WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Assistant Republican Leader Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and White Mountain Apache Tribe Chairman Ronnie Lupe today testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in favor of Kyl’s previously-introduced legislation, S. 3128, The White Mountain Apache Tribe Rural Water System Loan Authorization Act, which authorizes a federal loan to the White Mountain Apache Tribe for the planning, engineering, and design of the Miner Flat Project -- a key drinking water project on the tribe’s reservation. Kyl also introduced today The White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2008, which would authorize, confirm, and ratify the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Agreement and authorize federal funding for the construction of the Miner Flat Project.
The agreement settles the tribe’s claims to water in the Gila and Little Colorado River general stream adjudications in Arizona.
“By resolving these claims, we provide certainty to water users in the State of Arizona regarding their future water supplies and ensure that the tribe has a long-term, reliable source of drinking water,” said Kyl.
Without a settlement, the tribe’s claims could impact water users in the Salt River system, a major water source within the State of Arizona. Resolution of these claims would otherwise take many years, entail great expense, prolong uncertainty concerning the availability of water supplies, and seriously impair the long-term economic well-being of all of the parties to the settlement.
Although the agreement has not yet been formally approved, the non-federal parties’ representatives have expressed their written support for the settlement and legislation, and have indicated that they will be submitting it to their respective governing bodies for review and action. On that basis, Kyl agreed to introduce the bill at this time.
“The White Mountain Apache Tribe and the water users in central Arizona have waited a long time for this day,” Kyl noted. “In fact, the legislation that I have introduced today is the product of nearly three years of negotiation and the tremendous work of the settlement parties.”
Parties to the settlement include: the United States; the White Mountain Apache Tribe; the State of Arizona; the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District; the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association; the Roosevelt Water Conservation District; Arizona Water Company; the cities of Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale, Avondale, Peoria and Show Low; the Town of Gilbert; Buckeye Irrigation Company; Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District; and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District.
Under the settlement agreement, the tribe would have a right to a total annual diversion water right of 99,000 acre-feet per year through a combination of surface water and Central Arizona Project water sources. The legislation would confirm, authorize, and ratify the parties’ settlement and provide approximately $127 million for a desperately needed drinking water project on the tribe’s reservation – the Miner Flat Project.
The White Mountain Apache Tribe is located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in eastern Arizona and has approximately 15,000 members. Currently, a relatively small well field serves the drinking water needs of the majority of the residents on the reservation, but production from the wells has declined significantly over the last few years. As a result, the tribe has experienced summer drinking water shortages. The tribe is planning to construct a small Rural Development funded diversion project on the North Fork of the White River on its reservation this year. It indicates that when the project is completed it will replace most of the lost production from the existing well field, but will not produce enough water to meet the demand of the tribe’s growing population. The Miner Flat Project would provide a long-term solution for the tribe’s drinking water shortages.
Kyl is a recognized leader on water issues. As senator, he has authored several pieces of key legislation settling water claims, including the landmark Arizona Water Settlements Act, which became law in 2004.
