Bingaman: President's 2013 Budget Proposal Supports New Mexico's Water, Public Lands & EPA Projects

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he is pleased that the Obama administration is making water projects and public lands initiatives in New Mexico a priority in his 2013 budget proposal. Congress will use this budget proposal as a blueprint when it develops the spending bills that will fund the federal government next year.

The 2013 budget unveiled today includes $98.8 million for the Navajo water settlement Bingaman helped authorize. Of that amount, $32.8 million would be used for Navajo-Gallup pipeline design; $6 million would be put in the Navajo trust fund that will help pay for water-related projects. An additional $60 million for pipeline construction will come from mandatory funding that Bingaman helped secure in the Claims Resolution Act of 2010.

The budget also includes $4 million for the Taos Indian Water Rights Settlement and $5 million for the Aamodt Water Settlement in the Pojoaque Valley. Both of those settlements were authorized through the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 which included $ 147.8 million in funding Bingaman helped to secure.

"The Navajo-Gallup pipeline and the Aamodt and Taos settlements will help bring a reliable and clean water supply to thousands of New Mexicans, while creating hundreds of jobs in the process. I'm pleased the President's budget makes a strong commitment to these New Mexico water settlements and is making an investment to help move these projects forward," Bingaman said.

The budget proposal includes $1.5 million to acquire the former Price's Dairy in Albuquerque's South Valley in order to establish the Middle Río Grande National Wildlife Refuge; $1 million was also recently announced for the acquisition of senior water rights associated with the establishment of this urban wildlife refuge. The Bureau of Reclamation also plans to invest $22.5 million in the Middle Rio Grande for efforts focused on the protection and recovery of the Rio Grande silvery minnow and southwestern willow flycatcher.

Additionally, the Bureau of Reclamation's budget request includes $1.978 million for a water project in eastern New Mexico authorized in a 2009 law that Bingaman authored. This funding will supplement the $1 million allocated to the project in FY2012 to construct an intake structure that will bring water from Ute Reservoir to eastern New Mexico communities.

"TheEastern New Mexico Water Supply Project will do more than bring water to communities in the eastern part of the state. It will also bring new business and job opportunities that would not be possible without a dependable water source," Bingaman said. "The funding in the President's budget will help get this project off the ground."

Bingaman said he is also pleased the Obama administration"s proposal invests in the following New Mexico public land and water initiatives:

Full funding the for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program at $398.3 million (an increase of $11.6 million from FY12);
$495.3 million in mineral revenue payments to New Mexico (an increase of $24.8 million from FY12);
$40 million for the nationwide Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program that Bingaman authored in 2009. Funding will go to two projects in New Mexico in the Jemez Mountains and Cibola National Forest;
$3.426 million for operations at the Valles Caldera National Preserve;
$2.65 million to complete the purchase of the 5,000-acre Miranda Canyon property adjacent to the Carson National Forest in Taos County;
$8.4 million for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Program;
$500,000 to complete final design and construction of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation Rural Water System;
$2.4 million for replacement and consolidation of the Forest Service's Jemez Ranger District office and warehouse; and
$500,000 for rehabilitation of the Forest Service's El Rito Recreation Complex.
The Obama budget request contains funding for the following Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Army Corps of Engineer projects:

EPA

$5.5 million in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to provide low interest loans to help finance wastewater treatment facilities and other water quality projects.
$8 million in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to provide low-interest loans to municipalities to build, improve, and prevent pollution in drinking water systems.
USDA

$13 million set aside in the U.S. Department of Agriculture budget for tribal water and wastewater projects;
$800,000 for technical assistance for rural water systems that serve tribal communities.
Army Corps of Engineers - Projects:

$5.709 million for the Southwest Valley Flood Damage Reduction in Albuquerque:Funding would be used to complete the construction for the Southwest Valley project thereby protecting over hundreds of families and businesses from flooding in the Southwest Valley of Albuquerque.
$10 million for the Rio Grande Floodway, San Acacia to Bosque del Apache:Funding would be used to continue reconstruction of approximately 43 miles of existing west side spoil bank levee located along the Rio Grande, extending from the upper end of the Rio Grande Low-Flow Conveyance Channel at the San Acacia diversion works to the San Marcial railroad bridge. The primary benefit is the protection of the Rio Grande Low-flow Conveyance Channel from Rio Grande flooding.
$300,000 for the Rio Grande Basin (NM, CO, and TX):The Rio Grande Basin is located in the states of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, and encompasses an area over 160,000 square miles, from the Rio Grande's headwaters in central Colorado to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas. The study will identify ways to integrate the programs, policies, and resources of all concerned agencies into a multi-objective water resources plan.
Army Corps of Engineers - Operations and Maintenance

$3.358 million -Abiquiu Dam
$5.256 million - Cochiti Lake
$2.864 million - Conchas Lake
$1.519 million Santa Rosa Dam and Lake
$1.299 million - Jemez Canyon Dam
$916,000 for Two Rivers Damin Chavez County, 14 miles SW of Roswell
$882,000 - Galisteo Dam
$2.5 million - Rio Grande Endangered species Collaborative Program
$1.580 million - Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model Study
$759,000 - Inspection of completed work
$547,000 - Scheduling reservoir operations
Air

$4.2 million in Air Pollution Control Program grants to assist in attaining new air quality standards.
Hazardous Waste

$1 million in Resource Conservation and Recovery Act funding to manage the generation, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste.

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