Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

U.S. Representative Steve Pearce again introduced a bill to allow the Mescalero Tribe of southern New Mexico to lease unused, excess water. The new bill H.R. 1377.

“I reintroduced this legislation that passed the House last Congress,” said Pearce. “This bill gives the Mescalero Apache Tribe an opportunity for economic growth, and regional communities will be able to access desperately needed water.”

Mescalero Apache President Frederick Chino Sr. thanked Pearce for his work. “We thank Rep. Pearce for his leadership in reintroducing this bill and for his friendship and commitment to the Mescalero people,” said Chino. “The Mescalero Apache Tribe is working hard to ensure that the needs of the Mescalero people and surrounding communities are met, and that the region continues to grow and prosper. Water is one of our most important resources, and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act will allow our Tribe to better manage our water, and allow us to work with our neighboring communities on water usage…The Mescalero Tribe also appreciates and acknowledges the City of Ruidoso, our neighbor and partner on this legislation.”

Ruidoso Mayor Ray Alborn emphasized the importance of the bill for the local community. “I appreciate the persistence of Congressman Pearce and the cooperation of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in working on this bill. Water is critical for all of us, and this bill is a huge step forward for the community. I am thankful for the hard work of Rep. Pearce, his staff, President Chino, and the Mescalero Tribe. The cooperation among all those involved has been excellent, and will benefit Ruidoso, the Mescalero Tribe, and the surrounding area.”

The legislation would permit the lease or transfer of water rights for a term of up to 99 years provided the lease or transfer complies with the laws of New Mexico. The bill both promotes economic growth and emphasizes self-determination rights for Native American communities. Revenue gained from leasing this water would enable the Tribe to invest in vital services for their reservation, such as infrastructure improvements, elder care, and scholarship programs.

Pearce introduced the bill in the 112th Congress, where it saw strong bipartisan support, successfully passing the House of Representatives.

The Bureau of Reclamation, Navajo Nation, and city of Farmington, N.M. are continuing title transfer agreement negotiations for the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline, part of the Animas-La Plata Project. The meeting with the city is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 2013, at the Farmington City Hall Executive Conference Room in Farmington, N.M. The meeting with the Navajo Nation is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 28, 2013, at the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Conference Room in Chinle, Ariz.

The title transfer agreements will convey title to each portion of the NNMP facilities or reaches of the pipeline to the Navajo Nation or the city.

All negotiations are open to the public as observers, and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments pertaining to the title transfer agreement during a thirty minute comment period following the negotiation session.

A water rights settlement agreement was formally signed by state and federal leaders on March 14 in Santa Fe, including New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. The landmark settlement will resolve the claims of the Pueblos of Nambe, Tesuque, Pojoaque, and San Ildefonso in one of the longest-running federal cases in the United States and a decades-long water rights adjudication in New Mexico.

This settlement was formerly signed by the Pueblos of Nambe, Tesuque, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, the City and County of Santa Fe, other non-Pueblo parties, and the State of New Mexico in 2006. Federal legislation was passed in 2010 authorizing the settlement and the construction of a regional water system to bring water into the Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin in northern New Mexico. This settlement is known as the Aamodt Settlement after the first name listed in the water rights adjudication.

Leaders from all four Pueblos, State Engineer Scott Verhines, Attorney General Gary King, the Mayor of Santa Fe, Commissioner Kathy Holian and representatives for the County of Santa Fe, will be present to sign the conformed Settlement Agreement with Governor Susana Martinez and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at a signing ceremony to be held at the Bureau of Indian Education Indian School in Santa Fe.

“New Mexico has resolved one of our state’s longest, most contentious water disputes which began in the late sixties. I am honored to sign the settlement and am confident that we have protected water rights; thereby providing certainty to all and ending longstanding litigation for our citizens. I am proud that the Pueblo leaders from Nambe, Pojoaque, Tesuque and San Ildefonso, the acequia parciantes, the federal government, the state representatives, and everyone involved have worked together to find a solution” said New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. “This is proof that we can come together, work out our differences, and come to a positive agreement on behalf of our citizens.”

