http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects New Mexico news and politics Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:15:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-21184 Chimayóso Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:41:48 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-21184 Ironically the owner of a transit mix company in Española offered a few years ago to excavate all of the sediment from the reservoir in exchange for the material, which is to say he would have restored the reservoir's storage capacity for free. The BLM rejected this offer on the basis of their owning the sediment since it had washed off of the 'public lands' around the lake which the agency administers - land which in fact the government seized from the Santa Cruz de la Cañada Spanish land grant in direct violation of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Ironically the owner of a transit mix company in Española offered a few years ago to excavate all of the sediment from the reservoir in exchange for the material, which is to say he would have restored the reservoir's storage capacity for free. The BLM rejected this offer on the basis of their owning the sediment since it had washed off of the 'public lands' around the lake which the agency administers – land which in fact the government seized from the Santa Cruz de la Cañada Spanish land grant in direct violation of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-21183 JP Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:59:34 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-21183 All of this may prove to be moot, since Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (<a href="http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=510" rel="nofollow">http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php...</a>) may end up owning the rights to a third of the water that the Santa Cruz Dam can now hold if they win a judgement in State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Abbott U.S. District Court Cause No. CIV 7488 & 8650, which so far they've received $3 million dollars from the government to prepare. All of this may prove to be moot, since Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php…) may end up owning the rights to a third of the water that the Santa Cruz Dam can now hold if they win a judgement in State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Abbott U.S. District Court Cause No. CIV 7488 & 8650, which so far they've received $3 million dollars from the government to prepare.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-21185 Alberto Gonzales Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:57:04 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-21185 Also the land which the dam and most of the lake are located on was donated to the Santa Cruz Irrigation District for the purpose of constructing the dam by a parciente (member) of the Acequia Potrero in Chimayó, whose family had owned and been farming that piece of property since before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. Additionally, during the worst of the drought years of the '50's and 90's the BLM (Taos Field Office) refused to release water the residents of the area desperately needed (and had legal title to) because the agency felt it had a legal right to retain most of the water in the reservoir for 'recreational purposes' and because they knew the members of the communities along the river didn't begin to have the financial resources it would take to defend their water rights in court. Also the land which the dam and most of the lake are located on was donated to the Santa Cruz Irrigation District for the purpose of constructing the dam by a parciente (member) of the Acequia Potrero in Chimayó, whose family had owned and been farming that piece of property since before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. Additionally, during the worst of the drought years of the '50's and 90's the BLM (Taos Field Office) refused to release water the residents of the area desperately needed (and had legal title to) because the agency felt it had a legal right to retain most of the water in the reservoir for 'recreational purposes' and because they knew the members of the communities along the river didn't begin to have the financial resources it would take to defend their water rights in court.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-17866 Chimayóso Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:41:48 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-17866 Ironically the owner of a transit mix company in Española offered a few years ago to excavate all of the sediment from the reservoir in exchange for the material, which is to say he would have restored the reservoir's storage capacity for free. The BLM rejected this offer on the basis of their owning the sediment since it had washed off of the 'public lands' around the lake which the agency administers - land which in fact the government seized from the Santa Cruz de la Cañada Spanish land grant in direct violation of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Ironically the owner of a transit mix company in Española offered a few years ago to excavate all of the sediment from the reservoir in exchange for the material, which is to say he would have restored the reservoir's storage capacity for free. The BLM rejected this offer on the basis of their owning the sediment since it had washed off of the 'public lands' around the lake which the agency administers – land which in fact the government seized from the Santa Cruz de la Cañada Spanish land grant in direct violation of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-17865 JP Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:59:34 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-17865 All of this may prove to be moot, since Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (<a href="http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=510" rel="nofollow">http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php...</a>) may end up owning the rights to a third of the water that the Santa Cruz Dam can now hold if they win a judgement in State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Abbott U.S. District Court Cause No. CIV 7488 & 8650, which so far they've received $3 million dollars from the government to prepare. All of this may prove to be moot, since Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php…) may end up owning the rights to a third of the water that the Santa Cruz Dam can now hold if they win a judgement in State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Abbott U.S. District Court Cause No. CIV 7488 & 8650, which so far they've received $3 million dollars from the government to prepare.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-17867 Alberto Gonzales Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:57:04 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-17867 Also the land which the dam and most of the lake are located on was donated to the Santa Cruz Irrigation District for the purpose of constructing the dam by a parciente (member) of the Acequia Potrero in Chimayó, whose family had owned and been farming that piece of property since before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. Additionally, during the worst of the drought years of the '50's and 90's the BLM (Taos Field Office) refused to release water the residents of the area desperately needed (and had legal title to) because the agency felt it had a legal right to retain most of the water in the reservoir for 'recreational purposes' and because they knew the members of the communities along the river didn't begin to have the financial resources it would take to defend their water rights in court. Also the land which the dam and most of the lake are located on was donated to the Santa Cruz Irrigation District for the purpose of constructing the dam by a parciente (member) of the Acequia Potrero in Chimayó, whose family had owned and been farming that piece of property since before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. Additionally, during the worst of the drought years of the '50's and 90's the BLM (Taos Field Office) refused to release water the residents of the area desperately needed (and had legal title to) because the agency felt it had a legal right to retain most of the water in the reservoir for 'recreational purposes' and because they knew the members of the communities along the river didn't begin to have the financial resources it would take to defend their water rights in court.