Wednesday, Aug 31 2011 3:01PM
The Navajo Nation continues to work with state and federal governments to get a pipeline project started as part of a water rights settlement.
A pipeline proposal that would have supplied thousands of acre-feet of water from the Colorado River to the Navajo Nation in Arizona at the expense of more than $500 million to the federal government was pulled back, according to The Associated Press.
Navajo lawmakers approved the proposal last year, the AP reports. However, due to the considerable cost of the project, which is part of a water rights settlement with the tribe, the pipeline plan was halted by lawmakers.
"Because of the estimated cost associated with a main-stem settlement, the parties pulled back and focused simply on a Little Colorado River settlement," Tom Whitmer, a water resource manager and tribal liaison for the Arizona state water department, told the source. He added that federal government's budget issues were a primary reason for the pipeline proposal withdrawal.
As part of the revised settlement, the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe would receive any unclaimed flows from the Little Colorado River and nearly complete access to two aquifers in the area.
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona stated the settlement demands will be met once a new, lower price for a pipeline project can be agreed upon. Earlier this year, a proposed pipeline that would have cost the government roughly $800 million was also turned down.