News Release Archive

Reclamation to Continue Water Delivery Contract Negotiations with Navajo Nation

Media Contact: Pat Page, (970) 385-6560, 10/16/2009 17:54

For Release: October 16, 2009

Reclamation's Western Colorado Area Office announced today that it will be conducting a second-round of negotiating sessions with the Navajo Nation (Nation) on a proposed contract to provide for water deliveries from three Reclamation projects to the Nation's tribal water users. The three projects that were indentified in the Northwest New Mexico Rural Projects Act of 2009 (Act) are the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, the Animas-La Plata Project, and the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. The Act authorized the settlement of Navajo Nation water rights in the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico. The negotiation meeting is scheduled for October 23, 2009 at 9:00 am at the Farmington Civic Center, 200 W Arrington Street in Farmington, New Mexico.

The contract will provide terms and conditions in which water will be stored and delivered under the three projects. In addition, the contract will address operation, maintenance, and replacement (OM&R) responsibilities. The first negotiation session was held October 6, 2009, in Farmington.

All negotiations are open to the public and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments pertaining to the contract during a thirty (30) minute comment period following the negotiation session. The proposed contract and other pertinent documents will be available at the negotiation meeting, or can be obtained by contacting Ryan Randol of the Bureau of Reclamation, 835 East Second Avenue, Suite 300, Durango, Colorado, 81301; telephone (970) 385-6531. The documents are also available at www.usbr.gov/uc/wcao/ under "Current Focus".

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

Draft Contract Between the United States and the Navajo Nation [10-16-09 draft]