Texas v. New Mexico
Headline: Court orders New Mexico to pay Texas $14 million to resolve Pecos River water-agreement breaches, funds irrigation projects in four Texas counties, and preserves an earlier March 28, 1988 decree.
Holding: The Court granted the Special Master’s recommendation and the states’ joint motion, entering a stipulated judgment requiring New Mexico to pay Texas $14 million by March 1, 1990, and settling many related Pecos River claims.
- Requires New Mexico to pay $14 million to Texas by March 1, 1990.
- Directs $13.8M to irrigation and water-quality projects in four Texas counties.
- Releases New Mexico from many Pecos River claims for 1952–1986.
Summary
Background
The State of Texas and the State of New Mexico submitted a Joint Motion for Entry of Stipulated Judgment, and a Special Master recommended that the Court grant that motion. The Court accepted the recommendation and entered judgment requiring New Mexico to pay Texas $14 million by March 1, 1990. The judgment also addresses past claims under the Pecos River water agreement and refers to a March 28, 1988 Amended Decree that remains unaffected.
Reasoning
The Court’s action was based on the Special Master’s recommendation and the parties’ Joint Motion; the Court therefore entered the stipulated judgment as written. Key terms include the $14 million payment deadline, a release by Texas of many legal and equitable claims arising from New Mexico’s alleged breaches of the Pecos River water agreement for 1952–1986, and continued effect of the March 28, 1988 Amended Decree. Exhibit B of the Joint Motion directs how most settlement funds are to be used and describes a $200,000 amount that Texas may treat as attorney’s fees or investigative costs without treating that use as an admission of liability by New Mexico.
Real world impact
Most of the money—$13.8 million—is to be deposited in the Texas Water Assistance Fund No. 480 and used for agricultural and irrigation projects, water-quality improvements, and related studies in Loving, Ward, Reeves, and Pecos counties. The Board is to give preference to projects affecting surface water irrigators in the Red Bluff Water Power Control District when appropriate. The $200,000 may be used for attorney’s fees or investigative costs without implying New Mexico admitted liability. Texas’s release of many historical claims limits further legal challenges tied to the 1952–1986 period.
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