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Update on Aamodt and Road Easements by Rep. Carl Trujillo

Dear Neighbors,

Hope all is well! I wanted to update you on some important issues that affect many residents in the Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin (NPT Basin). This is the area of about nine thousand constituents and is the area between the Tano Road overpass and the Pojoaque Valley. As you are aware, this area is subject to the Aamodt Litigation Act and Settlement Agreement. These areas include the communities of west Tano Road, Bishop Lodge, Tesuque, Rio en Medio, Chupadero, Pojoaque, Nambe, El Rancho, Jacona, Jaconita, and Cuyamungue. The details of this settlement and related issues are complicated, here I intend to briefly highlight three current concerns.

1.) The rules promulgated by the New Mexico State Engineers Office were finalized on September 12, 2017. These rules will apply in conjunction with the Settlement Agreement, combined to be the Active Water Resource Management for the NPT Basin. In more simplistic wording, this will be the law as to how water is administered in the NPT Basin. You can link to the Rules by clicking here Final Rules.

2.) The New Mexico State Engineer signed order number 189: the Metering Requirements for the NPT Basin. This order became effective October 3rd, 2017 and requires individuals owning wells in the NPT Basin to install a meter on their well at their own cost by October 2nd, 2018. Those residents, who have shared wells, must install a meter on each separate home. The order states to visit the State Engineers website to find a list of acceptable meters for installation and rules for maintaining and reporting water usage. It also lists potential penalties and compliance requirements. You can link to the Metering Order by clicking here Metering Order.

3.) Road Right-of-Ways affecting ability to acquire Title Insurance: I have worked hard for a solution through trying to communicate with all parties involved. Please note: I’m not part of any negotiations nor have I been allowed to participate in these negotiations. The Department of Interior, Santa Fe County, and the Pueblos of Pojoaque, Nambe, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque have signed confidentiality agreements and continue to negotiate on a solution to the Road Rights-of-Ways. The Pueblos have exerted that many of the Santa Fe County roads are in trespass. The best way to understand if you are affected by this issue is to inspect your survey plat or warranty deed. If these documents state your property is within any of these four Pueblo Land Grants, you are potentially affected by this Right-of Way issue. This dynamic was created when the Federal Government issued patents to fee simple land within Pueblo Land Grants in the 1920’s. Fee simple is defined as complete ownership of land and required to pay property tax to the local taxing authority. In this case, the taxing authority is Santa Fe County. The communities most affected by this issue are the communities of El Rancho, Jacona, Jaconita, Cuyamungue, Pojoaque, and Nambe.

To this point, Santa Fe County and I have insisted that the trespass issues must be resolved before any funding required by the Settlement Agreement is completed. The deadline for these Rights-of Way to be resolved to meet the deadline of the Settlement Agreement is December 1st, 2017. The Department of Interior has met with and called me on several occasions to explain that the parties are close but has not released any details to me other than the term of Right-of-Way agreements. Just this past Monday, Commissioner Mikkelson from the Bureau of Reclamation and the staff of the Department of Interior Native American Water Rights Settlement Division informed me that all Road Rights-of Way agreements will be leases of 99 years with an automatic 99 year lease option for all four Pueblos with Santa Fe County. I feel it is my obligation to share all the information I have thus far. Visit our website at carl.trujillo.com

Sincerely,
Carl Trujillo
State Representative 46

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