I seriously doubt his 'punishment' will stand after he appeals for hardship to access water to grow, and nothing can be found for financial penalties for him having sold a public resource which was not his to sell.
Posted on 02/13/2024 6:34:33 AM PST by logi_cal869
There is trouble brewing on the prairie in Santa Fe County’s sprawling rangeland north of Moriarity. The issue that landed a prominent New Mexican in hot water isn’t apparent to the casual observer, but when state officials caught wind of what was happening there, they launched an investigation.
The first clue to something amiss surfaced last summer after residents noticed a parade of large tanker trucks on State Road 41, making roundtrips between a construction site and a remote spot adjacent to a cornfield.
“In a two-hour period, there were six trucks that came in and pulled out, and that was going on from early in the morning until evening,” Santa Fe County resident Sherry Weingarten said. “I would say that you’re looking at anywhere from 25 plus trucks a day that were pulling in and out,” Weingarten said
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Down the road, a few miles from the Bill King Ranch, is a massive pipeline construction project. To test the storage tanks, contractors needed water, a lot of water. “When it came time to test the tanks, (the construction company) said they needed water to fill up the tank to test it, to make sure there was not a leak,” Bill King said. “I had this well E-5495. I said, ‘Yeah, we’ll sell you the water, and you can test the tank,'” King said. The contractor purchased 6,000,000 gallons from Bill King.
Here’s the rub. Irrigation well E-5495 is permitted for agricultural use. Without a permit, the commercial sale of water from the King Ranch well site constitutes a violation of the state’s water code.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsnationnow.com ...
NM is wagging its finger vigorously at Bill King, son of former democrat governor Bruce King.
During Governor Bruce King’s third term in office (January 1, 1991 – January 1, 1995), brothers Bill (L) and Gary (R) served as advisors in their father’s administration. Due to a concern for the underground water supply in central New Mexico, water usage is regulated by the State Engineer. Anyone drilling a well must have a permit. For example, well #E-5495 is an irrigation well owned by the Bill King Ranch, a sizable Santa Fe County farm and ranch operation. If the King name sounds familiar, that’s because Bill is the son of former three-term governor Bruce King. “My father and my grandfather started (the ranch) in 1917, and we’ve been farming and ranching here ever since. So, it’s been about 106 years,” Bill King said.
Filling the tanks of the UFOs.
I seriously doubt his 'punishment' will stand after he appeals for hardship to access water to grow, and nothing can be found for financial penalties for him having sold a public resource which was not his to sell.
Why I declined to move to Idaho when I retired. Around here (SE Ohio) water is a damned nuisance that we pay good money to get rid of so our crops don’t get waterlogged.
Around here, we pay 14 cents a barrel (42 gallons) for frac water from lakes and ponds.
According to this article published last year, the then current maximum fine in NM for illegal pumping from a licensed well was $100.
A state rep was proposing raising the fine to $2000 a day.
Under either the license hold here would still make out like a bandet.
At crusty’s 14 cents a barrel Bill King would paid $20K for his 6 million gallons. Subtract the $2k fine he is still ahead $18k.
And given the unavailability of water in the area I am sure he was paid much more that 14 cents a barrel.
Any intelligent man would have sold the water under those circumstances.
More attempts to put roadblocks in the way of oil and gas development. There are acres upon acres of undeveloped Permian in New Mexico. I am sure the D’s in power are trying to figure out any way possible to keep it in the ground.
No water, no fracs.
Clickable youtube link:
Mysterious Haul: Tanker trucks on the New Mexico prairie trigger investigation
"Filling the tanks"; at a nearby construction site; to test for leaks; before filling them with oil.
6 million gallons isn’t all that much water in the broader scheme of thigs. Mr. King should of checked his permit though.
Any intelligent Conservative doing so would have seen an armed response and extreme punitive measures.
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