Water pipeline bill clears key hurdle
By Bill Donovan
Special to the Times
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The long-proposed Navajo-Gallup Pipeline is one step closer to becoming more than plans on paper.
The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System Authorization Act passed the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on May 7 and is now headed to the full Senate for a vote.
The legislation reflects a 2005 agreement between the state of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, which needs congressional approval.
The agreement allocates approximately 600,000 acre-feet of water per year to the Navajo Nation for agricultural, municipal, industrial, domestic and stock watering purposes.
It also authorizes federal funding for the Navajo-Gallup Pipeline project and various water conservation projects in the San Juan basin.
Maria Najera, an aide to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said it was unopposed in the committee. Bingaman, who chairs the committee, and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., wrote the bill and are its chief sponsors.
She added that the bill does not provide funding for the pipeline but only authorizes it. The Senate must allocate funds, probably as part of the federal budget process or in a separate appropriations bill, in order for work on the pipeline to start.
The pipeline, projected to cost between $800 million and $1.2 billion, would originate near Farmington and transport water 90 miles to Gallup. The project would include spur lines to serve chapters in the Eastern Agency.
U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is sponsoring a companion bill, which is now before the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Najera said there has been no major opposition to the bill, except from those few members of the Senate who oppose any bill that would cost the federal government money.
The Bush administration has come out against it, saying it would cost too much and would tie the hands of future presidents. However, so far there is no major Republican backlash against the bill, Najera said.
Under the bill, the Navajo Nation could use about 600,000 acre-feet a year, about half what flows down the San Juan in an average year. An acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons, about the amount used by two average American families in a year, according to the American Water Works Association.
Non-Indian critics to the settlement that was reached between the tribe and the state in 2005 claim this gives too much water to the Navajos.
Several Navajo groups in the Shiprock area also opposed the settlement, saying the Navajo Nation has a legitimate claim to all water from the river, based on U.S. water law.
While a cost of $1.2 billion may seem like a lot, the bill calls for the construction cost to be spread over a 20-year period, or $50 million to $70 million a year.
Najera pointed out that the federal government has spent far more on other water projects, including $1.6 billion for projects in developing countries.
The federal government has also spent $2.3 billion on water infrastructure as part of the effort to rebuild Iraq, and another $2.5 billion has been spent to settle other water rights claims in the West, she said.
That was a big selling point in the Senate committee - the contention that this will resolve one of the biggest water rights disputes in the West and would allow the states and the federal government to get a better idea of the amount available to growing cities in the San Juan River Basin.
Najera said the bill is not expected to reach the Senate floor before Memorial Day, but she does expect that it will be heard by the end of this year.