A lot of hoopla going on in the press about this and that, so it’s no surprise that some of the larger attempts at lawless activities targeting the citizens of New Mexico are being relegated to the back pages. Consider this (subscription):
Gov. Bill Richardson and the state’s top water boss will use their administrative powers to limit new domestic wells after the failure of legislation to accomplish the same goal.
“We will do something,” said Bill Hume, Richardson’s senior policy adviser. “The governor’s serious. The question’s not if but how.”
You read that right. The Governor and State Engineer have been unable to pass bills (subscription) for the last two years to steal water rights from New Mexico citizens, so they are going to just administratively rob us of them. Now, someone remind me why they haven’t been able to pass these bills….
D’Antonio said he has talked to legislators who support domestic well limits but didn’t want to anger their constituents by voting for the bills.
Oh right, because it is against the will of the majority of the people, and if legislators did that, they would find themselves out of the office. Well, apparently the State Engineer and Governor Richardson have decided no need to let democracy stop them.
By the way, if water rights were money, it would be 100% accurate to say that the Governor and the State Engineer have targeted the poorest. In other words, those who use the least amount of water are the ones these officials want to fleece. It’s kind of like Robin Hood in reverse, don’t you think?