Texas, New Mexico settle Rio Grande water rights suit

Several years after the Supreme Court tossed an earlier settlement deal because the feds hadn't been looped in enough, a new agreement on part of the water rights issues, which includes federal sign-off, has been reached. The full deal was set to be reviewed by the special master judge in the case at the end of the month.

First of all, killing that original deal, on those grounds, was the correct legal action. The Rio Grande is governed by international treaty from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico; the federal government had to have a say on Texas-New Mexico dealings.

Part 1 of this deal:

Under the settlement, New Mexico could transfer water rights from the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) in Southern New Mexico in order to meet its obligations to Texas. The state agrees in the settlement that it would compensate EBID.

The case began when Texas alleged that groundwater pumping in Southern New Mexico deprives the state of water it is owed under the Rio Grande Compact. Colorado and the United States are also parties to the case. Local irrigation districts, cities and agricultural interest groups have been involved as friends of the court. The case has evolved from a dispute between Texas and New Mexico to encompass conflicts between groundwater and surface water users in the area.

The backstory:

The Rio Grande Compact, signed in 1938, lays out how much water Colorado, New Mexico and Texas can use from the Rio Grande. The compact only addresses surface water in the river. But hydrologists now understand that aquifers and rivers are connected. Wells drilled into adjoining aquifers can reduce the flow of water into the Rio Grande.

There's a history of hypocrisy on Texas' side. It and New Mexico have different state rules on connecting groundwater to riparian water, namely, that Texas generally considers the two entirely severable. Texas wants New Mexico to follow its law on this, but refuses to adopt anything similar on its side of the state line.

I tie that issue with Texas wingnuts claiming that killing the original deal was kind of like Agenda 21 in this piece.

The deal also notes that the Bureau of Reclamation will make changes to its operations manual for the Rio Grande Project. No details on what that will mean as of this time.

What's next?

Judge Smith, the special master, has called the parties to appear in court in Philadelphia on September 30 to explain the agreements. The details of the other parts of the settlement package have not been made public.

Finally, how much water will New Mexico have to deliver? Not much:

The settlement comes as Elephant Butte reservoir is at less than four percent capacity, nearly a record low, and the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque has run dry for over a month.

And, is this being factored in? Tex-ass' state government, and Trump 2.0, are both filled with climate change minimalists and deniers.

But, versus your lies and denialism, I have the facts that the U.S. Southwest will likely stay in drought for the rest of this century and maybe beyond. That's why a drying Rio Grande won't fix itself.