Enviros file friend of the court brief to support the Pueblo of Sandia

At the end of April, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and New Mexico Wild joined five Middle Rio Grande Pueblos and the Native American Rights Fund in filing a friend of the court brief in support of the Pueblo of Sandia.

Last year, the 13th Judicial District Court of Sandoval County sided with the Pueblo of Sandia in its lawsuit against the City of Rio Rancho and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer over the waters of the Rio Grande.

After the state engineer approved Rio Rancho’s application to transfer water rights to offset the impacts of groundwater pumping, the Pueblo protested, saying that by allowing the city to rely on “paper transfers for offsets” the state was putting the Pueblo’s water rights and its obligations to protect the Rio Grande and the bosque at risk.

In his 2025 decision, District Court Judge George Eichwald agreed with the Pueblo that the city had not proven its transfer applications wouldn’t harm the Pueblo.

Now, the case is before the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center and New Mexico Wild argue that the Court of Appeals should uphold the district court’s decision, which “rightly considered cultural values, the rights of ceremonial and traditional uses of non-consumptive water, support for wildlife, cultural heritage impacts to the entire state and acceptable water quality needed to support those uses when determining that Rio Rancho’s proposed use would be detrimental to the public welfare.”

The two nonprofits support the Pueblo’s “time-immemorial instream water rights,” and say that if the Court of Appeals affirms the district court decision, the case would “establish important precedent that cultural values, instream flow, riparian watersheds, ecosystems and water quality are public values which need to be considered by the Office of the State Engineer and the courts in determining whether water rights transfers are detrimental to the public welfare of the state.”

In the friend of the court brief, attorneys note:

The Pueblo has relied on its connection with and use of the instream flow of the Rio Grande since time immemorial. The riparian ecosystems along the river have evolved as the channeling of the river water occurred, and its bosque ecosystems have been in place for well over a century. Now, more than ever, as water resources deplete in every New Mexico river and water source due to elevated temperatures and low snowpacks, it is imperative that the public interest in New Mexico’s waters in receive paramount attention.

Environmental Amici offer this brief in support of the Pueblo to assist the Court in evaluating the criteria that apply to water transfer applications, and especially the public welfare criterion. The district court correctly considered and found persuasive evidence that Sandia has time-immemorial instream water rights arising under federal law; that Sandia’s traditional and cultural practices require sufficient instream flow and water quality; and that Sandia’s traditional and cultural practices are an important part of the State of New Mexico’s traditions and history, and are therefore relevant to the public welfare inquiry. This Court should affirm the district court.

In my personal opinion, the case is an important one to keep watching for so many reasons. First, it’s a reminder that the Middle Rio Grande remains unadjudicated — and that justice has never been served to the Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, who have the longest connections to the lands and waters and the most senior water rights. In addition, given both climate change and overconsumption in the Rio Grande, it’s more important than ever to address “paper” water versus water that’s actually present in the watershed. And of course, these are times for new — and stronger — alliances.