Commission members Jim Dunlap of Farmington and James Wilcox of Carlsbad submitted resignation letters to Gov. Susana Martinez on 11 October, a day after commission Chairman Caleb Chandler of Clovis tendered his resignation. Dunlap wrote in his resignation letter that he had “great concern for lack of direction from the State Engineer and adherence to New Mexico State Statutes.” The commission has also come under fire in recent years for open meetings violations.
The resignations leave the commission with just four active members out of nine board positions, because there were previously two vacancies.The Interstate Stream Commission has broad powers to investigate, protect, conserve, and develop New Mexico’s waters including both interstate and intrastate stream systems. A key item of discussion over the past few years is the Gila River diversion project, which is looking into options to divert the river for farm and municipal use in southwestern New Mexico.