U.S. Water News Online
TAOS PUEBLO, N.M. -- A settlement that defines Taos Pueblo's water rights has been signed, culminating years of negotiations over a lawsuit filed in 1969.
The lawsuit centered around the pueblo's right to water in the Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Hondo and involved not only the pueblo, but also non-Indian water rights owners in the Taos Valley and state and local governments.
The state engineer's office said the agreement defines Taos Pueblo's aboriginal water rights while compromising on how the pueblo will exercise those rights in a way that protects non-Indian users and future water supplies.
The agreement, signed by Taos Pueblo leaders, state officials, acequia owners and other Taos Valley water users, will cost an estimated $133 million, most of which is expected to come from the U.S. government.
New Mexico's congressional delegation praised the settlement efforts in the case, known as New Mexico vs. Abeyta. However, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., warned that "in this budget climate, all parties involved must have reasonable expectations."
Negotiations toward a settlement began in 1989 when non-Indian acequia owners approached the Taos Pueblo Tribal Council about the possibility of a compromise.
Nelson Cordova, water rights coordinator for the pueblo, said the talks were not always peaceful.
"We at times lost our cool," he said. "We probably said things we shouldn't have. We said things we retracted. But in the end, I think the humanity we exhibited allowed us to come to a good settlement."
Gov. Bill Richardson has promised state funding for the settlement -- despite vetoing $75 million earlier this year for that settlement and another, called the Aamodt lawsuit, involving a 40-year-old water rights dispute.
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