Judge Slows Decision for Gila River

The Interstate Stream Commission is prohibited from making decisions about any aspect of a Gila River diversion project until after a judge hears more evidence about allegations that it violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.

District Court Judge Raymond Ortiz on Thursday told lawyers for the commission that it may hold meetings that comply with public-access laws and can discuss the Gila, but he continued the temporary restraining order he put in place last week until a hearing can be held on Nov. 12.

A former commission director

in late September, arguing that meetings of a subcommittee broke state laws about meeting notices, agendas and minutes by making decisions in private. Norm Gaume says the Interstate Stream Commission appears to be moving toward a decision to funnel water off the river just below where it leaves the Gila Wilderness Area, and worse, it’s doing so based on questionable assumptions. He can’t fully question the plans, he says, because commissioners have made decisions in private.

But the timing of the complaint is making it tough, if not impossible, for the state to comply with a yearend deadline set by Congress, argued Keitha Leonard, an attorney representing the commission. Leonard was joined by a team of lawyers who sat at the defense table in the Santa Fe courthouse as well as an attorney representing several counties, towns and other organizations in the southwestern corner of New Mexico. They say the commission didn’t break any open-meetings rules and the case is an effort by Gaume to stop a diversion that would provide water to certain communities.

“The plaintiff’s TRO effectively silences the public, and makes sure that only his voice can be heard in this political process,” Leonard told the judge, noting repeatedly that the schedule for the decision leaves only weeks in play.

The state has known about the deadline for a decade, however, argues Brian Egolf, attorney for Gaume.

“If we are correct, your honor, that there have been violations of the Open Meetings Act, the consequences that flow from that are the result of the defendant’s own conduct,” he said.

Rather than halting debate on the project, Egolf says Gaume is only immediately seeking that the commission comply with open meetings laws going forward and that it not rely on any decisions or recommendations made by the subcommittee.

Judge Ortiz told the state to immediately provide documents to help him determine who was at the subcommittee meetings and what was discussed. He asked for a long list of records including any handwritten notes that meeting participants kept, financial documents and memos.

“I want to push this case to a very quick resolution,” he said.

Ortiz first wanted to hold the next hearing on Nov. 10, but Leonard said that’s the date the commission is trying to arrange for a meeting to handle business that was supposed to take place on Oct. 27. The judge’s first restraining order forced the state to cancel that meeting. On Friday morning, the commission posted a "

" for Nov. 10.

At issue is the state’s role in the Arizona Water Rights Settlement, a federal deal that created a mechanism

in southwestern New Mexico.  The federal government has says it will provide up to $100 million in construction funds but needs a decision by Dec. 31.

Santa Fe Reporter