New Mexico Statutes
Article 15 - Interstate Compacts
Section 72-15-2 - [Canadian River Compact.]

The state of New Mexico does hereby ratify, approve and adopt the compact aforesaid, which is as follows:
CANADIAN RIVER COMPACT
The state of New Mexico, the state of Texas, and the state of Oklahoma, acting through their commissioners, John H. Bliss, for the state of New Mexico, E. V. Spence for the state of Texas, and Clarence Burch for the state of Oklahoma, after negotiations participated in by Berkeley Johnson, appointed by the president as the representative of the United States of America, have agreed respecting Canadian river as follows:
ARTICLE I
The major purposes of this compact [this section] are to promote interstate comity; to remove causes of present and future controversy; to make secure and protect present developments within the states; and to provide for the construction of additional works for the conservation of the waters of Canadian river.
ARTICLE II
As used in this compact:
(a) the term "Canadian river" means the tributary of Arkansas river which rises in northeastern New Mexico and flows in an easterly direction through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma and includes North Canadian river and all other tributaries of said Canadian river;
(b) the term "North Canadian river" means that major tributary of Canadian river officially known as North Canadian river from its source to its junction with Canadian river and includes all tributaries of North Canadian river;
(c) the term "commission" means the agency created by this compact for the administration thereof;
(d) the term "conservation storage" means that portion of the capacity of reservoirs available for the storage of water for subsequent release for domestic, municipal, irrigation and industrial uses, or any of them, and it excludes any portion of the capacity of reservoirs allocated solely to flood control, power production and sediment control, or any of them.
ARTICLE III
All rights to any of the waters of Canadian river which have been perfected by beneficial use are hereby recognized and affirmed.
ARTICLE IV
(a) New Mexico shall have free and unrestricted use of all waters originating in the drainage basin of Canadian river above Conchas dam.
(b) New Mexico shall have free and unrestricted use of all waters originating in the drainage basin of Canadian river in New Mexico below Conchas dam, provided that the amount of conservation storage in New Mexico available for impounding these waters which originate in the drainage basin of Canadian river below Conchas dam shall be limited to an aggregate of 200,000 acre-feet.
(c) The right of New Mexico to provide conservation storage in the drainage basin of North Canadian river shall be limited to the storage of such water as at the time may be unappropriated under the laws of New Mexico and of Oklahoma.
ARTICLE V
Texas shall have free and unrestricted use of all waters of Canadian river in Texas, subject to the limitations upon storage of water set forth below:
(a) the right of Texas to impound any of the waters of North Canadian river shall be limited to storage on tributaries of said river in Texas for municipal uses, for household and domestic uses, livestock watering, and the irrigation of lands which are cultivated solely for the purpose of providing food and feed for the householders and domestic livestock actually living or kept on the property;
(b) until more than 300,000 acre-feet of conservation storage shall be provided in Oklahoma, exclusive of reservoirs in the drainage basin of North Canadian river and exclusive of reservoirs in the drainage basin of Canadian river east of the 97th meridian, the right of Texas to retain water in conservation storage, exclusive of waters of North Canadian river, shall be limited to 500,000 acre-feet; thereafter the right of Texas to impound and retain such waters in storage shall be limited to an aggregate quantity equal to 200,000 acre-feet plus whatever amount of water shall be at the same time in conservation storage in reservoirs in the drainage basin of Canadian river in Oklahoma, exclusive of reservoirs in the drainage basin of North Canadian river and exclusive of reservoirs east of the 97th meridian; and for the purpose of determining the amount of water in conservation storage, the maximum quantity of water in storage following each flood or series of floods shall be used; provided, that the right of Texas to retain and use any quantity of water previously impounded shall not be reduced by any subsequent application of the provisions of this Paragraph (b);
(c) should Texas for any reason impound any amount of water greater than the aggregate quantity specified in Paragraph (b) of this article, such excess shall be retained in storage until under the provisions of said paragraph Texas shall become entitled to its use; provided, that, in event of spill from conservation storage, any such excess shall be reduced by the amount of such spill from the most easterly reservoir on Canadian river in Texas; provided further, that all such excess quantities in storage shall be reduced monthly to compensate for reservoir losses in proportion to the total amount of water in the reservoir or reservoirs in which such excess water is being held; and provided further that on demand by the commissioner for Oklahoma the remainder of any such excess quantity of water in storage shall be released into the channel of Canadian river at the greatest rate practicable.
