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U.S.
Senator Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release September 21 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-7600 Andrew Nannis – Press Secretary 202-224-5852 |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – From his seat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, United States Senator Ken Salazar today pressed his colleagues to fulfill the promise of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and complete the Arkansas Valley Conduit. His full statement before the committee today follows: Opening
Statement of U.S. Senator Ken Salazar “Thank you Madam Chair and Ranking Member Johnson for holding this hearing today to consider S.1106, the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act. I want to welcome County Commissioner Bill Long and thank him for coming all the way from Las Animas, Colorado to be here today. “In 1962, Congress authorized the Fryingpan-Arkansas project, a water diversion and delivery project that brings water from the Western Slope of Colorado to communities in the Arkansas Valley on the Eastern Slope of the Rockies. “Much of the Fry-Ark Project is complete. Each year, over 69,000 acre-feet of water flow from the Roaring Fork Basin through the Fry-Ark’s tunnels and reservoirs to farms and households in the Arkansas Valley. This water is the lifeblood of southeastern Colorado. “But one key piece of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project remains unfinished. Congress envisioned that the Bureau of Reclamation would not only help bring water for agricultural and municipal use to southern Colorado, but also that it would help deliver clean, safe, drinking water to towns like Eads, La Junta, Ordway and Lamar. Congress envisioned the construction of a pipeline, or conduit, which would pipe drinking water from the Pueblo Reservoir down the Arkansas River corridor to the communities in the southeastern corner of Colorado. “Unfortunately, the original legislation did not include the federal-local cost-share provision needed for the conduit’s construction. As a result, these communities have to rely on the compromised Arkansas River to deliver water for their citizens, factories and farms. Unfortunately, by the time the Arkansas River winds its way through eastern Colorado and reaches these small communities in the Lower Arkansas Valley, it is laden with natural contaminants like selenium and has picked up effluent from upstream communities and users. “The small towns of Southeastern Colorado have been struggling for years under the weight of protracted drought, soaring energy costs and low commodity prices. Farms are drying up, Main Street shops are shuttering their windows, and families are struggling to pay the bills. And Washington seems to have forgotten its four-decade old commitment to help build the Conduit. Like so many other communities in Rural America, the southeastern corner of the state is withering on the vine. “It is time for the federal government to keep its promise from 40 years ago, and to help provide clean, safe, drinking water to southeastern Colorado. If we fail to fulfill this commitment, I am afraid that we will see more small farms dry up and more towns disappear. Colorado will lose a large component of its economic base. The agricultural heritage that built this country will be one step closer to becoming a quaint memory. “Many of the towns and municipal water treatment systems in the Lower Arkansas Valley have already received notices from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, advising them of the need to upgrade or replace their water treatment systems to treat water taken out of the Arkansas River. The fact is, these communities cannot afford to pay the estimated $640 million for new treatment systems that would be necessary to meet the new federal water quality standards. And if those communities were forced to upgrade their water treatment systems individually, they would have to come to the federal government for help – because they simply cannot afford to do it themselves. “Therefore, Madam Chair, even though this is an expensive project and has a large federal cost-share, the conduit will be far more economical in the long run. And as you will hear today, it still places a sizable burden of funding on the local communities. “I am proud to report, however, that the affected towns and counties have shown that they are able and willing to cover the local cost-share. Remarkably, they have collected letters of intent for 94% of the Conduit’s projected capacity, at a sufficient price to cover the local cost-share. The local communities have made this financial commitment because they understand that this is a valuable and wise long-term investment for the region. “As one who feels that it is critical that local communities participate in and support these types of water projects, I am pleased that this bill has such strong backing in southeastern Colorado. “And I am optimistic that the construction of the conduit will help spur a rural renaissance in southeastern Colorado. Farmers and ranchers are already excited about the new opportunities that renewable energy production offers – from hosting huge wind turbines to growing fuel for biodiesel. With a reliable, affordable source of clean drinking water, these communities can be at the forefront of our renewable energy economy. We need to get the conduit built for this to happen, and we need to do so as quickly as possible. “Madam Chair and Ranking Member Johnson, I again thank you for holding this hearing today and I thank you for responding to my request that Mr. Long be invited to testify. This bill is of great importance to the future of tens of thousands of people across my state and I hope we will soon have an opportunity to pass it out of committee.” # # #
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