Although we often hear that the days of the Bureau of Reclamation’s big dam water projects are over, that’s not entirely accurate. The Animas La Plata Project—a multi-billion dollar boondoggle which, for minimal benefit threatens to dam the Animas, the last major free-flowing tributary of the dam-crippled San Juan—still lurches on.

pponents of the last major Bureau of Reclamation water scheme, the Animas La Plata Project (ALP), won a significant victory this summer when the U.S. House of Representatives voted 221 to 200 to cut off funding.The House action came as a result of the efforts of local, national, environmental and taxpayer groups to kill the project.
The ALP is designed to draw water out of the Animas River in Durango, Colorado, then pump it uphill to a storage reservoir south of town. From there the water would be pumped to the La Plata River Basin where it would be used for irrigation, real estate and coal development. Some of the water would again be pumped to the Mancos drainage to provide irrigation water to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. In addition the project would supply municipal and industrial water for Durango and New Mexico cities along the Animas and San Juan rivers as well as to the Ute tribes.
The action to cut off funding was a bipartisan effort led by Rep. Tom Petri (R, Wisconsin) and Rep. Pete DeFazio (D, Oregon). In floor debate the Congressmen cited the enormous cost, lack of benefits, and environmental problems of the ALP.
Congressman Petri said; “Just on the face of it, pumping water 1,000 feet uphill into another watershed, largely for irrigation, does not appear to be a sensible thing to do. I know of no other irrigation system with such an inherently uneconomic basic design…
“Although the Indian water rights provide an excuse for this project, they are not its driving force. The driving force is huge Federal water subsidies for local non-indian water users…There is no national interest whatsoever in forcing my constituents—and everyone else’s too—to pay for the massive water subsidies in ALP.
“For $7,000 per acre, maybe we could grow corn in Antarctica. But that wouldn’t make sense and neither does this.”

Congressman Defazio added: “It is a water project that has been sold as an Indian water rights settlement, except that it will not deliver affordable or usable water to the Indian tribes in question. It is a project that will deliver a $5,000 an acre irrigation subsidy to non-indian farmers in the high desert of southwest Colorado so they can grow low value crops. Two thirds of the water will go to them if this project is ever completed, if we void the environmental laws, if we go ahead with a project that will produce 36 cents of benefits for every Federal dollar invested.”
Despite this significant victory in the House, opponents of the ALP were not completely successful. The Senate voted to include ALP funding in their version of the appropriations bill. A decision will be made in the conference committee on which version will be accepted. But even if the Project gets funded supporters will have to go back to Congress next year and ask for $60-70 million for a construction start. With the growing knowledge of the deficiencies of the ALP and greater fiscal responsibility of Congress it is very unlikely that money will be available in the future. Proponents of the Project have, however, hired a former congressman as a lobbyist.
The House vote was the result of an intensive campaign waged by local groups, Taxpayers for the Animas River, Four Corners Action Coalition and Southern Ute Grassroots Organization, allied with major national environmental and taxpayers organizations.
Funding for next year’s battle is crucial if this mega-boondoggle is to be laid to rest.

Michael Black

to help in the fight, contact:

Taxpayers for the Animas River
1611 Forest Ave.
Durango, CO 81301