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Santa Fe County Application Update
On January 14, 2009, the parties attended a pre-hearing conference with Victor Kovach, the hearing examiner, in Santa Fe. The scheduling order resulting from that conference requires the County to disclose its witnesses by March 20 and its exhibits by May 15; it requires the other parties, including the SFBWA Coalition, to disclose their witnesses by July 1 and their exhibits by September 18. Discovery is allowed through December 18, and the hearing, if necessary, is scheduled for March 16 – 26, 2010.
On January 29, 2009, representatives of the SFBWA Coalition met with John Utton, the attorney for the County, and Uday Joshi and Chris Lindeen, attorneys for the Water Rights Division of the Office of the State Engineer. Mr. Utton explained the County’s overall strategy for both the pending applications and anticipated future applications. (The current applications request the transfer of 92 acre-feet of water; the County intends to request the transfer of an additional 108 acre-feet for its drought reserve wells.) He stated that the County does not anticipate using the water-rights in question for another 10 years (after demand exceeds 850 acre-feet/current demand is at 350 acre-feet), and that the County wants to work with all parties to reach an amicable resolution of its applications.
The next step is for the County to determine which 5 or 6 of the 12 wells made the basis of the pending applications it intends to rely on. Mr. Utton agreed that the County should and would seek public input in making this determination. He has also been authorized to begin negotiating conditions of approval for the pending applications.
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The Santa Fe Basin Water Association (SFBWA) is a New Mexico non-profit 501(c)(4) organization of individuals, acequia associations, and water associations, incorporated to protect the rights and interests of existing water users in the Santa Fe County area.
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In support of these objectives, SFBWA provides a forum for many and diverse citizens to come together in common purpose to protect their water supplies. We seek to inform and influence our elected officials about water issues, and to act as a strong voice on water policy and planning in local government. We advocate for the water interests of our members and coordinate their efforts to resolve water problems. When the public interest is threatened, we mount legal and technical challenges to new water applications and seek to facilitate equitable resolution with all parties. We promote positions on responsible water use based on local knowledge and experience acquired from more than thirty years of proactive involvement.
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