Opinion ID: 1164485
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Jurisdiction amendment of the State Engineer's order.

Text: The State Engineer approved Roswell's application, but the water appropriation approved was for an amount less than requested by Roswell in its application. This approval was conditioned upon the permanent retirement of 1500 acre-feet of other water rights of Roswell. Berry appealed this decision. Two days after Berry filed his appeal, the State Engineer issued an Amendment to Order of Approval. The original decision identified 1500 acre-feet of rights to be retired. The amended order made no change in the total of rights to be retired. It did, however, delete 381 acre-feet of rights identified for retirement and substituted, in lieu thereof, another 381 acre-feet of rights to be retired. Berry claims the amended order was an attempt to reopen the original administrative proceeding or an attempt to modify the final decision of the State Engineer. He asserts the State Engineer was without jurisdiction  that is, without authority  to either reopen the proceeding or modify his final decision once the appeal was filed in the District Court. Berry's argument is based on the assumption that there was an attempt to reopen the proceeding or to modify the final decision. This assumption is not true. Accordingly, we do not reach the issue of an administrative agency's authority to reopen a proceeding or to modify a final decision. As to that issue see Annot. 73 A.L.R.2d 939 (1960). The State Engineer's decision approved a portion of Roswell's application and conditioned this partial approval on a retirement of 1500 acre-feet of rights. This decision was neither reopened nor modified. What, then, was this order that made changes in the specific water rights that were to be retired? We agree with the trial court's finding, that these changes:    pertained solely to administrative conditions imposed by the State Engineer as a prerequisite to the utilization of the rights applied for and approved,    The State Engineer has authority to approve an application subject to conditions. W.S. Ranch Company v. Kaiser Steel Corporation, supra; city of Albuquerque v. Reynolds, supra. Retirement of the 1500 acre-feet was such a condition. The original order implemented this condition by identifying 1500 acre-feet of rights to be retired. The amended order did no more than make a change in the manner the condition was to be implemented. It made a change in 381 acre-feet of the rights to be retired. Having authority to condition his approval, the State Engineer had authority to specify how the condition was to be met under the statute then in force, § 75-2-8, N.M.S.A. 1953 [Repealed by Laws 1967, ch. 246, § 1  for current law see § 75-2-8, N.M.S.A. 1953 (Repl.Vol. 11, pt. 2)]. The State Engineer had authority to specify how the conditions he imposed were to be met. Berry claims that this authority could not be exercised once the appeal was filed. He does not contend that any statutory provision prohibited the State Engineer from exercising this authority after he took his appeal. He relies on decisions dealing with the jurisdiction of a District Court after that court's decision has been appealed. See State v. White, 71 N.M. 342, 378 P.2d 379 (1962). We do not decide whether decisions concerning the jurisdiction of District Courts after an appeal is taken apply to the jurisdiction of the State Engineer after his ruling is appealed. Even if such decisions are applicable, they do not prohibit the State Engineer from taking the action he did take. If applicable, these decisions support the action taken by the State Engineer. Under State v. White, supra, the District Court has jurisdiction to pass upon motions pending when the appeal is taken. Here, Roswell's request to make a substitution in 381 acre-feet of the rights to be withdrawn was pending at the time Berry appealed. In Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Anaya, 78 N.M. 101, 428 P.2d 640 (1967) the judgment awarded costs. The District Court had authority to fix the amount of costs after the appeal was taken since the judgment had not been superseded. Here the State Engineer's decision had neither been stayed nor superseded and the amended order did no more than to fix the method of meeting the condition imposed by the decision. We hold that Berry's appeal did not prohibit the State Engineer from exercising his authority to specify how the condition imposed by the decision was to be met.