RESOLUTION NO. 1982-22 RESOLUTION OF THE PIMA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RELATING The Pima County Board of Supervisors respectfully represents that: WHEREAS, the Papago Tribe and the U. S. Government has initiated litigation in U.S. Federal District Court of Arizona against Pima County and other named parties to determine the ground and surface water rights of all water uses in the upper Santa Cruz River Basis; and WHEREAS, this litigation is expensive, time consuming and casts serious clouds on the water rights of all parties; and WHEREAS, the Pima County Board of Supervisors determined that it is in the best interests of the citizens of Pima County that a legislative solution of the Papago Tribe water rights claims be achieved as expeditiously as possible; and WHEREAS, the Honorable Morris K. Udall, Congressman, Second Congressional District of Arizona, introduced House Resolution 5118, The Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1981, in the House of Representatives, the Congress of the United States; and WHEREAS, House Resolution 5118 as introduced is designed to achieve a legislative solution to the Papago Tribe water rights claims in the upper Santa Cruz River Basin; and WHEREAS, Senators DeConcini and Goldwater introduced S. 2005, which has almost the same wording as H.R. 5118 and is in furtherance of a legislative solution to Southern Arizona water rights claims; and WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Pima County supports the passage of H.R. 5118 and S. 2114 and further believes that an expeditious settlement of the Papago water rights claims is in the best interests of not only the citizens of Pima County but all other water users in the upper Santa Cruz River Basin, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Pima County Board of Supervisors: That the Board of Supervisors of Pima County, Arizona, support passage of H. R. 5118 and S. 2114 now pending before the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States, and in order to further show their support, staff is directed to send a copy of this Resolution to each member of the Congressional delegation at the earliest possible time. Senator GOLDWATER. I thank you, Congressman Udall. It is always a pleasure to hear from you and I think that you are due the credit for hitting this solution. I would like to make, as part of the record, now a story that was in the Washington Post praising this solution and when the Washington Post praises anything, it has to be real good. We will make that a part of the record. [The article follows:] [From the Washington Post, Mar. 30, 1982] PARTIES TO WATER DISPUTE IN ARIZONA FIND SOLUTION THAT COULD BE MODEL (By Al Senia) PHOENIX.-After five years of intense negotiation, Indians and the political establishment in Arizona have reached an agreement on a long-standing water dispute that threatened to paralyze development in the southern part of the state. Supporters of the recently concluded pact, which requires congressional approval because federal money is involved, say it marks the first time a wide assortment of competing special interests-farmers, miners, municipalities and Indians have agreed on a detailed compromise on ground water supplies, avoiding costly litigation. They say the pact could serve as a model for other western areas facing similar water problems. "It's a landmark decision for Indian tribes, to negotiate a settlement among ourselves without it being a court decision," said Gene Cronk, director of the Tucson Water District. Representative Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.), whose staff helped mediate the dispute and who introduced the settlement bill in the House of Representatives, said the bill "will help us to ensure the water future of southern Arizona." The water wrangle centers on dwindling ground water supplies, which form the only source of water for cities, miners and farmers in the southern part of the state. The dispute raises an issue classic to past water disagreements in the West: Should the voracious water needs of a booming area economy be allowed to dwarf the competing interests of a relatively small, agricultural-based Indian tribe? The Indians argued that off-reservation pumping adjacent to a reservation caused wells to dry up and their economy to wither. "The city put 20 wells right up against the reservation," said William Strickland, the attorney for the Papago Indian tribe, whose reservations are the focus of the dispute. "They knew what they were doing, and they were pumping like crazy. All of a sudden, the reservation wells go-dry." Strickland said that since pumping from the 20 wells began, cotton, wheat and alfalfa acreage on the two Papago reservations at San Xavier and Sells in Pima County near Tucson has shrunk from 1,700 acres to 800. The new agreement will guarantee the Papagos a water supply. It requires the Interior secretary to deliver 37,800 acre-feet of water from the Central Arizona Project-a massive multibillion-dollar water diversion pipeline scheduled to deliver Colorado River water to Phoenix and Tucson by mid-decade-to the reservations within 10 years. An additional 28,200 acre-feet would be made available to the Indians from reclaimed water sources. The settlement, called the "Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act," also provides for an extension of reservation irrigation systems, the development of a water management plan and the establishment of a $15 million water trust fund. The measure was passed by the House in early March, 311 to 50. It will he presented for hearing Wednesday before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. The committee will be chaired by Senator Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) and Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), who both support the measure. But the bill has attracted some opposition. