Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 1. Purpose of and Need for Action
schools and other specified institutional beneficiaries. In addition to public schools, beneficiaries
include the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology, New Mexico Military Institute, New Mexico School for the Blind and
Visually Impaired, New Mexico School for the Deaf, Rio Grande Improvements, and others.
The Land Commissioner’s mandate is to generate and maximize revenue from State trust lands in
order to support the aforementioned public education and other beneficiary institutions, while at
the same time protecting, conserving, and maintaining the lands for future generations. The Land
Commissioner generates revenues for these designated public beneficiaries by leasing lands for
grazing, agriculture, commercial use, oil and gas drilling, mining, and other surface and
subsurface activities (SLO, no date).
The SLO’s Minerals Program comprises activities and programs related to subsurface natural
resources on State lands—oil, natural gas and minerals. The group has two divisions: the Oil,
Gas, and Minerals Division and the Royalty Management Division. The former manages and
evaluates nonrenewable resources, issues all mineral leases, administers the monthly oil and gas
lease sales, processes and audits mineral royalty revenues, and administers leases for oil, natural
gas, carbon dioxide, sand and gravel, caliche, coal, potash, salt, geothermal energy, and other
minerals. The Royalty Management Division collects, processes, and audits oil and gas royalty
revenues.
RHR’s proposed facilities and operations on Section 16 are on State trust lands and, as such,
would be subject to regulation and royalty management by the SLO.
New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
The Office of the State Engineer (OSE) is responsible for administering
the State’s water resources. The State Engineer has power over the
supervision, measurement, appropriation, and distribution of all surface
and groundwater in New Mexico, including streams and rivers that cross State boundaries. The
State Engineer is also Secretary of the Interstate Stream Commission, which is charged with
separate duties, including protecting New Mexico’s right to water under eight interstate stream
basins, ensuring the State complies with each of those basins, as well as water planning in New
Mexico (OSE, 2005).
All water users in New Mexico must have a permit from the State Engineer. When evaluating an
application for a new appropriation or to change the place and/or purpose of use of an existing
water right, the State Engineer must determine (1) that water is available, (2) that the
appropriation will not impair existing rights, (3) that the intended use meets State water
conservation efforts, and (4) that the intended use is not detrimental to the public welfare. State
water law also requires that the applicant publish the application in a newspaper and provide
anyone with a legitimate objection the chance to protest the application (OSE, 2005).
RHR has applied to the OSE for a mine dewatering permit. The Pueblo of Acoma is a formal
protestant in this process. OSE’s review of the application is ongoing.
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 25