Deadline draws near on Aamodt settlement

Source: The Santa Fe New MexicanJan.mini storage 17--It's finally time for thousands of water users in the Pojoaque Basin north of Santa Fe to decide how they feel about a settlement in the state's longest-running water-rights case, which will affect all of them permanently.About 6,000 people with surface or groundwater rights can expect a letter in the mail soon from the U.S. Department of Justice, telling them it is time to decide whether or not to accept the settlement in the Aamodt case. They'll have until April 7 to agree to the settlement and accept conditions on their water use or to protest the settlement. Those who don't respond by the deadline automatically will be bound by whatever the federal court approves in the case.Many residents have lingering questions about how parts of the settlement will play out, such as a planned regional water system, which is a centerpiece of the deal. The system is meant to replace domestic wells and provide a more secure source of water for people in the basin, including residents in the communities of Namb?, Tesuque, Pojoaque, Cuyamungue and Rio en Medio.The water system, which is in the planning stages, will be managed jointly by Santa Fe County and the four pueblos involved in the case -- San Ildefonso, Nambe, Tesuque and Pojoaque."There are still some questions that can't be answered because it's too early in the complete settlement process," said John Gutting, a member of the Pojoaque Basin Water Alliance who has attended settlement hearings for years. "I'm concerned about that. One major question is how the water authority is going to operate."Getting the joint powers agreement done is very important," he added. "That's really our protection for well owners. That's going to show us how they are going to manage this joint venture between five governments. We feel it ought to be done before well owners decide whether want to join the regional water system or not."One of the concessions made during the settlement proceedings was that well owners wouldn't be required automatically to cap their wells and hook into the regional water system. There are now several options they'll need to consider by April 7.The Aamodt case was brought in 1966 to settle th迷你倉 water-rights claims of four pueblos in the Pojoaque Basin, which includes the Namb?, Tesuque and Pojoaque rivers. A settlement signed in 2006 between the pueblos, the federal government the state was a significant step in finally resolving the case. The settlement provides for the historic and future water uses of the pueblos, which have the oldest water rights under state law.But a myriad of steps remain before the settlement can be fully implemented and the Aamodt case is a done deal.Not the least of those steps is making sure everyone with current water rights is notified about the settlement, understands it and decides whether to sign on.Hundreds of people with irrigation water rights already have had those determined by the state engineer as part of the Aamodt case. But they still have to decide whether to agree to the terms of the Aamodt settlement officially in court.The settlement also affects thousands of non-pueblo residents in the basin who own domestic wells. Depending on the date those wells were permitted by the state engineer, water use has already been limited. Some well owners can only use water for indoor use. Some have to restrict their water use to far less than the usual 3 acre-feet of water a year -- almost a million gallons -- allowed under the normal domestic well permit from the state.Santa Fe County hired Darcy Bushnell, attorney and ombudsman with the Joe M. Stell Water Ombudsman Program at The University of New Mexico School of Law's Utton Transboundary Resources Center, to help explain the ins and outs of the Aamodt process."The ombudsman has no dog in the fight," Bushnell said. "Our job is to get information to people so they can make educated choices about what the court wants them to."She's been meeting people in the community, identifying the most frequently asked questions about the settlement and getting answers before meetings are held on the settlement in February.Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com. Follow her on Twitter @stacimatlock.Copyright: ___ (c)2014 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at .santafenewmexican.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