2001 Resolutions
RESOLUTIONS 2001
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The New Mexico Acequia Association will pursue strategies to assert, recognize, and defend rights protected under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and will play a leading role in initiating research that informs our strategies for defending our Treaty rights.
Public Welfare
The New Mexico Acequia Association urges acequias to develop public welfare statements for their respective regional water plans and other public planning processes and endorses the Mora County Comprehensive Plan public welfare statement as a model.
Public funding for Acequias
The New Mexico Acequia Association will develop strategies to secure public funding mechanisms to support the maintenance, management and operations of acequias at the local and regional levels.
Acequia Liability
The New Mexico Acequia Association will ensure that acequias are educated about their immunity from tort liability and seek clarifications in state law on whether acequias have risk management coverage.
Cooperation with MDWCAs
The New Mexico Acequia Association will support collaboration between acequias and local water associations such as MDWCAs and Water and Sanitation Districts in protecting rural water quality and water supplies while meeting local needs for water rights in a way that protects acequias.
Water Banking
The New Mexico Acequia Association will seek clarification in state law about the water banking powers of acequias defined as the ability to temporarily reallocate water within the acequia to protect water rights from loss for non-use.
Public Funding for Water Rights
The New Mexico Acequia Association believes that public funding should not contribute to the decline of acequias by contributing to water transfers that are detrimental to acequias and supports efforts to enact policies that protect the interests of acequia communities.
Local Farming and Ranching
The New Mexico Acequia Association supports the creation of farmers’ markets and other local infrastructure to grow and consume food within the same region and to add value to local products for marketing within and beyond the local area.
Direct Notice of Water Transfers
The New Mexico Acequia Association supports policies that require direct notice in person or by mail to the commissioners of an acequia if there is a proposal to make an application for a water transfer that may be detrimental to the acequia or impair acequia-based water rights.
Acequia Powers – Transfers
The New Mexico Acequia Association supports policies that recognize the power of an acequia to regulate water transfers and resolves to support acequias in exercising this power through community education. An acequia commission has a duty and obligation to ensure that the acequia they represent is protected.
Respect Acequia Governance
The New Mexico Acequia Association calls on local governments to respect acequias as local governments and to enact policies of relating to acequias on a government-to-government basis.
Support
The New Mexico Acequia Association commends
Support Treaty Research
The New Mexico Acequia Association support the ongoing efforts of various land grant leaders in addressing the history of injustice in the recognition of land grant claims and supports the initiative behind the General Accounting Office study and recommends that any such research include a study of Treaty protections of water rights including customs of use and diversion.
Condemnation of Water Rights
The New Mexico Acequia Association believes that other political subdivisions should not acquire acequia water rights through condemnation and supports policies that limit the condemnation powers of municipalities and counties.
Full Disclosure
The New Mexico Acequia Association supports policies requiring full disclosure of water rights information, acequia easements, and responsibility to acequia in real estate transactions.
Ditch Impairment and Easements
The New Mexico Acequia Association supports stronger protection of acequia easements and stronger enforcement of ditch impairment statutes and supports the role of the District Attorney in providing legal representation of acequias in cases of ditch impairment or violation of easements.
Role of Local Magistrate Judges
The New Mexico Acequia Association seeks to educate and inform magistrate judges in communities in which there are acequias about the legal powers of acequia commissioners and mayordomos and the important role of magistrate judges in recognizing the authority of acequias as local governments.
Otowi Gage
The New Mexico Acequia Association supports the long-standing policy of the State Engineer in not allowing the transfer of water rights from north of Otowi gage to south of the gage and supports HJM 6 (Rodella) of the 2001 Legislative Session which states that the legislature endorses the OSE policy and also that it is contrary to the Public Welfare of the State of New Mexico to move the point of diversion or place of use of a water right from north to south of Otowi gage.
Acequias as Water Stakeholders
The New Mexico Acequia Association calls on state agencies to make a greater effort to inform acequias about water policy issues that may affect their water rights and seeks to ensure that acequias are represented in any task force or study group established by state government, including executive agencies and the legislature, intended to study water policy issues and develop policy recommendations.
SiPaPu Expansion
The New Mexico Acequia Association recommends that the SiPaPu ski area operating permit be granted only for original area and not include new expansion.
Easements on
The New Mexico Acequia Association asserts that where a portion of an acequia is on federal land, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and federal law recognize and protect the easement (the right-of-way) possessed by the acequia across federal land and urges federal agencies to recognize these easement rights as valid property rights and should respect the ability of the acequia to operate and perform necessary maintenance on the acequia without a permit.