“We are resolving decades of disputes, preserving the seniority of water rights for the Pueblos and protecting the rights of the non-Pueblo users. I am grateful for the hundreds of people and thousands of hours that have been dedicated to reaching this landmark agreement. I urge New Mexicans to continue working together as we implement the terms of this settlement and keep New Mexico moving forward.”

The Settlement is complex and is based on many key concepts including: The Pueblos agreeing not make priority calls against non-Pueblo users, provided the non-Pueblo users agree to one of several options outlined in the Settlement Agreement. A regional water system (pipeline) will be constructed to deliver treated water to Pueblo and non-Pueblo users in the basin. Connecting to the pipeline will be optional.

The United States will acquire 2,500 acre-feet of imported water per year in the basin for use by the Pueblos to compensate them for not fully exercising their rights to make a priority call. Santa Fe County is responsible for acquiring 750 acre-feet per year of imported water for the benefit of non-Pueblo users, and for a total supply of 1,500 acre-feet per year for use by non-Pueblo water users in the basin.

The Settlement Agreement and supporting documents are available for public review at the Office of the State Engineer’s website at: www.ose.state.nm.us.

The Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission on February 26 approved an agreement with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes covering water use by the Flathead Irrigation Project.

From a Compact Commission report on the agreement:

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the State of Montana and the United States have agreed to a series of revisions to the proposed water rights settlement released to the public in October and updated in November 2012. These revisions have been made in response to public comments that were made to the Parties in writing or during the roughly two dozen meetings across western Montana that the Parties have held over the past few months. The settlement is comprised of a proposed Water Rights Compact, which includes a series of appendices, and a proposed Unitary Administration and Management Ordinance. The documents below are the final set that the Parties expect to seek to have ratified by the 2013 Legislature.

Please note that the water rights abstracts that make up several of the Compact appendices continue to be marked as “draft.” This is because these abstracts will not become enforceable until after the Water Court approves the Compact and issues a decree including these rights. These draft abstracts are the set of abstracts that the Parties intend to have the Water Court approve at the appropriate time and they spell out the proposed quantification of the Tribes’ water rights in great detail.

After State ratification, both the US Congress and the Tribes would need to approve the settlement. After the three Parties act to ratify the settlement, it would be submitted to the Water Court for final approval.

The agreement notes, “The Tribes have the right to water that is supplied to the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project to be used for such purposes in such volumes and flow rates and from such sources of supply as identified in abstracts of water right attached hereto as Appendix 5 to this Compact. The exercise of this portion of the Tribal Water Right is subject to the FIIP Water Use Agreement entered into by the Tribes, the Flathead Joint Board of Control, and the United States. … The priority date for the portion of the Tribal Water Right used by the FIIP is July 16, 1855.”

Bureau of Reclamation officials, including Great Plains Regional Director Michael J. Ryan, will join Crow Tribal Chairman Cedric Black Eagle and other tribal members in a signing ceremony initiating planning, design and construction of the municipal, industrial and rural water system for the tribe on August 30 in Billings, Montana.

“Reclamation has the important responsibility of developing infrastructure that is critical to the successful implementation of the Crow Indian Water Rights settlement,” Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor said today. “We are focused on making rapid progress in Indian country, allowing tribes to realize the benefits of such settlements. This contract is a significant first step in bringing a vital water supply to the Crow people, promoting health and economic prosperity for generations.”

Reclamation and the tribe completed contract negotiations for the planning, design and construction of the MR&I system this month.

It is the latest step in implementation of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 signed by President Obama which included four major water rights settlements – totaling more than $1 billion – for American Indian tribes including the Crow Nation. It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, through Reclamation, to rehabilitate the CIP and to design and construct the MRI system.

On July 15, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor visited the Crow Indian Reservation to participate with a crowd of 200 celebrating the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement, which will bring a cumulative total of more than $460 million to the Crow Nation to ensure safe drinking water for the reservation and rehabilitate the irrigation project.

“Reclamation is proud to partner in this effort,” said Ryan. “It couldn’t have been accomplished without the cooperative efforts of the tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the solicitor’s office, and the state of Montana. We look forward to working with these agencies in the future.”