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-15880 Chimayóso Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:41:48 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-15880 Ironically the owner of a transit mix company in Española offered a few years ago to excavate all of the sediment from the reservoir in exchange for the material, which is to say he would have restored the reservoir's storage capacity for free. The BLM rejected this offer on the basis of their owning the sediment since it had washed off of the 'public lands' around the lake which the agency administers - land which in fact the government seized from the Santa Cruz de la Cañada Spanish land grant in direct violation of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Ironically the owner of a transit mix company in Española offered a few years ago to excavate all of the sediment from the reservoir in exchange for the material, which is to say he would have restored the reservoir's storage capacity for free. The BLM rejected this offer on the basis of their owning the sediment since it had washed off of the 'public lands' around the lake which the agency administers – land which in fact the government seized from the Santa Cruz de la Cañada Spanish land grant in direct violation of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-15878 JackPork Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:59:34 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-15878 All of this may prove to be moot, since Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (<a href="http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=510" rel="nofollow">http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php...</a>) may end up owning the rights to a third of the water that the Santa Cruz Dam can now hold if they win a judgement in State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Abbott U.S. District Court Cause No. CIV 7488 & 8650, which so far they've received $3 million dollars from the government to prepare. All of this may prove to be moot, since Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php…) may end up owning the rights to a third of the water that the Santa Cruz Dam can now hold if they win a judgement in State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Abbott U.S. District Court Cause No. CIV 7488 & 8650, which so far they've received $3 million dollars from the government to prepare.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-15879 Alberto Gonzales Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:57:04 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-15879 Also the land which the dam and most of the lake are located on was donated to the Santa Cruz Irrigation District for the purpose of constructing the dam by a parciente (member) of the Acequia Potrero in Chimayó, whose family had owned and been farming that piece of property since before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. Additionally, during the worst of the drought years of the '50's and 90's the BLM (Taos Field Office) refused to release water the residents of the area desperately needed (and had legal title to) because the agency felt it had a legal right to retain most of the water in the reservoir for 'recreational purposes' and because they knew the members of the communities along the river didn't begin to have the financial resources it would take to defend their water rights in court. Also the land which the dam and most of the lake are located on was donated to the Santa Cruz Irrigation District for the purpose of constructing the dam by a parciente (member) of the Acequia Potrero in Chimayó, whose family had owned and been farming that piece of property since before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. Additionally, during the worst of the drought years of the '50's and 90's the BLM (Taos Field Office) refused to release water the residents of the area desperately needed (and had legal title to) because the agency felt it had a legal right to retain most of the water in the reservoir for 'recreational purposes' and because they knew the members of the communities along the river didn't begin to have the financial resources it would take to defend their water rights in court.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/45650/hundreds-show-up-to-protest-bill-that-pulls-money-from-brick-and-mortar-projects#comment-15781 Antonia Vigil Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:46:00 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=45650#comment-15781 The construction of the Santa Cruz dam was financed by landowners in the Santa Cruz valley through the Santa Cruz Irrigation District, which was an entity they'd created for that specific purpose. However the effects of the great depression and a prolonged drought forced the Santa Cruz Irrigation District into receivership in 1933, which resulted in the Roosevelt administration's Reconstruction Finance Corporation taking over the dam and its becoming the property of the Federal Government (under the administration of the US Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation and later the Bureau of Land Management). <br>Also, the people who use the water that's impounded by the dam do in fact pay for it, on the basis of water rights which were established in 1695. The Capital Project and Federal matching funds were not for the purpose of building a new dam but to help restore some of the original storage capacity of the reservoir and its ability to provide a reliable supply of water for irrigation and domestic uses. <br>Apart from any discussion of the obligations the Federal and state governments have with regard to ensuring the general welfare of those they govern and the use of funds obtained through taxation for that purpose, the circumstances surrounding the deterioration of the efficacy of the Santa Cruz dam is not unlike a situation in which a group of citizens need to get a state or federal highway bridge they depend upon repaired before it collapses. The construction of the Santa Cruz dam was financed by landowners in the Santa Cruz valley through the Santa Cruz Irrigation District, which was an entity they'd created for that specific purpose. However the effects of the great depression and a prolonged drought forced the Santa Cruz Irrigation District into receivership in 1933, which resulted in the Roosevelt administration's Reconstruction Finance Corporation taking over the dam and its becoming the property of the Federal Government (under the administration of the US Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation and later the Bureau of Land Management).
Also, the people who use the water that's impounded by the dam do in fact pay for it, on the basis of water rights which were established in 1695. The Capital Project and Federal matching funds were not for the purpose of building a new dam but to help restore some of the original storage capacity of the reservoir and its ability to provide a reliable supply of water for irrigation and domestic uses.
Apart from any discussion of the obligations the Federal and state governments have with regard to ensuring the general welfare of those they govern and the use of funds obtained through taxation for that purpose, the circumstances surrounding the deterioration of the efficacy of the Santa Cruz dam is not unlike a situation in which a group of citizens need to get a state or federal highway bridge they depend upon repaired before it collapses.

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