Work starts on water project
Cutter Lateral to be first step to bring water to Gallup

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Apparently the state of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation aren’t going to let a little thing like congressional approval get in the way of moving ahead with delivering water to the eastern portion of the Navajo Nation.

Despite the fact that Congress has not approved the Nation’s claims to water rights in the San Juan River Basin, or the fact that a Final Environmental Impact Statement has not been issued for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, a groundbreaking ceremony was set for this morning at Whitehorse Lake Chapter on the Cutter Lateral component of the proposed project.

According to Kate Nelson of New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s office, the Eastern Navajo Regional Water Project-Cutter Lateral Water Supply Project is part of the Navajo Nation-New Mexico water rights settlement and the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.

Denish, Navajo Vice President Benny Shelly, Council Speaker Lawrence Morgan and Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan were scheduled to take part in the ceremony.

The $15.3 million product of Gov. Bill Richardson’s “Year of Water” is designed to bring San Juan River water to the eastern part of the Navajo Nation, the southwestern part of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup.

“This is state money that’s going to fund this,” Nelson said Wednesday evening. “2007 was the Year of Water. There was a lot of progress made in passing some new laws on the regulation of water and some state money put into water infrastructure projects. This is one of the biggest ones, $15.3 million.

“It’s an example of the state stepping up where the federal government really ought to be,” Nelson said.

In his 2007 State of the State Address, Richardson proposed a three-part strategy focused on improving water availability, investing in innovation, and conservation of waterways and watersheds.

“We must do our part to extend reliable and clean water supplies,” Richardson said. “In the Eastern Navajo checkerboard region, more than a third of the population does not have easy access to safe drinking water.”

He also proposed a Ute pipeline project for Curry and Roosevelt counties and a project to access water from the Salt Basin beneath Otero Mesa to supply water to communities in Southern New Mexico.

“These projects are aggressive, innovative and offer the best way to secure New Mexico’s water supply for the future,” Richardson said.

The checkerboard area of the Navajo Nation has been a prime target for a new wave of uranium mining and milling, while Otero Mesa has been targeted for oil and gas development.

The Bureau of Reclamation released the Planning Report and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in March. The Cutter Lateral, while not BOR’s preferred alternative, was listed as an alternative in the project. The Final EIS has not been released, though a “Cost and Economics Update” to the report was issued in late November.

On April 19, U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici introduced the Northwest New Mexico Water Projects Act, S. 1171, in support of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.

The bill would authorize and secure the funding needed for construction of the project and approve the historic 2005 settlement agreement between the Navajo Nation and the state of New Mexico. Congress has yet to take up the legislation.

During comments in February to the New Mexico Legislature, Shelly said, “It will be a very tough battle to generate the support needed to succeed in Congress, and the strong support from the state of New Mexico is essential.”

He encouraged state legislators to support an allocation of $15.3 million for Phases 2 and 4 of the Cutter Lateral project.

“These phases will inter-connect several of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority’s public water systems to provide immediate short-term relief to water-starved systems. It will bring the dream of regionalizing these systems and connecting them with the San Juan River at Cutter Reservoir. And it will continue the progress we have already made on the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project.”