Barry Massey | The Associated
Press
Gov. Bill
Richardson said Thursday that he'll consider proposing a statutory protection
for the Gila River in southwestern New Mexico to block the construction of dams
or water-diversion projects on what he calls the "state's last free-flowing
river."
The Gila has been named as one of the nation's most endangered
rivers by American Rivers, a conservation group.
The biggest threat to
the river, according to the group, is the potential for a diversion project that
would draw water out of the Gila, store it in an off-stream reservoir and
transport it over the Continental Divide to provide municipal water supplies for
growth and development in the Silver City area or elsewhere. A state water
official says no diversion project has been proposed for the river, however.
The Gila is New Mexico's only "mainstem" river, such as the Rio Grande,
San Juan and Pecos, without a major water-development project such as a
reservoir.
Richardson early in his administration pledged to oppose the
construction of dams on the river. He reiterated that policy Thursday in
announcing the Gila River's listing as the seventh most endangered river in the
nation. Dam projects were proposed for the river in the 1970s and 1980s.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Richardson said he will
consider asking the Legislature to place in state law a prohibition on dam or
water-diversion projects on the Gila. He also said he would support having the
Interstate Stream Commission adopt a resolution against such water-development
projects on the river. "I just think it needs to be protected," Richardson said.
A statutory provision to protect the Gila improves the chances that
Richardson's no-dams policy on the river would continue after he left office. A
change in state law requires approval by the Legislature and the governor.
Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said a statutory protection for the
Gila "is something we ought to look at." But she acknowledged it could difficult
to push through the Legislature. "It will be tricky to draft," she said.
In remarks to a group of conservation and environmental activists,
Richardson described the Gila as "one of New Mexico's treasures."
"Politicians will say to you, 'We can balance the environment and energy
growth or we can balance the environment and somehow also create jobs.' But you
know what? Sometimes you can't do it. Sometimes you've got to just say, 'OK,
this is a river. It's going to be protected. We're not going to have these
developments here. It's not going to happen. Leave it alone,' " Richardson said.
Fueling the idea of a Gila River diversion is $66 million to potentially
$128 million in federal money available to New Mexico for water development
under a 2004 settlement of water rights in Arizona. The settlement gives New
Mexico the option of taking water from the Gila in exchange for giving up an
entitlement to some water from the Central Arizona Project.
"Contrary to
the governor's Gila River policy, the Interstate Stream Commission is pushing
for a diversion at any place and almost at any cost. In other words, the Gila
River endangerment is caused by the Interstate Stream Commission trying to push
a diversion that there is no demonstrated local need for," said Todd Schulke of
Silver City, senior policy adviser for the Center for Biological Diversity.
However, the director of the Interstate Stream Commission, Estevan
Lopez, said there was no proposal by the group for a diversion or other
water-development project on the Gila. There is a planning process under way
involving local residents, he said, that will determine what if any water
development is done in the area.
"I want to emphasize that what that
money is used for and whether that water is utilized and how it will be utilized
will all be the product of that planning process," Lopez said in a telephone
interview. "It is completely false to say that the ISC has a specific project in
mind."
Lopez also said, "Obviously we agree with the governor that this
river merits protection and its ecology merits protection."
The
commission is responsible for water planning and protection in New Mexico. The
state engineer serves on the commission along with eight members appointed by
the governor.