ARTICLE VI
Oklahoma shall have free and unrestricted use of all waters of Canadian river in Oklahoma.
ARTICLE VII
The commission may permit New Mexico to impound more water than the amount set forth in Article IV and may permit Texas to impound more water than the amount set forth in Article V; provided, that no state shall thereby be deprived of water needed for beneficial use; provided further that each such permission shall be for a limited period not exceeding twelve months; and provided further that no state or user of water within any state shall thereby acquire any right to the continued use of any such quantity of water so permitted to be impounded.
ARTICLE VIII
Each state shall furnish to the commission at intervals designated by the commission accurate records of the quantities of water stored in reservoirs pertinent to the administration of this compact [this section].
ARTICLE IX
(a) There is hereby created an interstate administrative agency to be known as the "Canadian river commission." The commission shall be composed of three commissioners, one from each of the signatory states, designated or appointed in accordance with the laws of each such state, and if designated by the president an additional commissioner representing the United States. The president is hereby requested to designate such a commissioner. If so designated, the commissioner representing the United States shall be the presiding officer of the commission, but shall not have the right to vote in any of the deliberations of the commission. All members of the commission must be present to constitute a quorum. A unanimous vote of the commissioners for the three signatory states shall be necessary to all actions taken by the commission.
(b) The salaries and personal expenses of each commissioner shall be paid by the government which he represents. All other expenses which are incurred by the commission incident to the administration of this compact and which are not paid by the United States shall be borne equally by the three states and be paid by the commission out of a revolving fund hereby created to be known as the "Canadian river revolving fund." Such fund shall be initiated and maintained by equal payments of each state into the fund in such amounts as will be necessary for administration of this compact. Disbursements shall be made from said fund in such manner as may be authorized by the commission. Said fund shall not be subject to the audit and accounting procedures of the states. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the commission shall be audited by a qualified independent public accountant at regular intervals and the report of the audit shall be included in and become a part of the annual report of the commission.
(c) The commission may:
(1) employ such engineering, legal, clerical and other personnel as in its judgment may be necessary for the performance of its functions under this compact;
(2) enter into contracts with appropriate federal agencies for the collection, correlation and presentation of factual data, for the maintenance of records, and for the preparation of reports;
(3) perform all functions required of it by this compact and do all things necessary, proper or convenient in the performance of its duties hereunder, independently or in cooperation with appropriate governmental agencies.
(d) The commission shall:
(1) cause to be established, maintained and operated such stream and other gaging stations and evaporation stations as may from time to time be necessary for proper administration of the compact, independently or in cooperation with appropriate governmental agencies;
(2) make and transmit to the governors of the signatory states on or before the last day of March of each year, a report covering the activities of the commission for the preceding year;
(3) make available to the governor of any signatory state, on his request, any information within its possession at any time, and shall always provide access to its records by the governors of the states, or their representatives, or by authorized representatives of the United States.
ARTICLE X
Nothing in this compact shall be construed as:
(a) affecting the obligations of the United States to the Indian tribes;
(b) subjecting any property of the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, to taxation by any state or subdivision thereof, or creating any obligation on the part of the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, by reason of the acquisition, construction or operation of any property or works of whatever kind, to make any payment to any state or political subdivision thereof, state agency, municipality or entity whatsoever, in reimbursement for the loss of taxes;
(c) subjecting any property of the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, to the laws of any state to an extent other than the extent to which such laws would apply without regard to this compact;
(d) applying to, or interfering with, the right or power of any signatory state to regulate within its boundaries the appropriation, use and control of water, not inconsistent with its obligations under this compact;
(e) establishing any general principle or precedent applicable to other interstate streams.
