good and the bad Angels which
St. John describes in
Revelation: "And there was a battle in
Heaven: Michael and his Angels
battled with the dragon, and
the dragon fought and his Angels. And they
did not prevail,
neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And
that
great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, he who is
called
the devil and Satan, who led astray the whole world" Revelations 12: 7-9
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San Miguel Mission in Socorro. Below, a whimsical wood carving of the saint from northern New Mexico.
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St. Michael the Archangel, illustrious leader of the heavenly army,
defend us in the battle against principalities and powers, against the
rulers
of the world of darkness and the spirit of wickedness in high
places.
Come to the rescue of mankind, whom God has made in His own
image
and likeness, and purchased from Satan's tyranny at so great a
price.
Holy Church venerates you as her patron and guardian.
The Lord
has entrusted to you the task of leading the souls
of the redeemed to
heavenly blessedness. Entreat the Lord of peace to cast
Satan down under
our feet, so as to keep him from further holding man
captive and doing
harm to the Church. Carry our prayers up to God's throne,
that the mercy
of the Lord may quickly come and lay hold of the beast,
the serpent of
old, Satan and his demons, casting him in chains into
the abyss, so that
he can no longer seduce the nations.
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.
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