WASHINGTON - The House Committee on Natural Resources has unanimously approved the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-N.M., to help meet eastern New Mexico's future water needs. Introduced on April 3, 2008, the legislation would authorize the federal government to build a pipeline that will carry water to several communities in Curry, Roosevelt and Quay counties.

"We need to pass this legislation to help mitigate the serious water challenges the Eastside will encounter in the future," said Udall. "I am proud the Natural Resources Committee showed such broad, bipartisan support for meeting eastern New Mexico's needs. The strong support for this bill reflects the hard work that I, New Mexico's Senators and eastern New Mexico leaders put into crafting a commonsense solution to the area's water challenge."

Udall's legislation would authorize the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to spend up to $327 million over a ten year period to assist the ENMRWA in the construction of the pipeline.  The water will come from the Ute Reservoir, which was built on the Canadian River in 1959 as a sustainable water supply for eastern New Mexico.

A few years after the reservoir was constructed, Congress authorized the study of a pipeline that would transport the water to eastern New Mexico communities in need of it.  But it was only in the past few years, with an increasing concern about declining and degrading groundwater resources in the area, that the affected New Mexico communities began planning for the pipeline.

"We have been studying New Mexico water infrastructure for years," said Udall.  "We've worked to identify a solution, and now is the time to do what's right for Eastern New Mexico and get it done."

Under H.R. 5710, the state and the ENMRWA, which represents communities in eastern New Mexico that will benefit from the pipeline, will contribute a total of 25 percent of the cost of construction.  The ENMRWA will be responsible for operating and maintaining the pipeline.

However, the Bush Administration has argued that the proposal is too expensive.  The project's price tag is roughly 1 percent of the $25.1 billion spent on water and infrastructure projects in Iraq.

Said Udall, "We worked hard to make this project both effective and affordable. Its cost pales in comparison to the cost of inaction.  If we do not take the necessary steps to secure eastern New Mexico's future now, the area's communities will pay for it down the road. I will not let that happen."

New Mexico Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici have introduced legislation in the Senate that is identical to Udall's.  The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved that legislation on May 7, 2008.  Bingaman is the chairman of that committee, and Domenici is its ranking Republican member.

Communities that will be served by the pipeline include: Grady, Clovis, Melrose, Texico, Portales, Elida, Cannon Air Force Base, and other potential locations in Curry, Roosevelt and Quay counties.

The New Mexico lawmakers have introduced similar legislation in previous Congresses which allowed for congressional hearings that led to changes reflected in the version of the bill considered in the Natural Resources Committee today.