ARTICLE XI
This compact shall become binding and obligatory when it shall have been ratified by the legislature of each state and approved by the congress of the United States. Notice of ratification by the legislature of each state shall be given by the governor of that state to the governors of the other states and to the president of the United States. The president is hereby requested to give notice to the governor of each state of approval by the congress of the United States.
In witness whereof, the commissioners have executed four counterparts hereof, each of which shall be and constitute an original, one of which shall be deposited in the archives of the department of state of the United States, and one of which shall be forwarded to the governor of each state.
Done at the city of Santa Fe, state of New Mexico, this 6th day of December, 1950.
/s/ JOHN H. BLISS John H. Bliss Commissioner for the state of New Mexico /s/ E. V. SPENCE E. V. Spence Commissioner for the state of Texas /s/ CLARENCE BURCH Clarence Burch Commissioner for the state of Oklahoma APPROVED: /s/ BERKELEY JOHNSON
Berkeley Johnson
Representative of the United
States of America
History: 1978 Comp., § 72-15-2, enacted by Laws 1951, ch. 4, § 1.
Compiler's notes. — The first Canadian River Compact, which included the state of Arkansas, was ratified by Laws 1927, ch. 40, but was subsequently repealed by Laws 1937, ch. 32.
Article IV(b) limitation on stored water. — The Article IV(b) limitation on "conservation storage" applies to stored water, not physical reservoir capacity. Okla. v. N.M., 501 U.S. 221, 111 S. Ct. 2281, 115 L. Ed. 2d 207 (1991).
Waters originating in the Canadian river basin above Conchas dam, but reaching the mainstream of the Canadian river below Conchas dam as a result of spills or releases from Conchas dam or seepage and return flow from the Tucumcari Project, are subject to the Article IV(b) limitation on stored water. Okla. v. N.M., 501 U.S. 221, 111 S. Ct. 2281, 115 L. Ed. 2d 207 (1991).
It does not necessarily follow that New Mexico's entitlement under Article IV(a) to all of the Canadian river water it can use from Conchas reservoir gives New Mexico the unrestricted right to store that water at any point downstream from Conchas dam. Any right New Mexico has to water spilling over Conchas dam arises by virtue of Article IV(b) under which New Mexico may store for its use 200,000 acre-feet of water originating below Conchas dam. Okla. v. N.M., 501 U.S. 221, 111 S. Ct. 2281, 115 L. Ed. 2d 207 (1991).
The question whether certain water stored in Ute Reservoir, water which New Mexico has designated a "desilting pool", is exempt from Article IV(b) limitation on New Mexico's conservation storage, because it allegedly serves a "sediment control" purpose within the meaning of Article II(d), was remanded to a special master for further proceedings and a recommendation on the merits. Okla. v. N.M., 501 U.S. 221, 111 S. Ct. 2281, 115 L. Ed. 2d 207 (1991).
Adequacy of water storage rights. — The central purpose of the compact was to settle the respective rights of the states to Canadian river water, and the compact and its negotiating history plainly show that the parties agreed that no more than 200,000 acre-feet of storage rights would satisfy all of New Mexico's future needs for water below Conchas dam. Okla. v. N.M., 501 U.S. 221, 111 S. Ct. 2281, 115 L. Ed. 2d 207 (1991).
Law reviews. — For article, "A Survey of the Evolution of Western Water Law in Response to Changing Economic and Public Interest Demands," see 29 Nat. Resources J. 347 (1989).
For article, "Equitable Apportionment After Vermejo: The Demise of a Doctrine," see 29 Nat. Resources J. 565 (1989).
For note, "Oklahoma and Texas v. New Mexico: A Hastily Negotiated River Compact Leads to Problems in Equitable Apportionment of the Canadian River," see 32 Nat. Resources J. 705 (1992).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 78 Am. Jur. 2d Waters §§ 87, 310.
93 C.J.S. Waters §§ 170, 183, 188.