Federal funding for Pueblo irrigation projects could be stirred into the water act

Another attempt to fund irrigation projects in Pueblos across New Mexico is being considered by Congress. 

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) is asking the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to include several proposals benefiting the state’s water infrastructure in the 2022 Water Resources Development Act.. 

“Our communities across the Southwest are gripped by the worst drought that we’ve seen in 1,200 years. And as we all know, this is very much the signature of climate change,” Stansbury testified on Thursday.

Among Stansbury’s seven proposals, she wants to add $200 million to the legislation that would be used for Pueblo irrigation if other such projects are being included.

The water act authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work on civil activities, such as flood mitigation, improving water navigation and restoring aquatic ecosystems. The tribal projects do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps, so Stansbury’s request would need to go through the Bureau of Reclamation.

The tribal water projects have sat unfunded for several years. Last year, Stansbury pushed an amendment to pay for the projects through the Build Back Better bill that stalled in the Senate.

The Pueblo irrigation improvement project was created under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, introduced by then-Sen. Bingaman (D-N.M.) in his final term in office. 

Money was set aside to conduct studies, and nearly every Pueblo concluded their reports by highlighting specific areas where water infrastructure projects would be necessary. In 2017, a study showed that the areas would need $280 million to fund the efforts

Nineteen Pueblos are in New Mexico, but the irrigation project amendment supports the 18 Pueblo nations along the Rio Grande. Zuni Pueblo is not part of the program due to its geographic location on the western side of the Continental Divide and is under a different water service agreement.

In 2003, Zuni won a lawsuit granting the Pueblo access to water rights of the Little Colorado River in Arizona.

If money for the irrigation project is approved, the Bureau of Reclamation would facilitate funds for the tribal nations, who would then spend the money on infrastructure projects.

“New Mexicans are deeply concerned about ensuring that our water infrastructure is up to the challenge of responding to this drought and increasing hydrologic change that we’re seeing across our communities,” Stansbury said in her testimony.