NOTICE is hereby given that on April 2, 2021, the City of Rio Rancho, c/o Jim Chiasson, City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle, Suite 200, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, filed Application No. RG-26259 with the STATE ENGINEER to Change Location of Well within the Middle Rio Grande Basin of the State of New Mexico.

Sandoval County is the County affected by the diversion and in which the water has been or will be put to beneficial use. This notice is ordered to be published in the Rio Rancho Observer and Albuquerque Journal.

The applicants propose to replace existing well RG-26259-POD2 with the drilling and use of replacement well RG-26259-POD3, located at Easting = 337,717.33 and Northing = 3,910,379.89, approximately 130 ft. from said existing well RG-26259-POD2 located at Easting = 337,735.37 and Northing = 3,910,343.82, all coordinates in meters, UTM, Zone 13N, to be drilled to an increased depth of 2,100 ft. deep from the original depth of 1,540 ft., with the original casing size of 18 5/8′ inches, for a requested diversion that shall not exceed 2,419 acre-feet per annum for municipal purposes, with a place of use described as the City of Rio Rancho service area. The wells are on land owned by the City of Rio Rancho and are located approximately 3.30 miles west of the intersection of King Blvd. NE and Serene Meadows Dr. NE in the City of Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, New Mexico.

To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District 1 Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment at 505-383-4000 and 5550 San Antonio Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

Any person, firm or corporation or other entity asserting standing to file objections or protests shall do so in writing (objection must be legible, signed, and include the writer’s complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address). If the protest does not include the complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address, it may be deemed invalid and not accepted for filing unless Protestant provides with the protest an affidavit stating that it does not have one of the above-listed elements/requirements (phone number, mailing address, or email address). The objection to the approval of the application must be based on: (1) Impairment; if impairment, you must specifically identify your water rights; and/or (2) Public Welfare/Conservation of Water; if public welfare or conservation of water within the state of New Mexico, you shall be required to provide evidence showing how you will be substantially and specifically affected. The written protest must be filed, in triplicate, with the State Engineer, 5550 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109-4127, on or before July 23, 2021. Facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted as a valid protest if the hard copy is hand-delivered or mailed and postmarked within 24-hours of the facsimile. Mailing postmark will be used to validate the 24-hour period. Protests can be faxed to the Office of the State Engineer, 505-383-4030. If no valid protest or objection is filed, the State Engineer will evaluate the application in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 72 NMSA 1978.

Observer: June 6, 13, 20, 2021