Four Corners water legislation advances
John Fleck, the Albuquerque Journal's science writer, noted today in his blog, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed a Navajo-New Mexico Water Settlement bill.
Jeff Bingaman chairs the committee and Pete Domenici is the ranking member. SB 1171 will now go on to the full Senate floor for a vote.
The bill would "provide for the delivery of San Juan River water to Gallup, New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and the Jicarilla Apache Nation." It would also make all provisions, financially and otherwise, for the project to go forward.
Both New Mexico senators lauded the bill's passing in a press release.
“This very important piece of legislation would bring to an end many years of uncertainty over water resources in the Four Corners region. It would ensure that the Navajo Nation, the cities of Gallup and Farmington, and farmers in the basin will have adequate and assured water supplies for years to come,” said Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I am very glad this bill is moving ahead.”
Domenici chimed in as well. “The Navajo-Gallup project has been in the planning stages long enough and we should move forward to authorize and fund this ambitious project. I am also pleased that this bill will provide the necessary funding to pay for all three Indian water-rights settlements in New Mexico.”
Funding the bill will not be easy. With the onset of recession and other economic factors, many are wary of spending large amounts of money; even the government.
Fleck writes:
The cost of the pipeline is uncertain, but is sure to be in excess of $1 billion. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has come up with what he thinks is a funding mechanism involving the Reclamation Fund, which funds the Bureau of Reclamation and is currently a bit flush with money. The problem, however, is that the federal government as a whole is not particularly flush with money, so getting from point A here (a clever idea about the Reclamation fund) to point B (actually spending money to build a water pipe) is not yet certain.
The bill was among 45 bills moved by the committee.
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