Lawmakers Provide Window On 2021 Legislative Session
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For more than 50 years the League of Women Voters (LWV), often in conjunction with the American Association of University Women (AAUW), has presented the Legislative Preview prior to the opening session of the New Mexico Legislature.
This year the two organizations welcomed the three lawmakers who represent Los Alamos County, Rep. Christine Chandler, Sen. Leo Jaramillo and Sen. Roberto (Bobby) Gonzales. Jaramillo’s district includes the town site and Gonzales represents White Rock as part of his district.
Judy Prono moderated the event presented Thursday via Zoom.
Due to the pandemic, the plan for the House is to be held nearly all virtual, Chandler said. Speaker of the House Brian Egolf and some staff will be present at the Roundhouse and representatives may attend in person, but the session is closed to the public.
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The trial of Intrepid Potash’s rights on the Pecos River in southeast New Mexico concluded as the company argued it had maintained its water rights for decades despite not using the water, while opponents contended the rights were abandoned and Intrepid had no claim to the river.
The case centered around Intrepid’s claim that it had water rights to about 19,000 acre feet of Pecos River water for consumption and that state regulators had upheld Intrepid’s rights even after it ceased using the water to refine potash upon the closure of the Loving Refinery in the 1970s.
The company argued it had closed the refinery as water quantity and quality were inadequate for operations during drought conditions and shifted to using the Caprock Aquifer in Lea County, but that the Office of the State Engineer granted numerous time extensions to allow Intrepid to keep the rights without using the water.