State approves contract change after Gila diversion plans shift again

On Monday, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) voted to amend an engineering contract for the proposed Gila River diversion. The change was necessary because the company’s earlier work, done at the direction of the state and the entity planning the diversion, didn’t take into account crucial information. The ISC and the New Mexico […]

State approves contract change after Gila diversion plans shift again

On Monday, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) voted to amend an engineering contract for the proposed Gila River diversion.

The change was necessary because the company’s earlier work, done at the direction of the state and the entity planning the diversion, didn’t take into account crucial information.

The ISC and the New Mexico Central Arizona (CAP) Entity has been moving diversions plans forward, even though the proposed infrastructure would cross lands owned by The Nature Conservancy and the state of New Mexico. Last week, the CAP Entity’s board of directors  confirmed their latest plans weren’t going to work, and voted on a new scope of work for the engineering company, AECOM.

According to a presentation by ISC Gila Basin Manager Ali Effati, the cost of the revised tasks and deletion of former tasks will offset each other. In other words, the $1.37 million contract for design work will not increase with the revised scope of work, he said.

New Mexico must follow a strict timeline to receive the full federal subsidy for the diversion project. By now, the state should already be working on environmental studies for the plans it submitted last summer to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Despite the setback, CAP Entity Executive Director Anthony Gutierrez remains undeterred.

“I think that we’ve actually simplified the project,” he said after the ISC meeting. He explained that in their discussions with the Bureau of Reclamation, CAP Entity officials learned that the simpler the project and the smaller the project area, the shorter the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, process will be. He estimated that a contract for the environmental studies should be in place by late fall or early winter.

“So by simplifying the project,” Gutierrez said, “we felt that potentially we’ll still meet the deadlines.”

Nuts and bolts (and pipes and lands)

When Congress passed the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA) of 2004, it gave New Mexico officials 10 years to decide how they would meet water needs in southwestern New Mexico. The state could either pursue efficiency and restoration projects or build a diversion on the Gila River. Diversion, the more costly of the two choices, also came with a larger federal subsidy.

In 2014, the ISC voted to pursue diversion.

In addition to changing course on designs and locations, officials have yet to clarify who will buy water from the diversion, how much the water will cost or how much water the river will yield.

At Monday’s special meeting, at least one of the commissioners appeared to express dismay that the proposed location and landowner status was a problem.

Commissioner Jim Dunlap said, for example: “Nobody’s pursued with [the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department] why they didn’t voice their support or concern or whatever? I’m a little concerned about that.”

The land in question is jointly owned by the state and The Nature Conservancy under the Natural Lands Protection Act. The Nature Conservancy has long opposed any diversion proposals. The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department oversees the lands, which were donated, and preserves them as “unique and ecologically significant lands.”

During Monday’s special meeting, Norman Gaume was the only member of the public in the audience.

Gaume, a former ISC director himself, is an outspoken opponent of the diversion.

Related story: After U.S. Senator’s request, ISC releases previously-withheld data

Former ISC Director Norm Gaume opposes the state’s planned diversion

“They’re approaching the development of this water as a religion, as opposed to an exercise that is subject to evaluation and normal processes to determine what’s a good idea and what’s not,” Gaume said after the meeting.

He also said he supported an idea previously raised by Commissioner Mark Sanchez that the state hire a fiduciary to help decision-makers understand the financial ramifications of the proposal.

“It’s never too late for them to do that,” he said. “And, to their credit, and the credit of [ISC] staff, this effort for the first time involves their investigation of yield,” he said.

While studying how much water the Gila River can yield, Gaume and other analysts identified errors in the ISC’s data. They found that New Mexico’s “new” legal water rights granted by Congress in 2004—14,000 acre feet annually—exceed what the river can actually yield.

AECOM has the contract to do that new yield study, he added.

He also said that he and others have filed another complaint, this time with the state attorney general, over AECOM’s donation to a political action committee affiliated with Gov. Susana Martinez—a move they say violates the state’s procurement code.

Procurement questions

On Friday, Gaume, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Gila Conservation Coalition requested that the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General look into the contract, which they called “tainted.”

They’ve asked Attorney General Hector Balderas to move the New Mexico General Services Department to address the violation, which they brought to the agency’s attention in January.

At that time, they petitioned the State Purchasing Agent and Director of the General Services Department to investigate if AECOM’s original contract had been awarded in violation of state law and if AECOM had “acted fraudulently or in bad faith.”

In June 2015, the ISC issued a request for proposals for initial design work on the proposed diversion. The winning bidder would receive the contract to come up with what’s called a “30 percent design.” According to the minutes of the Sept. 17, 2015 ISC meeting, two “impressive” finalists were interviewed, including AECOM.

Public records show that on Nov. 6, 2015, AECOM donated $1,000 to Susana PAC, Martinez’s political action committee run by her top political adviser.

Then in May 2016, ISC awarded the $535,875 contract to AECOM. In August 2016, the ISC amended the contract and raised its ceiling to $1,371,875.

After looking into the matter, the Office of the State Auditor warned ISC Director Deborah Dixon that the “sequence of events exposes a weakness in the ISC’s internal controls for Procurement Code compliance.”

According to that March 2016 letter:

Even assuming that AECOM properly submitted a Campaign Disclosure Form with its RFP response, the Form would not have disclosed the SUSANA PAC contribution because that contribution occurred after the response’s submission. The Contract does not appear to have included another Campaign Disclosure Form. This suggests that the ISC has no internal control in place for identifying potential violations of the Procurement Code’s bar on political contributions during the pendency of the procurement process.

The consequence of violations, wrote State Auditor Tim Keller, “is severe and potentially quite expensive to the state.”

According to the State Auditor’s office, Dixon has not responded to that letter.

A bill introduced this year in the New Mexico State Legislature to require additional oversight of spending on the diversion died in committee.

The state has already spent more than $11 million of an estimated $90 million in federal money it plans to receive. The state also has more than $6 million in outstanding contracts and $1.7 million in ISC’s operating budget. The state also has plans to spend another $15.2 million on the project in Fiscal Year 2018.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 69 bills that the legislature passed during the 2024 legislative session. These included the General Appropriations Act which contains…
Guv signs state budget

Guv signs state budget

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Capital Outlay spending bill. The FY25 state budget bill passed…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…

NM Supreme Court annuls $10,000 penalty in PNM/Avangrid merger case

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a penalty the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission levied against the state’s largest utility was…
State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department fined an oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin more than $2 million over produced…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

The New Mexico State Supreme Court censured a New Mexico attorney because of her “misconduct” in two unsuccessful cases pushing back on COVID-19 regulations…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

Tuesday marked the official beginning of the 2024 New Mexico primary season for the legislature, with candidates officially filing for candidacy. This is the…

Bill to require disclosure of use of AI in campaign materials goes to governor

The Senate approved a bill aiming to require the disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence or other changes made by computers to campaign…
House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

The House narrowly approved a bill that would ban firearms near polling places. The House voted 35-34 to pass the bill following an extensive…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…
U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Republican official who was barred from holding office after being convicted for a…
Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Hello fellow political junkies! Candidate filing day has come and gone, and members of House and Senate leadership opted to either not seek reelection…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report