Abeyta


ASMLAS in the Abeyta Settlement

These are the sections of the Abeyta Settlement which directly relate to AMRLAS:

3.6 ARROYO SECO ARRIBA PROJECT. The Construction and operation of either the Arroyo Seco Arriba Aquifer Storage and Recovery (“ASR”) Project described in Article 6.1.1.1 or the surface storage project described in Article 6.1.1.2 provide a mutual benefit to the Pueblo and the Acequias by finally resolving allocation of the Rio Lucero.

6.1.1. ARROYO SECO ARRIBA PROJECT. As part of the resolution of a longstanding dispute involving allocation of the Rio Lucero, the Parties agree that the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco shall receive an additional one hundred (100) AFY of depletion through water rights transfers pursuant to Article 6.1.2, and the Parties further agree that one of the projects described in Article 6.1.1.1 or 6.1.1.2 will be developed for purposes of storing and using such water rights. All Acequia diversions for purposes of either of these projects shall be accounted as part of Arroyo Seco Arriba’s 18.3% share of the Rio Lucero, which share shall be adjusted over time in accordance with Article 8.2.1.2. The Pueblo and the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco agree that the operation of either project described in this Article 6.1.1 shall not compromise the Acequia’s right to its share of the Rio Lucero as provided in Article 8.2.1.1 or the Pueblo’s interest in and rights to the protection of the Buffalo Pasture.

6.1.1.1. AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT. The Arroyo Seco Arriba Aquifer Storage and Recovery (“ASR”) Project shall be constructed to deliver water rights purchased pursuant to Article 6.1.2. The community of Arroyo Seco Arriba, through the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco, shall apply to the State Engineer for a permit for wells to store and recover the surface flows of the Rio Lucero in the amount necessary to provide the one hundred (100) AFY of depletion, with a diversion not to exceed two hundred sixty (260) AFY, acquired pursuant to Article 6.1.2for irrigation use during the irrigation season. These two 1,000 foot deep wells with approximately a 10 3⁄4 inch casing and an expected 330 GPM combined pumping capacity will be at the approximate locations as shown on Attachment 10. The project includes design, site purchases, permitting, NEPA compliance, diversion structure, lift pumps, wells, well pumps, pipelines, and the pipeline through the Taos Pueblo Tenorio Tract described below. Diversions from such wells shall be limited to six (6) months of each year, from May 1 to November 1. The Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco shall own, operate, and maintain these ASR Project wells. To eliminate conveyance losses, flows of the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco ditch will be conveyed through a 6,500 foot long pipeline through the Taos Pueblo Tenorio Tract, with a capacity of 44.8 cubic feet per second, from the Rio Lucero diversion to the vicinity of the ASR project.

6.1.1.2. SURFACE STORAGE PROJECT. As an alternative to the ASR Project described in Article 6.1.1.1 and subject to all applicable water rights acquisition, transfer, and permitting requirements, the Parties agree that the one hundred (100) AFY of additional depletions or two hundred sixty (260) AFY of diversions may be diverted and stored in one or more surface reservoirs off Pueblo Lands. The project includes design, site purchases, permitting, NEPA compliance, construction of surface storage reservoirs, necessary infrastructure to connect the storage reservoirs to the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco, and the pipeline through the Taos Pueblo Tenorio Tract described below. The ASR Project is the preferred project which will be pursued unless it is determined that it is not feasible. To eliminate conveyance losses, flows of the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco ditch will be conveyed through a 6,500 foot long pipeline through the Taos Pueblo Tenorio Tract, with a capacity of 44.8 cubic feet per second, from the Rio Lucero diversion to the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco diversion at the Arroyo Seco stream.

6.1.2. WATER RIGHTS ACQUISITION. Subject to the dollar limit in Article 10.1.3.2, the State shall provide funds to the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco as necessary for: (a) acquisition of up to one hundred (100) AFY of consumptive use water rights from the Rio Grande or its tributaries; (b) all administrative, technical, and legal costs and fees associated with such acquisition; (c) all administrative, technical, and legal costs and fees associated with transferring those water rights; and (d) all necessary permits. Such water rights shall be for use in the ASR Project specified in Article 6.1.1.1 or the Surface Storage Project specified in Article 6.1.1.2. The one hundred (100) AFY of consumptive use water rights may be acquired and transferred in one or multiple transactions, and the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco intends to acquire these water rights on the Rio Grande and will acquire such water rights on the tributaries only if such rights are not available on the Rio Grande.

