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Senate nearly final vote on New Mexico water settlements
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By Patricia Chambers
The bill is sponsored by New Mexico Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman. The two New Mexico lawmakers pressed the committee to approve the legislation despite continuing opposition from the Bush administration.
The Aamodt and Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2008 (S. 3381) was approved by the committee by voice vote.
The federal legislation would resolve water rights claims by Native American tribes in Northern New Mexico associated with the Río Pojoaque Basin (Aamodt lawsuit) and the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement (Abeyta lawsuit).
Approval by the full Senate and an affirmative vote by the House of Representatives is needed before the legislation can be sent to President Bush for his signature.
Senate Bill 3381, along with a companion bill (HR.6769) introduced by Congressman Tom Udall, is the result of extensive negotiations between many parties, including Indian, local, state and federal parties. It would also resolve litigation that has been pending in the federal courts since the 1960s.
The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to develop water infrastructure in the Río Grande Basin and approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Tesuque and Taos pueblos.
Through the agreements, state and local parties will contribute 33 percent of the implementation costs.
The negotiated Aamodt settlement includes about $160 million to construct a regional water system in and around Santa Fe County that will benefit the pueblos and their non-pueblo neighbors within the next decade.
The state of New Mexico and Santa Fe County are expected to contribute approximately $117 million towards the cost of the project. Funds have been held in trust for several years to finance the local portion of the agreement.
The Taos Settlement requires funding a number of small projects to help improve water use efficiency; groundwater management; and improve water quality in the Taos Valley.
Taos Pueblo will also receive direct funding to manage its water resources.
The Abeyta settlement is expected to cost the federal government approximately $114 million, according to a statement from Domenici’s office. The state of New Mexico is expected to contribute another $20 million to the effort.
Federal lawmakers introduced legislation last April to authorize the settlement reached on the Navajo Nation’s water rights claims in the San Juan River Basin.
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