WildEarth Guardians

A Force for Nature

Select Page
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Significant loss for greater water accountability on the Rio Grande

WildEarth Guardians v. D’Antonio
Status
Pending,
Case No.
D-101-CV-2020-02612
Date Filed
December 8, 2020
State, Venue
New Mexico, New Mexico State District Court, Santa Fe District
Lawyers
Samantha Ruscavage-Barz
Program
Rivers
In late March of 2016, Guardians filed a mandamus petition with the state district court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, asking the court to force State Engineer Tom Blaine to fulfill his statutory responsibility to ensure responsible water use by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (“District”) in central New Mexico. Over the past 80 years, the District has refused to prove that it has actually used and needs the large quantity of water it claimed when it first filed its permit application in 1925. The open-ended permit issued to the District in 1925 opened the door for the District to divert the entire flow of the river without showing that the amount of water is necessary to irrigate land within the District. The District has intentionally avoided proving its use to the State in hopes of significantly expanding its use over time. The petition seeks to force the State Engineer to require this proof on the part of the District. Guardians also simultaneously filed two applications with the State Engineer to claim any water the District has not put to beneficial use for storage in Abiquiu Reservoir and to sustain environmental flows in the Rio Grande. The failure by the State to monitor and enforce the District’s water use has resulted in years of excessive use that, if limited, could ensure flows in the Rio Grande to support its fish, wildlife, and plants, as well as communities downstream.  

The Middle Rio Grande hosts a rich, but fragile ecosystem that is home to numerous threatened and endangered species. The cottonwood-willow forests that are found in the valley are habitat for species including the Southwestern willow flycatcher and yellow billed cuckoo, both of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The health of these forests and the species that inhabit them, however, requires the dynamic and sustained flows of the Rio Grande, which have been gravely disrupted by these unsustainable diversions. Both courts determined that a mandamus petition to force the State Engineer to act was not the proper procedure. So Guardians petitioned the State Engineer to hold a hearing regarding whether he can continue to delay holding the district accountable for its water use. In November of 2020, the State Engineer issued a decision affirming his authority to continue allowing the District to delay providing information regarding how much water the District is actually putting to beneficial use. Guardians sued the State Engineer over this decision.

All Cases