ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A judge has rejected a company’s proposal to pump billions of gallons of water annually from an aquifer in west-central New Mexico to the middle Rio Grande Valley.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that state District Judge Matthew Reynolds on Thursday approved motions for summary judgment dismissing Augustin Plains Ranch LLC’s’s application for a permit to provide cities and businesses with water from the remnants of a lake under the San Augustin Plains.
Augustin Plains Ranch project manager Michel Jichlinksi called Reynolds’ ruling unfair and didn’t know whether it would be appealed or if another application for a permit will be filed with the State Engineer’s Office.
The proposal to pump from the San Agustin Plains has been criticized by environmental groups, ranchers, farmers and others in Catron and Socorro counties.
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