"The Animas La Plata Project (ALP), a project essential to legally and physically secure New Mexico water supplies, is being discussed nationally and in Congress. The project is integral to the resolution of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988. Without this project, our New Mexico water is threatened. . . . Perhaps those opposed to water development do not recognize the ALP is more than a project fulfilling the promise made to the Ute Tribes in 1868 and again in 1988. They may not understand there are 'tens of thousands' of New Mexicans with legitimate wet water needs. . . . San Juan County is the major population and shopping center for the entire Four Corners region. Growth is a reality, as are the associated resource needs. San Juan Basin residents are rapidly approaching full use of developed water supplies. Without an additional supply we could run 'short' by 2011 or even sooner. " - Statement by L. Randy Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the San Juan Water Commission

Under original ALP, New Mexico would receive 30,800 acre feet of water per year divided as follows: Aztec would receive 3000 afy; Bloomfield would receive 3000 afy; Farmington would receive 10,000 afy; San Juan Rural Waters Users would receive 4,800 afy; and there would be a general reserve of 10,000 afy.

Under ALP Lite, the San Juan Water Commission (representing all of the above groups) would get 10,400 afy, and New Mexican non-Indian irrigators would receive 780 afy.

Of all the ALP proponent groups, New Mexico represents the largest affected population, with over 110,000 individuals in the San Juan basin where the Animas and La Plata rivers flow into the San Juan. See map.

In 1986, the cities of Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield, the county of San Juan, and the San Juan Rural Waters Users Association entered into an agreement to form the San Juan Water Commission (SJWC); an entity with taxation power whose members would be appointed by its constituents. The SJWC was authorized by a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) to support the Animas-La Plata Project and administer the distribution of municipal and industrial (M&I) water in the region. Their stated purposes were not limited to ALP however and the Commission would continue to function even if ALP became deauthorized. These purposes, as described in the JPA, were to:

The SJWC has been a focus of controversy ever since its inception. Some opponents describe it as taxation without representation because the members of the commission are appointed, not elected. Proponents of the SJWC argue that the lifetime appointments made by elected councils of the involved parties are necessary due to the complexity of water issues and the need for knowledgeable, committed individuals to serve on the Commission.

In 1990 the SJWC was required by the courts to hold an election asking San Juan county voters:

The result of the election was 8019 voting for and 5105 voting against and so the SJWC proceeded to support ALP.

The SJWC has also been challenged on the grounds that they hold private conferences in violation of the state open meetings act. The assistant Attorney General for New Mexico wrote the Commission regarding four violations his office could verify between 1995 and 1996, demanding that they make some form of amends for each of these actions. More recently, the Commission has been accused of holding a private vote over reimbursement of one of the commissioners, Jim Dunlap. While the SJWC has proceeded to attempt corrections of the alleged violations, Kirkpatrick maintains that the Commission has not admitted they made any mistakes. He claims the SJWC is acting solely to minimize costs to taxpayers from disputing the accusations.

Finally, critics contend that the Commission spends a majority of its budget on public relations and lobbying in Washington and very little of its resources on managing local water issues. Kirkpatrick agrees that he spends more time in Washington, D.C. than New Mexico, and that lawyers and lobbyists hired by the SJWC receive approximately $262,000 per year (more than half of the Commission's total spending each year), but he argues this is necessary to assure the completion of ALP, a project that the Commission holds vital to the area's water interests.

Aztec-Bloomfield-Farmington M&I Storage

There is some disagreement over when water in the San Juan River basin will actually run out. Presently there is a surplus of unused water flowing down the river but as early as 2011 or as late as 2040 depending on the extent of conservation efforts, the SJWC predicts that the system will begin to experience serious water shortages. These shortages may result in eradication of farms, as the three cities in the area take water away from existing irrigation uses for M&I use. The non-Indian population in the basin is approximately 110,000 and growing quickly in the three urban centers.

The SJWC is also concerned about low-flow, drought years in which the cities of Aztec and Bloomfield would be especially vulnerable to reduced water flow. Since there is practically no groundwater available for wells, and since the Navajo's unquantified claims to the San Juan preclude massive development or reliance on that river, the citizens along the Animas and La Plata rivers in New Mexico depend entirely on the bounty of those waters for their sustenance. Without storage, the SJWC believes these citizens could be adversely affected by any major changes in the flows of the river. Ridges Basin Reservoir under ALP Lite will hold 10,400 acre feet per year of M&I water and 780 acre feet per year of agricultural water for New Mexico users.

The SJWC, which has a capped contribution of $8.6 million to ALP Lite should it be constructed, holds that they would have to spend either $81 million for a pipeline between Farmington and Aztec or $240 million for reservoir projects in New Mexico to achieve the same security against drought and future water shortages as would be provided by ALP Lite.

Retirement of Indian Claims

In the absence of interstate water marketing, the primary way which New Mexicans can retain more water for themselves from upstream is by paying senior water rights holders to retire their claims. Because cities have flexible water appropriations that can expand with population, retirement of more senior claims on the river makes more water available for those cities.

The Utes hold the most senior paper-water claims on the Animas and La Plata rivers. The tribes are willing to trade these paper rights to any future claims for ALP Lite. Therefore, if ALP Lite is built, New Mexico will benefit from the retirement of a large portion of senior claims upriver. New Mexico will also be more free to consider their own water development plans with the tribes' claims satisfied.

Position on the Legacy Fund Proposal

Kirkpatrick suggested that the SJWC would compete to buy lands if the Legacy Fund proposal was accepted by the tribes as settlement of their claims. If the tribes received $115 million to buy land and water rights, the SJWC could potentially acquire $240 million through a bond issue to outbid the Utes and retire rights that otherwise might have been added to the Utes' claims.

New Mexico transferred a large portion of its unappropriated water rights to the Federal government in connection with the first discussions of an Animas-La Plata water project in 1956. With the rights held by the government, local interests can not attempt to develop big water projects without dealing with NEPA, the ESA and the Clean Water Act. The SJWC has lobbied effectively to include in S. 1771 a provision to transfer all water rights back to New Mexico. By regaining these rights, New Mexico can begin to plan for its own development projects to take advantage of freed up flows in the river. Legally, state actions do not have to take into account the same federal regulations as federal actions. In other words, New Mexico could outmaneuver the Navajo in developing water projects because Navajo projects are federal projects and must therefore get approval from NEPA, the ESA, the Clean Water Act and others before proceeding. The Navajo have attempted to invalidate the power of this provision by including an amendment that requires New Mexico to conform to federal environmental restrictions. The SJWC might still be able to get projects past because of a loophole in Section 9 of the ESA which shifts the burden of proof of harm to endangered species from the project proponents to the federal government for non-federal actions.