Thinking like a (State) Engineer
Just returned from a long and fruitful discussion with New Mexico's State Engineer, John D'Antonio, and his OSE associate and Acequia Liaison, Hilario Rubio. It is always easier to write theoretically, and in diatribe mode, as a social scientist when state "officials" are depersonalized (as is common). Among the topics discussed: acequia responses to adjudication (multiple and regionally variable), Active Water Resource Management and its continuing legal and administrative challenges across the state, the Mimbres River, the Mora Valley, and areas that have been adjudicated (Red River, Mimbres), are in the process of being adjudicated (Pojoaque Valley, Taos Valley, Chama), or where adjudication has not even begun (Middle Rio Grande).
They have my sympathy in trying to actively manage water resources in an arid state with essentially three operational sets of water law in place: federal and Pueblo reserve rights, Spanish and Mexican arrangements for water-sharing (repartamiento), and U.S. prior appropriation followed by the state of New Mexico itself. If the first (fed/Pueblo) instance continues to pose problems, and occasional nightmares for other parties, the latter two are finding a strange instance of fusion in some of the Active Water Resource Management rules and regulations. For instance, in the Mimbres, the OSE is actually trying to encourage shortage-sharing "repartamiento" rules along the river. This is happening even when a senior water rights holder is insisting that the OSE enforce "priority administration" rules, according to the letter of the law. So accommodation is possible and is occurring both there and in places like the Rio Gallinas in the Las Vegas (NM) area.
With twelve (12) active adjudications occurring across widespread areas, and with limited staffing to both do the legal paperwork and the necessary fieldwork for hydrographic surveys, the OSE is clearly at the limits of being able to tackle further work. And what currently troubles, the Lower Rio Grande adjudication and all of its compact implications, is probably minor in comparison to the white elephant that looms ahead, the Middle Rio Grande and trying to figure a scheme to fully adjudicate that portion of the river. D'Antonio discussed the office's use of "licensing" (basically the last step in getting water permits from OSE) as a way to pre-file important information necessary that would later be used in adjudicating individual water rights claims. Licensing, put simply, greases the skids for the more complex matter of adjudication later on.
While Elephant Butte dam and its accompanying irrigation district (EBID) was discussed in quick and cursory fashion, we didn't address aspects of ecological flow requirements in the river, such as the minimum flows and artificial habitats that the endangered silvery minnow is engendering along the Middle Rio Grande. That nonAnimals (as the singer Andrew Bird might call them) cannot express their rage, usually, shouldn't mean a total lack of protection. Ethically, we're in trouble when you need an "Agency" (in the Weberian sense) to stand-in for nonhuman "agency." And doing otherwise makes you suspect, or simply satirical. But back to the OSE itself...
Mr. Rubio, as an official employee of OSE, works as an afore-mentioned acequia liaison for the office. He admitted that this state role is office viewed as adversarial by other parties speaking on behalf of acequias around the state. I hope to speak to both again, in the future, since we had more questions on our mind than answers at the end of 90 minutes.
They have my sympathy in trying to actively manage water resources in an arid state with essentially three operational sets of water law in place: federal and Pueblo reserve rights, Spanish and Mexican arrangements for water-sharing (repartamiento), and U.S. prior appropriation followed by the state of New Mexico itself. If the first (fed/Pueblo) instance continues to pose problems, and occasional nightmares for other parties, the latter two are finding a strange instance of fusion in some of the Active Water Resource Management rules and regulations. For instance, in the Mimbres, the OSE is actually trying to encourage shortage-sharing "repartamiento" rules along the river. This is happening even when a senior water rights holder is insisting that the OSE enforce "priority administration" rules, according to the letter of the law. So accommodation is possible and is occurring both there and in places like the Rio Gallinas in the Las Vegas (NM) area.
With twelve (12) active adjudications occurring across widespread areas, and with limited staffing to both do the legal paperwork and the necessary fieldwork for hydrographic surveys, the OSE is clearly at the limits of being able to tackle further work. And what currently troubles, the Lower Rio Grande adjudication and all of its compact implications, is probably minor in comparison to the white elephant that looms ahead, the Middle Rio Grande and trying to figure a scheme to fully adjudicate that portion of the river. D'Antonio discussed the office's use of "licensing" (basically the last step in getting water permits from OSE) as a way to pre-file important information necessary that would later be used in adjudicating individual water rights claims. Licensing, put simply, greases the skids for the more complex matter of adjudication later on.
While Elephant Butte dam and its accompanying irrigation district (EBID) was discussed in quick and cursory fashion, we didn't address aspects of ecological flow requirements in the river, such as the minimum flows and artificial habitats that the endangered silvery minnow is engendering along the Middle Rio Grande. That nonAnimals (as the singer Andrew Bird might call them) cannot express their rage, usually, shouldn't mean a total lack of protection. Ethically, we're in trouble when you need an "Agency" (in the Weberian sense) to stand-in for nonhuman "agency." And doing otherwise makes you suspect, or simply satirical. But back to the OSE itself...
Mr. Rubio, as an official employee of OSE, works as an afore-mentioned acequia liaison for the office. He admitted that this state role is office viewed as adversarial by other parties speaking on behalf of acequias around the state. I hope to speak to both again, in the future, since we had more questions on our mind than answers at the end of 90 minutes.
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