Kempthorne carries through on water rights promise

From Indian Country Today:

The Arizona Water Rights Settlement Acts of 2004 reached the Gila River Indian Community and Tohono O’odham Nation in 2007, with Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s December signoff. The tribes received access to assured water allocations, along with the financial wherewithal to develop their land and water resources and expand their economies.

The legislation that bears President Bush’s signature was the product of an effort that spanned three decades by tribes, cities, farmers and the federal government, according to a BIA release that singled out Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., as “the constant guardian who shepherded the agreement through the Congress.”

In August, Kempthorne praised the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Settlement Act, signed into law July 31 by President Bush after arduous negotiations, principally backed in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.

Chairman Robert Salgado Sr. said the president’s signature honored the Soboba people. “It’s been a very long negotiation, and we thank our former tribal chairmen and council members who fought so hard for this, leaving us to merely dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” He added, “This settlement not only corrects a historic wrong that drastically depleted the tribe’s surface and groundwater supplies, but also provides a future roadmap for sustainable water management in the over-drafted San Jacinto River basin.”

Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.

Comments

Admin

• Log in

Credits

Powered by Vertigo & WordPress
WordPress Themes by Brian Gardner