Photo by San Carlos Apache Tribe President Terry Rambler for a feasibility study, including an environmental assessment, that will ultimately lead to the construction of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) water system that will transform the tribe’s activities. A contract was signed with the Reclamation Bureau for a feasibility study. The CAP paper water right will be changed to a wet water right, which will be used to replenish drinking water in aquifers, revitalize livestock farming, and promote agricultural development.
Contributed article/Courtesy: San Carlos Apache Tribe
S.Carlos Apache Tribe Reservation – The San Carlos Apache Tribe (the “Tribe”) today announced the signing of a long-delayed $1.5 million contract between the Tribe and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to relocate to Central Arizona.・Announced that it has begun research to supply Project (CAP) water to the San Carlos Apache tribe. reserve.
“Today is a truly historic day,” said San Carlos Apache Tribe President Terry Rambler. “We have waited 43 years for the federal government to honor its promise to bring the Central Arizona Project water to our reservation.”
Under this agreement, the U.S. Bureau of Recycling (BOR) commits to a three-step process to be carried out by the Tribes and the BOR, culminating in the completion of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). EIS is needed to fund water delivery and distribution systems for drinking water, agriculture and livestock.
The contract first calls for a feasibility study to identify alternatives for delivering water rights for the Central Arizona project from the Black River in eastern Arizona to the reservation. The BOR commits to secure the necessary funding for additional engineering and cost analysis related to the construction and operation of water supply and distribution systems and the development of groundwater management plans.
Information from feasibility and engineering/cost analysis studies identifies water delivery and distribution alternatives for environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The BOR has committed to funding a NEPA environmental review that will identify preferred alternatives. Upon completion of this NEPA process, the BOR will adopt a record of decisions, paving the way for final design and construction of the project.
The federal government allocated 64,145 acre feet of water annually to the Tribes pursuant to the Tribes’ CAP Agreement of 1980 and the San Carlos Apache Tribal Water Settlement Act of 1992. (1 acre foot equals 325,851 gallons).
The tribe estimates that the cost burden for the BOR, which is limited to 12,700 acre-feet of system capacity, will be at least $400 million. Construction of the project will create approximately 400 construction jobs. Once completed, the water supply system will create 200 jobs to operate and maintain the water delivery and distribution system, as well as to expand the agriculture and livestock businesses that use the water.
Until the completion of the Coolidge Dam on the Gila River in 1928, the tribe was a leader in Hereford cattle breeding, producing tens of thousands of bushels of corn, wheat and other foodstuffs, and operating a mill.
“The construction of the Coolidge Dam flooded farms and destroyed the agricultural economy.said Rambler Chairman.
In 1980, the Secretary of the Interior promised to provide the tribes with water needed for agriculture and drinking water. After a delay of 43 years, the signing of the contract will initiate the research needed to transform the tribe’s CAP documented water rights into wet water that the tribe can use.
“We will use this water to replenish our drinking water aquifers, revitalize the livestock industry and significantly boost agricultural development,” Rambler said.
“The tribe also intends to ensure that water delivery is only the first step in revitalizing the economy and educating the public,” Rambler said.
“Our leaders are working with universities to develop a curriculum to teach children about the history of water rights, animal husbandry, agriculture, and the construction and maintenance jobs that will eventually be available to build the CAP water system. We plan to develop it,” said the president. Rambler said.
“Nearly a century after the federal government destroyed our agricultural economy by building the Coolidge Dam, the signing of this contract to finally return some of the water stolen from the tribes was delayed by more than 40 years. “We are humbled and grateful for this momentous event,” Rambler said.
“We thank God, our Creator, for this day so that we can complete this project and preserve sacred water for the benefit of our people and our region. I ask God’s continued blessings,” Rambler said. “God bless the San Carlos Apache tribe.”
