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Immediate Release Friday, May 2, 2008
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Steve Wymer (Allard) - 202-224-6207
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the ongoing effort to ensure clean and safe drinking water for the Lower Arkansas Valley, U.S. Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar introduced a new legislative proposal that outlines the funding structure of the Arkansas Valley Conduit. “There is no resource more important than clean and safe drinking water in Colorado,” said Allard. “The people of southeastern Colorado have waited long enough and I am pleased to have played a role in the process to develop legislation with all the stakeholders that will allow the delivery of clean, safe water to financially strapped communities in the Lower Arkansas Valley.” “In the American West, a community’s access to reliable and safe water directly impacts its success,” said Salazar. “This bill will ensure the communities of the Lower Arkansas Valley have a guaranteed and reliable clean water delivery system to help ensure their success for generations to come. I am proud to have worked with Senator Allard on this worthy project and look forward to helping to get it passed.” The Allard-Salazar bill would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to move forward with the construction of the Conduit, first authorized 45 years ago as the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. This original “Fry-Ark” legislation authorized construction of a conduit, but the depressed economic status of southeastern Colorado made it a difficult financial undertaking for the region, a challenge that continues today. As a solution, S. 2974 creates a 65/35 cost sharing agreement between the Bureau and local Arkansas Valley entities. This legislation creates a structure ensuring that local entities can pay their appropriate portion of the construction costs to serve their communities. The bill is expected to be referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Water and Power.
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