U.S. Water News Online
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- The state engineer and disgruntled farmers have reached an agreement in a dispute over a state requirement for meters on water wells.
State Engineer John D'Antonio last year began requiring meters to be installed as part of an attempt to gauge how much groundwater was being used in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Eventually, meters will be used to enforce water rights.
The Elephant Butte Irrigation District and Salopek 6U Farms asked a judge to block the requirement, and state District Judge Jerald A. Valentine was to hear their arguments this week.
However, attorneys for both sides announced they had reached an agreement after two days of negotiations.
Under the settlement, the state will require meters on wells, but farmers who are working to comply won't have their wells shut off in the meantime.
Frank Reckard, attorney for the state engineer, said he was satisfied with the settlement.
"The state engineer feels this is perfectly consistent with his need to acquire information to administer water," he said.
Lee Peters, attorney for the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, said the district agrees with the need for meters, but objected to how D'Antonio issued the requirement.
Farmers were upset that D'Antonio threatened to shut down any well without a meter instead of spelling out steps for enforcing the measure. Peters said the district also disagreed with D'Antonio issuing the order without any formal process that includes public comment.
"We weren't against metering," he said. "We were against the way it was being done and the fact someone would be prohibited from using a well just because they didn't have a meter. That assumes someone was diverting (water) illegally when they weren't."
Peters and Reckard said details of the settlement need to be worked out.
Last July, Calvin Chavez, manager for the state engineer's lower Rio Grande Basin, said most of the 400 well owners without meters were residents who had installed new wells.
Attorney James Speer, who represents El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 in Texas, objected to the closed-door negotiations between the state engineer and the Elephant Butte district.
"What I'm unhappy about is we don't know what's really going on between the state engineer and EBID," he said. "The metering order is the tip of the iceberg."
Speer said he's concerned about "the iceberg beneath the surface" -- D'Antonio's proposed cap on allotted water.
D'Antonio is considering a 4-acre-foot cap on how much water farmers can use during dry years.
Peters said the settlement has not been released because it's not final -- not because it contains hidden issues.
"We didn't negotiate anything more than issues regarding the metering order," he said.
Valentine asked that the final settlement be filed in court on Jan. 18. Other groups will have until Feb. 5 to file any objections. Valentine will consider those Feb. 14.
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