WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall on Wednesday introduced legislation aimed at settling a decades old water dispute over water rights claims in the Rio Pojoaque.
The legislation authorizes a settlement of the claims being pursued by the Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque Pueblos in the Rio Pojoaque basin north of Santa Fe. It is based on years of extensive negotiations between many parties, including Indian, local, state and federal parties.
The bill, called the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, authorizes the construction of a regional water system in and around Santa Fe County that will benefit the pueblos and their non-pueblo neighbors. Project construction plus other benefits to the pueblos are expected to cost the Federal government approximately $170 million over the next 15 years. The state of New Mexico and Santa Fe County are expected to contribute up to $70 million towards the cost of the project, depending on the number of non-Pueblo water users served.
"This settlement is critical to New Mexico's future because it provides certainty in allocating water in a perennially water-short area of the state. It also helps address a long-neglected responsibility of the federal government to protect the rights and interests of the affected pueblos," Bingaman said. "With this introduction, we can build more support for this important legislation and work toward its passage in both chambers of Congress."
"The introduction of this bill represents a major milestone in the resolution of water rights claims for four tribes along the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico," said Udall. "Decades of work and negotiation have gone into the settlement, and I am pleased that the tribes, city, county, and community groups involved were able to come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial to all water users in the Pojoaque valley."
Legislation to implement this settlement was introduced in the 110th Congress. Hearings were held in both the House and Senate and based on the submitted testimony a number of changes were made to address concerns with the legislation. These changes help standardize the Pueblos' waivers of claims as part of the settlement; limit the settlement's impact on the Federal budget; and allows for flexibility in developing the size and scope of the regional water system in response to local concerns.
