SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court Monday permanently halted an attempt by the Fifth Judicial District Court to stop an administrative hearing before the State Engineer from going forward.
The hearing is required in order for the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission to transfer water rights acquired by it to state-operated well fields near Carlsbad and Artesia. The state pumps water from the well fields for the purposes of compliance with the Pecos River Compact, an interstate agreement between New Mexico and Texas apportioning the water between the two states, and to meet irrigation demands in the state’s Lower Pecos Basin pursuant a 2003 settlement between the State, the United States Bureau of Reclamation, the Carlsbad Irrigation District and the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