The Crow Reservation encompasses more than two million acres, and is home to roughly two-thirds of the approximately 12,000 Crow tribal members. The drinking water system on the Reservation has significant deficiencies in capacity and water quality and many tribal members must at times haul water.

The tribe desires to complete all activities and put the mandatory funding, as well as appropriated discretionary funding, in interest bearing accounts as soon as possible. Upon execution of the contract, Reclamation will be able to transfer $146 million of mandatory funding to an interest-bearing tribal account where withdrawals will be based on negotiated Annual Funding Agreements. The Act authorizes more than $378 million for the CIP and MR&I system, with a mandatory component of more than $219 million and more than $158 million of discretionary funding.

The Bureau of Reclamation, Navajo Nation, and city of Farmington, N.M. will continue negotiations on a proposed operations agreement for the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline, part of the Animas-La Plata Project. The third negotiation meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24, at the Bureau of Reclamation, Four Corners Construction Office, 2200 Bloomfield Highway in Farmington, New Mexico.

The operations agreement will set forth terms and conditions that are determined to be necessary for delivery of water through the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline.

All negotiations are open to the public as observers, and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments pertaining to the operations agreement during a thirty minute comment period following the negotiation session. The proposed operations agreement and other pertinent documents will be available at the negotiation meeting

The comment period for a new Flathead Indian Irrigation Project deal between local tribes and other water users will be extended to July 16 after an initial hearing generated both disagreements and the need for additional education about the terms of the agreement.

The basic draft involved an irrigation project set of terms involving the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the Flathead Joint Board of Control. When the negotiation effort ended on May 31, one of the key elements was reported to be the amount of water available for non-tribal irrigators. That left to concern among irrigators about just how much money would be available.

One person at one of the public meeting said that “irrigators don’t want to be de-prioritized.”

The deal is available on line, but the terms may not be well understood.

The Hopi Tribal Council voted on June 21 to endorse a proposed water right settlement for the Tribe’s Little Colorado River water right claims. The proposed settlement would end decades-long water rights adjudication and is the first step in ensuring a dependable supply of clean water for the Tribe. “I am greatly pleased by the Council’s decision,” stated Hopi Tribal Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa. “For the first time since our reservation was established we will be able to guarantee clean, reliable water supplies for our people.”

Council Representative George Mase, Chairman of the Tribal Council’s Water and Energy Team, agreed with Chairman Shingoitewa’s assessment: “After talking to the Hopi people and hearing their concerns, it is clear that the people want a clean and reliable water supply. Our team negotiated for years to reach a settlement, and I am pleased that the Council decided to endorse the settlement.”

The Hopi Tribe has claimed reserved water rights from four sources: on-reservation surface water and groundwater, surface water from the Little Colorado River, and surface water from the mainstem Colorado River. The proposed settlement would confirm the Hopi Tribe’s rights to on-reservation surface water and groundwater, reserve a quantity of water from the mainstem Colorado River for a future settlement the Hopi Tribe’s mainstem water rights claims, provide for the development of essential on-reservation water delivery infrastructure, and establish a framework for the sustainable management of the N-Aquifer which is currently threatened by unmanaged pumping. In return, the Tribe would waive its claims to the Little Colorado River and its damages claims for injuries to water rights or water quality that occur before the settlement goes into effect. “The Little Colorado River is by far the least reliable of our four potential water sources,” explained Councilman Mase. “This is a fair tradeoff.”

Chairman Shingoitewa agreed with Councilman Mase’s assessment. “We are confident the benefits for the Hopi Tribe outweigh the risks of continued litigation,” explained Chairman Shingoitewa. “The settlement proposal provides a path to ensure a lasting supply of clean water for both tribes. Hopefully the Navajo Nation will endorse the settlement as well.”

In order to become effective, Congress also must ratify the settlement and appropriate funds for the development of projects specified in the settlement. The Hopi Tribal Council voiced its concerns about the proposed federal legislation, which was introduced before the agreement was reached. The Council has previously instructed Chairman Shingoitewa and Water and Energy Team’s Chairman Mase to co-sign a letter to Senators Kyl and McCain asking for changes in their proposed legislation. Specifically, the Tribal Council will be asking Senators Kyl and McCain to remove provisions related to the Navajo Generating Station and other items contained in the federal legislation .