6.1.3. OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT SINKING FUND. Non-Federal funds shall be made available to the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco to establish a sinking fund to provide for future operation, maintenance, and replacement of the ASR Project.

8.2.1.3.2. ACEQUIA MADRE DEL RIO LUCERO Y DEL ARROYO SECO. Seventy-five and two tenths (75.2) acres (1,376.5 acres divided by 18.3) of non-Indian land served by the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco pursuant to the Consent Order entered in the Adjudication on March 14, 2015. The one thousand three hundred seventy-six and five tenths (1,376.5) acres used for purposes of this Article exludes those acres served by the Temporales ditch which do not use waters from the Rio Lucero.

10.1.3.1. CONSTRUCTION. The Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco and the State, acting through the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration Local Government Division on behalf of the Acequia, agree not to seek or accept grant funding pursuant to Section 507(a) of the Settlement Act in an amount exceeding $6,103,470 and a matching 25 percent non-federal State contribution in an amount exceeding $2,034,490 to plan, permit, design, engineer and construct those wells and infrastructure and Acequia Madre pipeline specified in Article 6.1.1.1 or surface water storage and Acequia Madre pipeline specified in Article 6.1.1.2.

10.1.3.2. WATER RIGHTS ACQUISITION. The State shall provide up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) to the Local Government Division of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration on behalf of the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco as necessary for water rights acquisition specified in Article 6.1.2 and on behalf of the Upper and Lower Manuel Andres Trujillo Ditches as necessary for water rights acquisition for purposes of storage described at Article 8.3.7.2.

10.1.3.3. OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT SINKING FUND. The State shall provide up to $121,000 to the Local Government Division of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration on behalf of the Acequia Madre del Rio Lucero y del Arroyo Seco to establish a sinking fund for the Arroyo Seco Arriba Project, as specified in Article 6.1.3.

13.3. PROJECT MODIFICATION OR FAILURE. If, after the Enforcement Date, any of the projects or other measures set forth in Articles 5.2.3.1, 6, 7.3.1, or 7.3.3 fail, are determined to be infeasible, do not receive necessary permits, or for any other reason fail to meet the objectives of the Parties as reflected in the terms of this Settlement Agreement, the Parties shall reconvene and negotiate in an attempt to agree on modified or alternative projects or measures that are otherwise consistent with this Settlement Agreement and secure to the Parties the benefits of their bargain, including the permit exemptions and the waiver of protests, objections, or opposition in any manner to any applicable permits that are consistent with the Settlement Agreement and that are necessary for the construction and operation of the modified or alternative projects or measures contained in this Settlement Agreement. In addition, if, after the Enforcement Date, EPWSD, TVAA, or the MDWCAs receive funding from the State that is not adequate to acquire and transfer the water rights set forth in Articles 6.1.2, 6.3.1.8, and 6.4.4, the Water Rights Owning Parties shall reconvene and negotiate in an attempt to obtain funding sufficient to complete the acquisition and transfer of those water rights. The Mitigation Well System is an integral part of this Settlement Agreement. If it fails or is not used as the means of providing surface water offsets required by the Water Rights Owning Parties’ Future Groundwater Diversions as set forth in Article 7.3.3.1.10, then a critical part of the Settlement Agreement which all Parties have bargained for will be removed. Under such circumstances, the Water Rights Owning Parties shall reconvene and negotiate terms and provisions which will provide mutually acceptable alternative solutions.

Signatures:


(Note: Our acequia bylaws require two signatures on checks over $500, yet the Abeyta only received one signature from each acequia.)

(Note: Palemon Martinez, our commissioner at the time, was also president of TVAA.)

