FLAGSTAFF — Sen. Mark Kelly took over the Flagstaff City Council chambers Thursday morning to hold the first U.S. Senate outdoor hearing in the city in more than 30 years.
The hearing was intended to provide testimony about local flood control and water conservation challenges and ongoing projects aimed at addressing some of those issues.
“Being able to have people come out and testify in Senate hearings…it's important to do that here in Arizona so the public can come and hear this and we We want people to know that we're here,” said Kelly. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's subpanel focuses on transportation and infrastructure, and funding for projects is channeled through this subpanel.
“When you go to the U.S. Senate with a whole list of things you want to work on, the first thing on that list is helping people in your state,” he said.
Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett, Navajo County Supervisor Alberto Pesulakai, and Chairman Peter Yucupisio of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in southeastern Arizona all agree that the unique challenges their communities experience almost every year, especially during the monsoon season, testified on water conservation and flooding challenges.
Col. Andrew Baker of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also testified about the current progress of several major projects underway in Arizona to address these issues.
Flagstaff flood preparedness
The Rio Defrag flood control project is in its final stages, with three major components of the project already under construction. Those include a large reservoir in the Clay Wash basin, bridge structures in the upper basin and a large culvert under Butler Avenue, Daggett said.
The City is currently working with local landowners, one of the largest being BNSF Railway, to acquire the properties needed to complete the project. Daggett said the goal is to have shovels in the ground by spring 2025.
“We have worked closely with the Army Corps of Engineers on the Rio Defrag flood control project since 2001 and continue to move toward completion of what will be the most transformative infrastructure project in our city's history.” Daggett testified.
“Once this project is complete, it will have a transformative impact on our city. First, more than half of our residents, Northern Arizona University, and more than 1,500 structures, including City Hall, where we sit, will be flooded. It will be removed from the field.’ Now,” she said.
Once completed, homeowners and businesses will be able to undertake construction and renovations that were previously not possible due to their location in the floodplain. Daggett said the project would also eliminate the need for expensive flood insurance and open up more than $1 billion in economic development.
“Simply put, this project will transform this great city,” she said.
Winslow Levee Reconstruction
Not far to the east, Winslow and parts of the Navajo Nation have also spent more than a decade solving their own floodplain problems.
More than half of the town's residents and businesses have lived in the floodplain since the Winslow Levee along the Little Colorado River was decertified by the federal government in 2008. Peshlakai said this cost about $15 million in flood insurance premiums. He said this has caused property values to plummet and stunted economic growth in the region for nearly two decades.
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The benefits of this project extend beyond the city limits of Winslow, particularly to the Bird Springs Chapter of the Navajo Nation in Leuppe, which has historically been affected by flooding that often made roads into Winslow impassable. Peshlakai pointed out that
“The rehabilitated levee system and associated flood mitigation benefits will provide tribal residents with greater access to medical services, emergency services, food and other necessities,” he said.
After allocating $65 million in federal funds to the project in 2022, the Army Corps of Engineers began the preconstruction engineering design phase, Baker said. The Corps will soon conduct various technical surveys and models of the area, moving one step closer to the start of construction.
The federal agency hopes to begin construction by 2027. Baker estimates the project will take about four years to complete after the Corps awards the contract.
“The completion of the Winslow Levee Project is key to unlocking economic growth in Northeast Arizona,” said Peshlakai.
federal dollars at work
Mr. Kelly greatly praised the bipartisan infrastructure bill that provided the federal funding that made this long-popular project possible. He said this is an example of how Democrats and Republicans “are supposed to work” coming together to solve real problems in their communities.
“I think once this Rio de Flag project is completed, we will see an economic benefit here in Flagstaff,” said Kelly, who has said the project has been one of his top priorities since he began his campaign. In 2019, it was stated that there was.
During the hearing, Kelly also announced a new Drought Resilient Infrastructure Act, which he plans to introduce to the Senate within the next two weeks. This legislation is another way to help small rural communities begin working on similar projects in their areas. The bill creates new programs and gives the Corps new authority to specifically respond to drought conditions, he said.
“We have an opportunity to do something big that really impacts people's lives,” Kelly said. “That's a big win, but that doesn't always happen.”
In order for Kelly's bill to reach President Joe Biden's desk this year, it had to pass through his chambers and the fractured U.S. House of Representatives at a time when legislative work is often halted as lawmakers focus on upcoming elections. It is necessary to do so.
Here's where to contact the reporter: LLatch@gannett.com.
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