I recently have had a number of inquiries regarding the status of the Aamodt settlement from both Pojoaque Valley residents and friends in Santa Fe County.

Most folks don't realize that the "old" settlement document had to be revised because of limitations, restrictions, cost sharing and a number of other factors imposed by the federal government as part of the legislation to settle Indian water claims, including Aamodt. That meant that the lawyers representing non-Indians and the bevy of well-paid lawyers for the tribes, had to start negotiations all over again, including the minutiae that keep tribal lawyers employed on taxpayers' dime, to bring the "old" settlement into compliance with the new legislation. It would be quite interesting if we had an accounting from the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington as to how many millions of taxpayer dollars have gone into this 40-plus year-old lawsuit.

And while many believe it's better to settle than to continue fighting in the courts, the cure or settlement could have so many side effects, like many of the drugs advertised on television, that we might have to go back to the courts to get relief. For the common person who is not a lawyer, a number of questions were asked of Santa Fe County on Feb. 28, 2011, that need a definitive answer before any settlement agreement is signed by residents of the Valley. Here we are on Feb. 5, 2012, and still no answers have been forthcoming, and, in all fairness to county officials, I understand they work in a multilayered bureaucracy that stifles most timeliness.

In an effort to keep the public informed, I am asking those same questions that were posed by the Pojoaque Basin Water Alliance:

• Has the county conducted an economic viability study of the water system? If yes, who has it and can we get a copy?
• How many water connections are needed to make the county system economically viable?
• When does the county plan on the water system being economically self-sufficient?
• How will the non-Indian user rates be set?
• Regarding the Top of the World water transfer, when does the county plan to start the process for the transfer of water rights from the Top of the World to the water authority?
• What is the county's plan if the Top of The World water transfer is not allowed?
• Regarding the water system cost-sharing agreement, how will the county pay for the distribution system?
• What is the cost-sharing agreement for the construction of the distribution system, and when will the agreement be made available to the public?
• How will the cost of the system be calculated?
• What areas will not be served by the water system?
• How long do the domestic well users have to install meters? Who will pay for the meters?
• What is the total cost of the Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin distribution system, excluding the cost of diversion, treatment and transmission to the pueblos?

In addition to these questions, I also wonder how or who is going to acquire the rights of way for the waterlines? Is the utility going to pay for rights of way, or will condemnation of property be required?

If a utility is created, doesn't the New Mexico State Constitution, under Article IX, State, County and Municipal Indebtedness, require that "such debt has been submitted to the registered voters of the county and approved by a majority of those voting thereon?" When is this election going to take place? Another question that begs an answer is what percentage of signers to the water system will make it feasible? For that matter, what percentage of signers will make the "new" settlement valid?

While most experts agree that surface-treated water cannot be cleansed of hormones, as in birth control pills, or of the chemicals in antidepressant drugs, who is going to carry the liability should lawsuits result from drinking this contaminated water?

I just cannot imagine anyone foolish enough to sign any document without these questions answered. The devil may be in the details, but I, for one, prefer not to make any deals with Mephistopheles, Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub --
all otherwise known as el diablo.

Writer/historian Orlando Romero may be reached at Nambe1@aol.com. Like his neighbors in the Nambé Valley, he is a party to the Aamodt settlement.