Estancia and Mountainair officials are protesting a billion-dollar wind farm project’s water usage request they say will strip away the towns’ water.
SunZia Wind and Transmission — developed by Pattern Energy — is a new renewable energy infrastructure project that installs wind farms in Arizona and New Mexico, harnessing more than 3,500 megawatts of new wind energy. The SunZia Transmission Project is composed of two planned 500-kilovolt transmission lines located across approximately 520 miles of federal, state and private lands between central New Mexico and central Arizona. The project, which broke ground last fall, is expected to generate $20.5 billion in total economic benefit.
Blattner Energy, a service provider in the renewable construction industry, filed an application with the Office of the State Engineer seeking to use water from the Estancia Underground Basin (EUB) for a SunZia wind farm development in Torrance and San Miguel counties.
According to a legal notice published in multiple newspapers, the project would “temporarily change the place and purpose of use of groundwater within the Estancia Underground Basin… for commercial use specifically described as dust control/construction of the SunZia wind farm located on state and private land in Torrance and San Miguel Counties.” The water usage would begin at the time of the state’s approval until Dec. 31, 2026.
Blattner Energy along with Bill Bruce King, owner of Bill King Ranch in Stanley, filed the application with the OSE for a permit to “temporarily change the place and purpose” of the water wells owned by King. The permit is requesting water from the wells that will be used for the wind farm. The legal notice states the wells are in Santa Fe County, located “one mile east of the intersection of NM Highway 41 and Western Rd., and the southeast corner of NM Highway 41 and Dinkle Rd.”
Towns’ protest
Estancia and Mountainair officials have not been silent about their concerns regarding the development. They have submitted protest letters to the OSE. In a Facebook post, Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said using water from the basin for the SunZia project is “absolutely unacceptable.”
According to the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, the Estancia Basin “extends from the crest line of the Manzano and Manzanita Mountains on the west and the peaks of the San Pedro and South Mountains on the northwest to the Gallinas Mountains and Pedernal Hills on the south and east, and includes the northern portion of Chupadera Mesa as well as a number of small, topographically closed basins southeast of the Estancia Valley proper.”
To object to this application, the OSE requires a person to specify their water rights and provide evidence showing how they will be substantially or specifically affected.
In the protest letter, Nieto said the water exportation would not benefit residents and would be detrimental to them and stakeholders that depend on the Mountainair Water System for domestic use. He cited a 2022 study completed by Albuquerque environmental consultant firm John Shomaker & Associates, Inc., that reported water levels in the basin are declining.
“As the Town of Mountainair and Torrance County have been perpetually in a drought for decades, it is apparent that the scarce resource of water should be reserved for domestic and limited agricultural use,” the protest letter states. “The applicant’s proposal of using 312.499 acre-feet per year (approximately 101,874,674 gallons per year) of our drinking water to be used for dust control is grossly irresponsible. In addition to the risk of the diminishing domestic use of our water supply, the public safety and welfare of our residents are at risk, as our fire suppression systems are dependent on our water supply and any depletion of the water table puts our homes in danger.”
Estancia Mayor Nathan Dial said the water is mostly coming out of Torrance County and thinks the county should have a say in the matter.
“Estancia is wholeheartedly behind supporting Mountainair’s protest,” Dial said. “We are definitely looking forward to having the State Engineer re-look this.”
Matt Dallas, corporate communications and media relations spokesperson for Pattern Energy, said this temporary water transfer would actually save water since only half of the water normally used for agricultural use would be pumped.
“The protested applications will become part of the OSE Hearing Unit process which could potentially delay the application,” Dallas said. “The applicants will present their technical evidence that shows the water transfers are not impairing other water rights in the EUB, the transfers are not detrimental to the public welfare or contrary to conservation of water within the state.”