RECAP of the JUNE 23rd MEETING

At the June 23rd meeting of the Los Lunas Village Council, Niagara’s request for approval to take 700 acre-feet/year of water from the aquifer under Valencia County was item #1 on the agenda. Shenanigans ensued:

1. Between 50 – 75 people showed up in person to oppose Niagara’s plan to take Our Water. 
2. The Mayor stated that the “Public Forum,” before the numbered agenda items, was ONLY for comments about items that were NOT on the agenda. So we didn’t speak then.
3. After the “Public Forum,” the Council started to consider Item #1 on the Agenda – Niagara’s request for more water. The Village lawyer stated they needed more time to get a report from the village “water rights experts.” The Councilors voted to table Item #1 until Thursday, July 14th.
4. Niagara’s request was no longer on the agenda. We could not give public comment about an item that was not on the agenda: The Public Forum (now closed) was for that purpose.
5. A well-respected attorney in the audience told the Mayor and Councilors that they really needed to let the assembled people speak. The Mayor relented and allowed us to make our comments – ALL in opposition to Niagara’s taking of our water.

Got that? The Village Council put us in a Catch-22 situation and tried to prevent dozens of people from speaking up against Niagara’s request. We are very thankful for the lawyer who stepped up and advocated for us.

You can watch the recorded meeting here: June 23rd WebEx recording of Village Council 

WHAT HAPPENED ON JULY 14th?

July 14th was a big day for us – but not because of the Niagara request. 

Instead, in addition to fighting Niagara’s request, we are also fighting the Valencia County Commission on another water-protection issue: Oil & Gas drilling (and fracking).

• Valencia Water Watchers and over 200 community members showed up at a special Public Hearing about the County Commission’s plan to adopt an “NROZ” ordinance. 
• This ordinance would allow oil & gas drilling and fracking to come into Valencia county (threatening to contaminate the entire Albuquerque Basin aquifer, cause earthquakes, and endanger public health). 
• This Public Hearing lasted 7½ hours. 
• After listening to over 5 hours of testimony from community members and scientific experts strongly opposing the NROZ ordinance – followed by an hour-long dog-and-pony show orchestrated by the wealthy oil magnate who “helped” to write the NROZ ordinance – the Commission voted 3–2 to adopt the ordinance, with some last-minute amendments. 

We VWW members and our allies continue to fight this terrible NROZ decision!

BACK TO NIAGARA – WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE?

July 14th: We dodged a bullet regarding Niagara. 

• The Los Lunas Village Council met on the 14th, but they still did not have the Village Water Rights Experts report. Once again they tabled consideration of the Niagara request – to July 28th.

July 28th: For now, consideration of Niagara’s request is on the Village Council’s July 28th agenda. 

• But, as of July 25th, they still do not have the Water Rights Experts report. 
  If they do not receive the report in time, we believe they will table the Niagara request again. But ... We don't know for certain what they will do.
• Technically, they could receive the report on the morning of July 28th and vote to approve Niagara’s request at the 6pm meeting that same day. 
• Would they do that? We just don’t know – and they are being very evasive when we ask questions about how the meeting will be conducted. 
• They have given no commitment to allowing public comment about Niagara’s request if stays on the agenda. 

Kind of amazing how our local government operates...

SO NOW WHAT?

We are asking local people to show up at the Village Council meeting on July 28th at 6pm. 

We are asking those people to be prepared to speak – and also to bring their comments opposing Niagara’s request in written form (to be hand-delivered to the City Clerk) in case the Mayor does not allow public comment. 

If the Niagara request is tabled again, people can still hand-deliver their written comments opposing the request.

We believe it is essential to show up and keep public pressure on the Village Council – and on Niagara – so they know that we have not gone away, even if they keep postponing at the last minute.

We have published a survey for people concerned about Niagara taking more than 1.25 BILLION gallons of water from our aquifer in the next 5½ years. 

We will email and deliver the results of this survey to the Mayor and Village Council before the July 28th meeting. 

If you would like to take the survey, click here: VWW Survey about Niagara

We welcome your input.

What else can you do to support our fight against Niagara taking our water?

1. Stay tuned – so much about this Niagara situation is up in the air!
2. We are exploring legal options to stop the expansion of Niagara.
3. We are working with other people who are looking at statewide initiatives to stop this kind of plundering of our water. 
4. You may have heard that the Rio Grande is dry. No water in the river. And no water recharging the aquifer. This is the bigger picture of the fight we’re up against.
5. We are keeping local residents informed through many different social media channels and news outlets. We are continuing to shine light on the in-the-dark dealings of the Village Council.
6. We are building a network of concerned community members.
7. We are looking into ways to fund our legal actions.  

That’s where we are today, July 25th, 2022. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.

If you are local, we ask that you show up at the Los Lunas meeting on Thursday. If you can’t be there, please keep us in your thoughts.