Here are copies of the minutes from our Annual Meetings before and after the signing of the Abeyta Settlement showing no vote was taken by our membership to be party to the settlement:

AMRLAS/Ortega Water Rights Transfer Timeline

  • 2005– Palemon Martinez signs contract for purchase of Ortega water rights.
  • 2013/2014– Public information meetings about Abeyta Settlement.
  • March 2015– Palemon Martinez voted out as Commissioner. Fermin Torres resigns. New commissioners chosen.
  • June/July 2015– Palemon Martinez tells commissioners about Ortega water contract & arranges closed meeting with TVAA attorney Rebecca Dempsey to discuss Ortega water transfer. Commissioners are pressured to approve Ortega water transfer. No approval given. Palemon Martinez requests commission to delegate authority to him. No delegation of authority granted. DA suggests hiring independent attorney.
  • August 2015– New Bylaws adopted by large majority of parciantes.
  • November 2015– Palemon Martinez & Rebecca Dempsey make application to State Engineer for Ortega water transfer without commission approval.
  • December 2015– Rebecca Dempsey emails commissioners to say she will execute Ortega contract documents in 24 hours(!) unless commissioners insist on prior approval. Commissioners Valencia & Pieper insist on prior approval.
  • January-March 2016– Large checks are written from dedicated accounts without informing parciantes & without 2 commissioners signatures as required by Bylaws. Rebecca Dempsey creates “Trust Account” for Ortega water purchase.
  • March 2016– Commissioner Garcia re-elected as Treasurer. Parciantes vote to have commissioners hire an independent attorney. Without parciantes knowledge, Office of State Engineer grants approval for Ortega water transfer, Palemon Martinez listed as Secretary of the acequia on transfer permit document when we wasn’t an elected official.
  • May 2016– Commissioners Valencia & Pieper sign letter of engagement for new attorney. Commissioner Garcia refuses to sign.
  • June 2016 -Commissioner Valencia resigns. New push to approve Ortega water purchase & transfer. Commissioner Quintana appointed.

2005, December 16: Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Water Rights with Amendments 2 (2012) & 3 (2013)

  • Download (pdf)
  • “surface water rights from the Cabresto Creek, in and near the community of Questa…”, “Llano Irrigation Company Ditch”, “Cabresto Ditch No. 5”.
  • “The Seller agrees to sell and Buyer agrees to purchase the surface water rights… which have… a consumptive use right of 97.482 AFY (acre feet per year).”
  • “The Buyer shall pay to the Seller the amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) as the total price for the purchase and sale of the aforesaid water rights.”
  • “Buyer is required by New Mexico law to publish once a week for three weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area…” – our Parciantes have not seen this published
  • “New Mexico provides that after publication of the notices persons may file protests to the Applications and that, if any protests are filed, the OSE shall conduct a hearing on the Applications…” – our Parciantes were not made aware of this period of protest or objection
  • TVAA representation for the Acequia Madre [Arroyo Seco]
    • “The Taos Valley Acequia Association (TVAA)… represents certain acequias in the negotiations… in the Abeyta…”
    • “TVAA will acting as an agent for the acequias in the acquisition and transfer of water rights…”
    • – these agreements and amendments are not signed by our Acequia, rather, they are signed by Palemon Martinez in capacity as President of TVAA and our Parciantes have not been shown any resolution or minutes showing that a decision was made by our commission or Parciantes to grant TVAA this appointment, representation or agency.

2008, April 9: Capital Project Agreement – ISC

  • Download (pdf)
  • “Before acquiring any water rights with the Funds, Acequia Madre [Arroyo Seco] shall conduct a thorough due diligence investigation to assure that… the price to be paid for such water rights is at or below the fair market value… and that such transfer will directly benefit … The Upper Manuel Andres Trujillo Ditch [UMATD], and The Lower Manuel Andres Trujillo Ditch [LMATD].” – our Parciantes have not been shown any due diligence showing that we are paying at or below the fair market value, and there has not been any effort to ensure beneficial use of said rights to UMATD or LMATD.