From a commentary by the Goshute Tribe on a recent Nevada water rights decision:

Jason King published a decision today on the most important water rights battle ever decided by any Nevada State Engineer. The ruling could allow for 83,988 acre feet of water to be removed from four valleys in the Great Salt Lake Desert aquifer to send to Las Vegas under a proposal made by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. SNWA had applied for 125,976 acre-feet from these valleys and plans to request more from Snake Valley.

Details on the ruling can be found online.

The Goshute Tribe has been defending itself from the threat of this project for nine years, but with little support from the federal government, which has a trust responsibility to protect the tribe’s interests. On its own, the tribe interviewed almost every one of its tribal elders to document cultural uses and sites they consider sacred within its ancestral landscape in preparation for this hearing. The tribe detailed its hunting and gathering areas, massacre sites, historic villages, burial sites, sacred springs, and more as part of this process. This substantive information was presented to the State Engineer during the six week hearing (see cultural map online which is available for media use), but does not appear to have influenced the decision in any meaningful way.

Tribal Chairman Ed Naranjo stated, “I fear Mr. King’s decision today might literally wipe out our tribe. What is most frustrating though, is that millions of people who will be severely impacted by this project, have never even heard of it. Goshute people never damaged the earth, we never messed with the balance, but others are out to destroy us, and seemingly for only one reason, the almighty dollar.”

Additionally, six Goshute witnesses testified and detailed the Goshute’s strong cultural ties to this area and spiritual beliefs about the importance of water. During this testimony, SNWA’s attorney asked the Goshute witness to explain the difference between Goshute spiritual beliefs, and his own childhood belief in the bogeyman. The were numerous protestants arguing against SNWA’s proposal during the hearing, including the LDS Church, Salt Lake, Millard, Juab, and Tooele Counties in Utah, Great Basin Water Network, and the Ely and Duckwater Shoshone Tribes.
The Goshute tribe has 30 days to decide whether to appeal of the State Engineers decision in court.

Vice-Chair of the Goshute Tribal Council, Madeline Greymountain says, “Las Vegas might believe it has hit the jackpot with today’s decision, but the tribe has no intentions of letting this go without more fight. Goshute People are determined to protect the abundant life that exists in Spring Valley. These natural resources are vital to our existence, spiritual balance and well-being. This land is part of our ancestral lineage. It is as important to our people today, as it was to our past, and will be to our future generations. So we must protect it in every way we can.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations recently entered into an agreement to develop the first phase of Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations Regional Water Plan.

This science-based regional water plan will assess the water resources of the Nations’ treaty territory, an area that roughly covers the 22 counties of southeastern and south central Oklahoma.

The plan is designed to develop strategies for the sustainable management of the region’s water resources by considering current and future water needs as well as the condition and adequacy of infrastructure throughout the region.

The $180,000 cost of the study is federally authorized through the Planning Assistance to States and Tribes program and will be shared equally between the Corps of Engineers and the two Nations.

“We are proud to partner for the first time with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations,” said Col. Michael Teague, Tulsa District commander. “Our goals of environmental stewardship and sustainability are very closely aligned and we look forward to a continued partnership.”

The first phase of the study will focus on developing methods to evaluate in-stream flows and infrastructure.

A panel of scientists selected by the Nations natural resources committee from federal agencies, academia and other highly qualified individuals will conduct the study of in-stream flow.

“It is envisioned that the recommended methodology will be used to establish minimum stream flow levels necessary for highly valued water supply and hydropower,” said Cynthia Kitchens, tribal liaison and project manager for the Corps of Engineers. “But just as important, these flows will help sustain natural resources, cultural, and recreational needs that are also extremely important to the Nations and the region for economic as well as other reasons.”

The infrastructure assessment methodology will be developed to determine data gathering procedures that will help regionalize and prioritize improvements to aging infrastructures.

“This can be challenging when you consider gathering data from tribes, municipalities, counties, rural water districts, and others who employ a multitude of consultants,” Kitchens said. “This phase of the study will identify how to gather data and what data should be obtained. The results will have broad reaching impacts within the region and the Nations.”

The first phase of the study is expected to be completed in summer 2012.