Water projects take a hit in BOR budget
Yet, more than $1.5 million earmarked for local programs

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — New Mexico will lose nearly $4 million in Fiscal Year 2007 funding for Bureau of Reclamation projects, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici said Monday.

But there is good news for the Navajo Nation and Gallup.

The BOR FY 2007 project funding includes $600,000 for the Navajo-Gallup water supply project, up from $479,000 in FY 2006; $50,000 for the Navajo Nation investigations program, down from $172,000; $50,000 for the Eastern New Mexico investigations, down from $67,000; and $149,000 for the San Juan River Basin investigations program, the same amount as last year.

Domenici, R-N.M., said the cuts are largely due to Congress' failure to finish funding bills last fall.

BOR has eliminated funding for a variety of New Mexico projects, including the Jicarilla Apache Reservation Rural Water System which received $250,000 in FY 2006; the Albuquerque Metro Area Water Reuse program, the Espanola Water Diversion project, and the Chimayo Water Project, all previously funded at $1 million each.

Two big winners in BOR funding are the Carlsbad project, which will receive $3,635,000 compared to $2,985,000 in FY 2006, and the Animas-La Plata Project, which will see an increase to $63,420,000 from $56,000,000.

Domenici, now ranking member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, received the BOR funding levels Monday for New Mexico projects. Overall, the BOR FY 2007 budget amounts to $1.024 billion.

The Bureau was left to distribute funding without congressional direction due to the new congressional leadership decision to roll the FY 2007 Energy and Water appropriations into a massive, comprehensive bill without any specific project funding, according to Domenici.

"We are reaping what has been sown," he said. "This is the unfortunate situation we face because of the failure to pass the Energy and Water Bill and instead roll it into a package that leaves it to Washington bureaucrats to decide where funding is needed."

Domenici said he is particularly disappointed that the Chimayo Water Project is not funded, "especially when we've been looking for the Bureau to make progress on that very much-needed project. The same goes for the Albuquerque water reuse program which has made progress on water conservation in the Middle Rio Grande," he said.

He vowed to work with BOR to see that New Mexico is treated fairly as the Bureau works within its major programs such as Water 2025.

Funding for the Middle Rio Grande Project, $27.6 million, was trimmed $456,000 from FY 2006 and is well below the $39.5 million Domenici included in the Senate's unfinished FY 2007 appropriations bill.

The Chimayo Water Project which would provide water to approximately 150 homes, is authorized under the Domenici-authored Chimayo Water Supply System Act of 2004. The $1 million secured in FY 2006 will complete the first phase of the project, which is unfunded in FY 2007.

BOR eliminated all funding for the Albuquerque Metro Water Reclamation and Reuse program, which receive $1 million in FY 2006. Domenici was trying to secure $2.77 million for the project, in addition to $250,000 for a Rio Rancho water recycling program.

The Bureau is funding its Desalination and Water Purification Program at $2.025 million in FY 2007, well below the $7.02 million outlined by the Senate to support projects like the Tularosa Basin Desalination Facility, Domenici said.

BOR will provide $27,620,000 for Middle Rio Grande Project, including the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaboration program, down from $28,076,000 in FY 2006. The federal agency also will provide $475,000 tosupport the Bureau's Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Program.

Another $8.5 million is proposed for BOR's Science and Technology program, but it is unsure how much of this funding will be directed toward New Mexico for such projects as efficient irrigation development.

The Senate bill sought $2 million for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to continue more efficient irrigation practices, and another $2.5 million for salt cedar eradication on the Rio Grande, Pecos River and Canadian River.

BOR project funding also includes $179,000 for the Southern New Mexico-West Texas Investigations Program, down from $220,000; $36,000 for the Tucumcari project, a decrease from $61,000 in FY 2006, and $99,000 for the Upper Rio Grande Basin Investigations, which was not funded previously.