Water Law
The firm has a comprehensive water law practice to serve the needs of tribal clients. This work includes establishing and protecting water rights through general stream adjudications, water resource planning and development, state administrative processes concerning the transfer of water rights, tribal water administration program development, and federal compliance processes.
The firm represents clients in multiple comprehensive water basin adjudications and is active in Indian water rights negotiations on a national scale. Historically, the firm successfully negotiated and lobbied for passage of the 1992 Jicarilla Apache Water Rights Settlement Act, 106 Stat. 2237, the only federal Indian water rights settlement enacted to date in New Mexico. The firm also successfully negotiated an agreement between Taos Pueblo and state and local parties to settle the Pueblo's water rights, and we are currently representing the Pueblo in securing congressional legislation to authorize and fund the settlement.
The firm is experienced in the litigation of tribal water rights claims in federal and state courts. We work closely with a range of expert consultants and tribal water rights teams to develop and adjudicate strong claims for water rights necessary to sustain tribal homelands. The firm has also pursued challenges to claims of competing non-Indian water users, and protested transfers of water rights by junior uses in state administrative forums to protect tribal water rights from impairment.
We advise tribal clients served by federal water projects. We interpret statutes and contracts requiring water storage and delivery as well as the allocation of costs for construction and for operation, maintenance and rehabilitation ("OM&R"). We have represented tribal interests in securing compliance by federal and state water project managers with OM&R for tribal irrigation needs. We are involved in negotiating quantities of water storage and releases necessary to meet tribal water uses. We also have negotiated numerous leases of water to enable a tribe to benefit from an income stream during times when the tribe's water rights are not needed on-reservation. We also represent tribes in due diligence for and acquisition of state-law based water rights in connection with land purchases.
The vigorous protection of our clients' water rights necessarily involves related environmental issues. The firm has substantial experience in all aspects of the Endangered Species Act, including consultation and recovery matters. We have actively participated in the formation of Endangered Species Act policy which affects our tribal clients' trust assets. We also have expertise in other federal environmental compliance processes that frequently arise in the development of water resources, including the National Environmental Policy Act.
We started representing the Pueblo in water rights litigation in the 1980s with the New Mexico State Engineer's filings of the Kerr-McGee general stream adjudication in 1982. Over the decades since then, our work on that case has varied, including seeking to prevent trespass to the Pueblo's superior water rights and defending those rights against a challenge based on prior litigation before the Indian Claims Commission. Currently, the case is in active litigation regarding the merits of the Pueblo's claims, and we are working extensively with Pueblo officials and experts to establish the full scope of the Pueblo's water rights.
We also successfully negotiated and lobbied for passage of the 1992 Jicarilla Apache Water Rights Settlement Act, the only federal Indian water rights settlement enacted to date in New Mexico, and continue to represent two other Pueblos in negotiations regarding settlement of their water rights claims. One of those matters, for the Taos Pueblo, already has been the subject of local agreement and currently is pending negotiation of federal legislation. We also represent the Pueblo of Laguna and other tribes in the purchase, lease, or change in place and purpose of use of water rights. We also have pursued challenges to claims of competing non-Indian water users in water rights adjudications, and protested transfers of water rights by junior uses in state administrative forums to protect tribal water rights from impairment.