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the agreement will cost the taxpayers $96 millicu between 1983 and 1987. That figure, however, was sharply disputed by Jim Magner, a DeConcini staff assistant. Magner said cost estimates "are quite soft" because different systems were used to figure costs in the Senate and House versions of the bill. He said the House measure contains costs associated with the Central Arizona Project—from which much of the Papago water will come-while the Senate version does not. Magner was unable to precisely estimate the water settlement cost because it is still being computed. But he predicted it will be well below that advanced by congressional budget officials. Staff members for DeConcini and Udall say they plan, in their arguments for the measure, to emphasize the money the federal government will save by avoiding what could have become an expensive decades-long court battle. The federal government sued off-reservation water pumpers on behalf of the Papagos in 1975, and all sides agree that action helped spur the settlement. An amended complaint lists 1,800 defendants-virtually every major water user in southern Arizona. Under the agreement, the tribe will dismiss its legal action, limit its ground water pumping and give up claims to additional water in Pima County, which includes Tucson. Cronk said the Papago suit placed "a cloud on the future" of development in the area. "We had the litigation standing over our heads. Every time you have a situation like that, your future's in doubt." But Cronk and other officials think the agreement, if approved by Congress will end the dispute. The water battle was particulary acute because ground water levels in the area have been falling at an alarming rate, and Tucson and the surrounding areas are totally dependent on ground water supplies. Cronk estimates the underground water level has dropped two to 10 feet per year. Officials are touting the Central Arizona Project and a rigid conservation program as solutions to the problem. But large cracks in the earth caused by continued underground pumping already have appeared in the area. Senator GOLDWATER. Senator DeConcini, do you have anything you want to say? Senator DECONCINI. Mr. Chairman, I just want to echo your applause of Congressman Udall. I think he has indeed taken the leadership in formulating some solution to the Papago Indian water claims and it has not been an easy road for him. You and I have been there with him for many, many years, even before I came here, but I know that Moe has labored with this for a long time, and I think the bill that is before us, which is identical to the one that Congressman Udall ushered through the House has great merit and that hopefully we can proceed here with finding a solution short of litigation. I agree with you, Senator Goldwater, and certainly Moe Udall that, as you and I discussed many times, it is better to solve these things legislatively. I think the Papago Indian leadership and their council deserve a great deal of credit for their bending and finding a solution to this, short of litigation also. They did not get everything they wanted out of this. They feel that there are some other areas that need attention and, of course, that is what compromise is all about. So, I am pleased that we are having these hearings and maybe we can get this thing moving on this side. Senator GOLDWATER. Well, I want to congratulate the tribe, too, for having patience. I was first interested in this back in 1946 when I was a member of the First Streams Commission and that was one of the big problems we had back then, because there was a grave question as to whether the Papago land contained tributary streams to the Colorado. We were not able to solve it then and now with this bill it will be solved. Dr. Carruthers, do you want to make a statement, or do you want to put it in the record? Dr. CARRUTHERS. Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit my statement for the record and then make a few comments, if I might. Senator GOLDWATER. Go right ahead. STATEMENT OF HON. GARREY E. CARRUTHERS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR FOR LAND AND WATER RESOURCES Dr. CARRUTHERS. I want to thank you for the opportunity to visit with the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs and represent the Department as it reviews S. 2114 and H.R. 5118. As you know, the Department of the Interior of this administration is well know for its diplomacy, and diplomatically stated, Mr. Chairman, the Department does not like these bills and we oppose enactment. The Department has exercised its trust responsibilities when it filed a suit on behalf of the Papagos and we identified in that lawsuit the city of Tucson, the State of Arizona, 6 mining companies, a farming enterprise, and 1,600 private water users as partially responsible for the Papago water problems. Now, this bill says that all these people are excused. Let's let Uncle Sam carry the load financially one more time. Now the problem we see was created in Arizona. The water is in Arizona, principally under the control of the State, and the beneficiaries of these past practices are still there in Arizona. Our question is: Why should Americans in Boston or South Dakota pay to resolve a problem that belongs principally to Arizona? The people who are responsible for the water situation must contribute to any settlement, and I think to do otherwise would establish an undesirable precedent. Now, we have in the Department of Interior, 56 water adjudications pending. This model for solution is not appropriate. I understand that we normally drag out that complaint, that old chestnut, that Americans must pay because the Department of Interior has failed in its trust responsibilities. We have exercised our trust responsibilities and I personally can not believe that all of the Secretaries of Interior have been that negligent. I think it is our obligation in the Congress and in the administration to begin the process of properly associating the benefits and costs of public and private actions and I think all parties need to be included in this. This bill does not do that, but it should. You have a wonderful opportunity here in legislating relief for this situation. We are not averse to legislation. We are averse to not having the proper association of benefits and costs to those people who are associated with the problem and need to pay some of this. It should not be a burden strictly carried by the American taxpayer. So, I would encourage you to consider these kinds of legislation. This bill does not answer the question in our minds. Therefore, we oppose enactment of this Senate bill. [The prepared statement follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF GARREY E. CARRUTHERS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, LAND AND WATER RESOURCES, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee. I am appearing today to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 2114 and H.R. 5118. These two measures provide water for the Papago Tribe, settlement of Tribal water rights claims in portions of the Tribal reservations, and contain other related provisions. We oppose enactment of these bills. While they settle the liabilities of all the non-Federal parties responsible for the water problem, they do so at Federal expense. |