By KRWG News
New Mexico – State Engineer John D'Antonio has denied a water rights application that would have cleared the way for a proposed pipeline to transport water from the Pecos River Basin in eastern New Mexico to Santa Fe and other cities along the middle Rio Grande corridor.
Berrendo LLC submitted an application two years ago to change the place and proposed use for 6,600 acre-feet of water from wells near Fort Sumner. The company had said the pipeline would be good for the Fort Sumner area and was necessary to provide drinking water for the fastest growing parts of the state.
The Bureau of Reclamation, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, local and county governments and others had protested the application.
D'Antonio says he denied the application because it was "vague and overbroad."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.