Since there are all kinds of administrative hearings run by various government agencies, I should begin by saying that the hearing on the protest of the application to transfer water rights to Caballo to use at Copper Flat Mine is going to be conducted like a court trial. [And, remember that I am a biased reporter.]
It will follow New Mexico courtroom rules and regulations. A Hearing Examiner, the equivalent in this venue of a judge in the courtroom, will preside. The participants will be represented by attorneys. The aim of the hearing is for the Hearing Examiner to determine the facts of the case and the laws that are to be applied. At the end, the Hearing Examiner will recommend to the State Engineer how he should act on the application.
Although the hearing begins Monday, the litigation has been going on for several years. The various sides have already exchanged information, questioned each other on what evidence they have, asked the Hearing Examiner to limit another side’s argument or evidence. The participants have submitted motions to the Hearing Examiner, argued them, and gotten rulings on their motions. Of course, they have been gathering expert and lay witnesses since it is through these witnesses that factual evidence is presented to the Hearing Examiner.
So, here are the participants in what seems a very complicated case. First, the Applicants are Tulla Resources (the Australian investment firm which owns Themac which owns New Mexico Copper Corporation which owns Copper Flat Mine) and Santa Teresa Capital, the development company which owns the water rights being leased by Tulla. I will call them collectively “the mine.” They will present first in the hearing.
Following the mine, Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID), representing the irrigators in the Rio Grande valley south of Caballo, will present its case against the transfer. Next, Santa Teresa Land – which presently leases and uses the rights the mine wants transferred – along with two other land development companies just north of El Paso (Paseo del Norte and Westpark) will protest the transfer. I will refer to them as ST Land. A third case will then be made by the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA), which operates in the Sunland Park area. Turner Ranch and PAWA attorneys will combine their witnesses and evidence next in the hearing. PAWA shares an attorney with the Hillsboro Pitchfork Ranch, GRIP (Gila River Information Project) and the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club. Following PAWA comes the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, the agency responsible for the State’s water agreements with other States and thus responsible for the Rio Grande waters (the ISC). The final party is the Water Rights Division (WRD) of the Office of the State Engineer, responsible for administering water rights in the State.
As you see, there are many parties, each with its own interests and points of view. To complicate matters, the Hearing Examiner has reversed her earlier decision to bar the subject of the Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado litigation presently before the Supreme Court of the United States. Even though that case is not finalized, the recently issued decree by the Water Master in that case settling the dispute will be recognized in this Hearing as a possible issue.
The potential permanent job creation and local tax revenue do not out weigh the need to conserve water for residential and agricultural uses over mineral extraction.