Statement of Michael Gabaldon

Director, Policy, Management, and Technical Services

 Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Department of Interior

On S. 213

To Clear Title to Certain Real Property in New Mexico

With the Middle Rio Grande Project, and for Other Purposes

Before the

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Subcommittee on Water and Power

United States Senate

September 23, 2003

My name is Michael Gabaldon, Director, Policy, Management, and Technical Services of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation).  I am pleased to be here today to present the views of the Department regarding S. 213, which would clear title to real property in New Mexico associated with the Middle Rio Grande Project and for other purposes.

The Department has several concerns with S. 213 as drafted, primarily that the dispute over ownership of the San Gabriel and Tingley Beach parcel currently implicates a lawsuit pending before the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.  In addition, the Department has concerns about how the transfer of property that would be effected by this legislation may affect other property rights in the litigation related to this matter. 

The Department is not averse to transferring ownership to another entity, but all parties must agree on the venue and all applicable federal laws must be met in the process.  The Department believes the prudent course of action is to allow the legal system to render its decision before instituting a legislative remedy.  Therefore, the Department cannot support S. 213 at this time.

With respect to the City of Albuquerque’s desires to make improvements on this property, Reclamation has provided a license to the City which allows the use of those lands as proposed in the City’s improvement plans.   In addition to the license, Reclamation has met directly with members of the City Planning Department to facilitate the review of the City’s proposed improvements for Tingley Beach and worked with staff to assist them with State Historical Preservation Office review.

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (District) was created by the Conservancy Act of 1923 to improve the economy of the Middle Valley by lowering the water table and providing flood protection and water for irrigation.  In the 1940’s, the District requested that Reclamation take over the operation of the District and retire its outstanding bonds.  In September 1951, the District and Reclamation entered into a 50-year repayment contract in the amount of $15,708,567.  A key component of the contract is Article 29, which states:

“Title to all works constructed by the United States under this contract and to all such works as are conveyed to the United States by the provision hereof, shall as provided in Article 26, be and continue to be vested in the name of the United States until otherwise provided for by Congress, notwithstanding the transfer hereafter of any such works to the District for operation and maintenance.”

Therefore, the Department is also concerned with some of the findings in Section 2.  Contrary to the implication of Section 2 (a) (3) of the bill, the U.S. did not claim title to Tingley Beach and San Gabriel Park for the first time in 2000.  Rather, until recently, the U.S. and MRGCD had agreed for decades that title to all properties necessary for the Middle Rio Grande Project had been conveyed to the United States.  For example, both the United States and MRGCD filed several briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1950’s stating unequivocally that title had been transferred to the U.S., and in the 1970’s MRGCD got a nuisance case involving all MRP ditches and canals in the Albuquerque Area dismissed on the basis that these properties had been conveyed to the United States.

Furthermore, in 1998 testimony before a committee of the New Mexico Legislature, the District acknowledged the need and desire to seek reconveyance after its debt was repaid. 

Section 5 of the bill states that “nothing in this act shall be construed to affect or otherwise interfere with any position set forth by any party in the lawsuit…”  It is unclear how the passage of this legislation could not affect the lawsuit given that the ownership of Middle Rio Grande Project properties is a central question in the quiet title claim of the litigation.   

Despite this disagreement, the District has been a good partner on this project and has retired its debt to the United States.  While we are always open to working with all interested parties to find acceptable solutions, we believe that it is best to wait on the court’s decision on the quiet title claims.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks and I would be happy to respond to any questions the Committee may have.