Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Arsenic Removal Facility – Santa Cruz Valley Citizens Council, P.O. Box 1501, Tubac, AZ 85646 - $600,000 Environmental Protection Agency, State and Tribal Assistance Grants:  This is an important use of taxpayer funds because it protects the health of Tubac residents.  The arsenic levels in the Tubac water supply currently exceed the federal limit of 10 parts per billion.  The funds will be used to construct an arsenic removal facility in order to comply with federal law.  The total capital cost will be $2.3 million.  Without federal assistance, amortized for 25 years, this would cost the 532 customers of the Tubac water system over $5.2 million in principal and interest (not including O&M expenses), leading to a first-year rate increase of $416,332.  Water bills in Tubac could reach 2.73% of median household income, more than four times the national average projected by the CBO.  Project plans for the arsenic removal facility are ready and construction can begin within one month of funding approval.  Click here for a letter of support from Arizona State Representative Frank Antenori.

Communications/Water Facility Plan – Sonoita-Elgin Fire District, 3173 N. Hwy 83, Sonoita, AZ 85637 - $350,000 U.S. Forest Service, State and Private Forestry:  This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will increase fire-fighting capacity and improve safety in the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District, the first responder to 105 square miles of National Forest land in the Coronado National Forest. Funds will be used to expand remote water storage capabilities and enhance communications capabilities. Currently, the Sonoita-Elgin tender truck must shuttle long distances to refill with water when fighting fires in remote areas and 35% of the district has spotty or no communications coverage.  The Communications/Water Facility plan will provide three water facilities for wildland and structural firefighting and greatly improve communications within eastern Santa Cruz County, southeastern Pima County and a portion of western Cochise County, and provide benefits to multiple emergency services agencies in the area.  Click here for a letter of support from Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Maynard.

Empire Ranch Headquarters Restoration & Preservation: Adobe Hay Barn – Empire Ranch Foundation, P.O. Box 842, Sonoita, AZ 85637 - $185,000 Department of Interior, Save America’s Treasures: This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it preserves a nationally recognized historic site and enables one-of-a-kind educational opportunities.  This funding will restore the Adobe Haybarn, a key structure at Empire Ranch Headquarters, a historical site that was once one of the largest cattle ranches in the west.  Located 50 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona, within the 42,000-acre Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, the Ranch House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Adobe Haybarn, built ca. 1880, is a large two-story building constructed of adobe blocks.  Its use is currently limited due to safety concerns, requiring structural work to strengthen and stabilize the roof system, load bearing walls and floor. Once stabilized it will be provide a facility for large group educational and public outreach events including the nationally recognized Wild About the Grasslands! ecology and ranching heritage education program.  Click here for letters of support from former Representative Jim Kolbe, Pima County Administrator C.H. Huckelberry, Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Maynard and Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll.

Invasive Grass Species Planning and Fire Mitigation Exercise– Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center, 1955 E. 6th Street, Tucson, AZ 85719 – $302,750 US Forest Service, State and Private Forestry: This is a good use of taxpayer funds because it leverages significant public and private investment to protect local vegetation, the environment and private and federal lands from wildfire. The exponential spread of invasive p. ciliare (buffelgrass) and the subsequent conversion of flameproof desert to flammable grassland poses a serious threat to the Sonoran ecosystem.  In consultation with five federal agencies and the USGS-Invasive Species Science Branch, the Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center (SABCC) will use funds to manage, evaluate and execute projects, including the hand removal and spraying of colonizing populations as well as aerial spraying of dense stands on difficult terrain.  A web-based clearinghouse and integrated decision model will be developed to create strategies, track success and adaptively manage invasive species control measures.  The main benefits will be a coordinated approach, increased capacity across all federal lands (including 14 national parks, monuments reserves, forests and military reservations), the creation of a 10-yr plan to sustain the effort, and reduced risk of re-infestations onto other public and private land.  Click here for a letter of support from Tucson Mayor Robert Walkup.

Sabino Canyon Coronado National Forest Improvements - Southern Arizona Rescue Association, P.O. Box 12892, Tucson, AZ  85732 - $225,000 US Forest Service, State and Private Forestry: This project is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because improvements to the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (SARA) training facility will ensure all-weather access for emergency vehicles and enable SARA to continue to recruit, train and retain members who serve the community.  SARA is a volunteer organization that has served the community for over 50 years, proving search and rescue service for lost and injured hikers.  The Pima County Sheriff’s Department greatly depends on SARA’s rescue services to fulfill its public safety mission.   It is estimated that SARA has provided over $3 million in cost savings to county taxpayers.  SARA participates in over 100 missions per year, working in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol, and other state, county and federal agencies.  Click here for a letter of support from Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik.

Steam Pump Ranch Historic Site Restoration - Town of Oro Valley, 11000 N. La Canada Drive, Oro Valley, AZ 85737 - $750,000 National Park Service, Save America’s Treasures:  This restoration is an important use of taxpayer funds that will preserve essential elements of southern Arizona’s cattle, mercantile, military and professional baseball heritage; and it will create a valuable community resource for education as well as an economic driver through increased tourism revenue.  Funding will be used for the restoration of a 15-acre, 13-building complex called the Steam Pump Ranch located in the heart of Oro Valley, Arizona.  The Ranch is a centerpiece of regional history and was purchased with county bond funds in 2004.  It has also been designated on the National Historic Register.  Click here to read a letter of support from Linda Mayro of Pima County.

Sulger Subdivision Sanitary Sewer, City of Sierra Vista, 1011 N. Coronado Dr., Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 - $ 1,250,000 Environmental Protection Agency, State and Tribal Assistance Grants:  This is a prudent use of taxpayer funds because it will revitalize a low-income neighborhood while furthering Sierra Vista’s on-going efforts to protect the San Pedro River.  Funding will be used to design and construct a sanitary sewer system for the Sulger Subdivision which was developed nearly 40 years ago with septic systems on small lots.  This project will also recharge approximately 38 acre feet of water per year into the aquifer, benefitting local residents and Fort Huachuca. The area consists of 156 lots of which 61 (39%) are still within unincorporated Cochise County.  Due to the age of the subdivision, septic systems are beginning to fail and there is no room for replacement systems. This is resulting in a cumulative environmental concern that could lead to property abandonment. The area is designated low-income by the U.S. Census, and property owners would not otherwise be able to pay the nearly $25,000 per lot to add sewer service.  Revitalization of this area is not possible without sewer service.  Click here for a letter of support from Sierra Vista Mayor Robert Strain.

Upper San Pedro Partnership Monitoring and Reporting – Upper San Pedro Partnership, 2160 E. Fry Blvd., Ste. C-5, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 - $750,000 US Geological Survey, Surveys, Investigations and Research:  This is a good use of taxpayer funds because Fort Huachuca and the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area depend upon the Upper San Pedro regional aquifer to provide a sustainable long-term water supply.  Fort Huachuca contributes approximately $2 billion to the state of Arizona’s economy and provides approximately 32,179 jobs. This request will fund scientific monitoring and reporting of the progress that is being made to reduce the groundwater deficit in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed.  Without this information it is difficult, if not impossible, for the water managers/stakeholders to choose the most cost-effective and environmentally-sound management actions that will lead to the sustainable use of the Upper San Pedro regional aquifer.  This project will also fulfill the reporting requirements of Public Law 108-136 which requires that an annual report be made to Congress of the progress that is being made toward the sustainable use of this regional aquifer.  Click here for a letter of support from Sierra Vista Mayor Robert Strain.