2013, May 3: Application OSE to Change Existing Water Right

  • Download (pdf)
  • “Contact or Agent: Rebecca Dempsey, Esq.” – our Parciantes have not been shown any resolution or minutes showing that a decision was made by our commission or Parciantes to grant Rebecca Dempsey or Cuddy & McCarthy this appointment, representation or agency.
  • “Priority Date: 06/30/1915” – this date is far latter than that of our acequia or neighboring acequias, further reducing its value to us in the face of a local priority call.
  • “the Commissioners of the Llano Ditch did not respond to Applicants’ request within 120 days…” – the Llano Ditch opposed this transfer on moral grounds of setting a precedent for supporting water transfers outside of native watersheds.See, Land and Water Element of the Taos County Comprehensive Plan, adopted by Taos County Commissioners on 8/29/04, developed by a steering committee with citizen input through a series of 16 public meetings, detailing goals including protecting public welfare and strategies including (#27) efforts to discourage water transfers between watersheds.“Those who believe in the integrity of the commons work to keep water in its area of origin, where its ecological integrity is maintained by its connection to geography, climate, and relationship to those who value it as a resource, not a property right.” – Kay Mathews, Taos Water Advisory Board
  • “Move-to Places of Use” – does not make any reference to UMATD or LMATD yet we have legally agreed (see above) to ensure benefit to them.
  • “Move-to Purpose of Use…[is only for] the ASR Project”, “the diversion of water under this Application shall be accounted as part of the Arroyo Seco Arriba’s 18.3% share of the Rio Lucero”, “The water transferred for the ASR Project under this Application will be diverted from the Rio Lucero between November 1 to April 30 of each year… transported via pipeline to two wells for injection into the Basin fill Aquifer for storage. – maintenance costs of the pipeline along with the ASR wells will be born by the acequia, and cannot be afforded. Also, there is no provision made for application of these water rights outside of ASR wells or surface reservoirs, so when the acequia can no longer afford to maintain the wells ($50-100K per year), decontaminate the water (Uranium in Hondo), or dredge the reservoirs (effects of Governors vetoes), the rights we are paying for are worthless. Finally, the diversion of winter water into the ASR wells for 6 months of the year reduces our actual AFY by more than 50% and will result in no water running in the acequia in the winter for livestock or agricultural use, i.e. hoophouses and greenhouses.

Maps of ASR well locations in Arroyo Seco, as defined in the Settlement.

Letter from acequia commission to the BOR

Download (pdf)

Photos taken of the Acequia Madre as it crosses Taos Pueblo, from the headgate of the Rio Lucero to El Salto Rd, the proposed route for a PVC water pipeline to replace the Acequia Madre.

17314325401_2128f8602e_k.jpg

16791060003_df37883376_k

17411331625_9381e200d3_k.jpg

17107263367_b548eb894a_k.jpg

16694494963_674443b5c4_k

16692294354_d8dd366c02_k.jpg

17127146660_b6c46eac27_k

17107270747_6f7dbb031a_k.jpg

17314294221_7477e095b6_k.jpg

17314714085_72d44ca279_k.jpg

17314278941_190838b6d7_k.jpg

The following images show water seeping into the acequia:

26645248634_dab94f4f95_k

26976517130_89e1b7910f_k

27218094176_59e915c318_k

Monitoring and Modeling Hydrologic Connectivity in Semi-Arid Watersheds by Carlos Ochoa

Though most acequias are left dry during non-irrigating months, about 6 months of the year for us here in Arroyo Seco, our acequia madre and its laterals are maintained with running water. It has been like this for the several hundred years since construction in the 1700s. This year-round water flow has contributed directly to the replenishment of the shallow aquifer which most of us access by well for our homes. Increased levels of residential use in Arroyo Seco has increased pressure on the ability of our aquifer to recharge. This is evident in the dropping of the water level of several wells close to the mountains and at least two have already gone dry. A presentation titled Monitoring and Modeling Hydrologic Connectivity in Semi-Arid Watersheds by Carlos Ochoa provides the results of his analysis in three local areas including Hondo of the connectivity between irrigation, canal seepage, and the shallow aquifer. In it he says, “[after irrigation season] even though there [are] not irrigation inputs, there [are] a lot of inputs from just canal seepage, canal seepage is a big contributor [to the water table in the shallow aquifer], so lining these canals or altering these canals in any form will have an impact on the shallow aquifer.” Keeping this in mind, the Abeyta Settlement proposals to divert water during non-irrigating months into a lined reservoir and the installation of a water pipeline for the conveyance of water from the Rio Lucero to Arroyo Seco will decrease the current amount of seepage supporting the water level of our shallow aquifer. It goes without saying that the 50-year forecast is for persistent drought in our region. We must recognize the connectivity that has existed for hundreds of years between water flowing down our acequia year-round, the health of our shallow aquifer, and the unknown impacts a pipeline and reservoir will have on our aquifer’s ability to support current and future water demands by our homes. Here are links to the audio recording of his presentation and the accompanying slides, thanks to Cultural Energy:
Audio: http://www.culturalenergy.org/mp3/ocha2mar13.mp3
Slides: http://www.culturalenergy.org/images/ochoa.pdf