A. If objection or protest to the application is timely filed, the state engineer shall advise interested parties, and a hearing shall be held as otherwise provided by statute.
B. Any person, firm or corporation or other entity objecting that the granting of the application will be detrimental to the objector's water right shall have standing to file objections or protests. Any person, firm or corporation or other entity objecting that the granting of the application will be contrary to the conservation of water within the state or detrimental to the public welfare of the state and showing that the objector will be substantially and specifically affected by the granting of the application shall have standing to file objections or protests. Provided, however, that the state of New Mexico or any of its branches, agencies, departments, boards, instrumentalities or institutions and all political subdivisions of the state and their agencies, instrumentalities and institutions shall have standing to file objections or protests.
History: 1953 Comp., § 75-5-4.1, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 285, § 6; 1985, ch. 201, § 2; 2019, ch. 88, § 3.
ANNOTATIONSCross references. — For the state engineer, see 72-2-1 NMSA 1978.
The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, removed certain notice provisions; in the section heading, deleted "publication of notice"; and in Subsection A, deleted "Whenever an application is filed which requires advertisement by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 72, Article 5 NMSA 1978, the advertisement shall state that objections or protests to the granting of the application may be filed with the state engineer within ten days after the last publication of the notice".
The 1985 amendment added "definition of standing" in the section heading, designated the formerly undesignated paragraph as Subsection A, substituted "Chapter 72, Article 5 NMSA 1978" for "Article 5, Chapter 75, New Mexico Statutes Annotated, 1953 Compilation, as amended" near the beginning, "the application" for "said application" and "the notice" for "said notice" near the end of the first sentence of subsection A, deleted "thereof" following "interested parties" near the middle of the second sentence of Subsection A, and added Subsection B.
Law reviews. — For note, "Appropriation By the State of Minimum Flows in New Mexico Streams," see 15 Nat. Resources J. 809 (1975).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 78 Am. Jur. 2d Waters § 302.
93 C.J.S. Waters § 180.