NM Supreme Court Hears Acequia Case

On Monday, July 23rd, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of John D’ Antonio vs. San Lorenzo Community Ditch.  DL Sanders, General Counsel for the Office of the State Engineer stated the position of the OSE is that once a final adjudication decree issued by the court, the sole jurisdiction for administering water rights in a stream system should lie with the State Engineer.  Peter White, representing San Lorenzo Community Ditch argued that the courts should retain jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the final adjudication decree.  White explained that the water master appointed by the State Engineer had imposed a rotation on the river based on acreage and not on priority dates.  In so doing, the State Engineer was not meeting the requirements of the court decree and that the court should retain jurisdiction to appoint a court water master to enforce the decree.   NMAA will announce the court’s decision when it has been issued.