After years of denying that it was pushing for a Gila River water development project under the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA), the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) unveiled its system for scoring proposals that gives 10 times more weight to diversion projects than non-diversion projects. It will be impossible for a non-diversion project to score on par or higher than a diversion project under this evaluation scheme. The ISC is stacking the deck against cost-effective, non-diversion projects and will predetermine the outcome of this important decision on how to meet Southwest New Mexico's future water needs without full public participation and transparency.
The evaluation process is scheduled to begin this summer with completion by spring of 2012. Proposals must be submitted by June 30 for initial Tier 1 screening. If a project passes the Tier 1 step, a second, more detailed proposal will need to be submitted by November 2011 for Tier 2 evaluation. A panel of evaluators from the ISC, NM Environment Department, NM Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, NM Game and Fish, NM Forestry and the Office of the State Engineer will rate the projects. The proposed evaluation criteria, still to be approved by the ISC, cover technical viability, proposal costs, cost-effectiveness and benefit-cost ratio, environmental impacts, and local ability to pay, among others.
Deputy ISC director Craig Roepke has recently said that the ISC commissioners directed him to give more weight to projects that use Gila River water.
The Settlements Act is clear that there is a choice to be made under the AWSA: use $66M for water utilization projects that meet a water supply demand in southwestern NM or use up to $128M to develop water from the Gila. The Act also directs the ISC to consult with southwestern New Mexico in making decisions on how AWSA funds are expended.
Yet the ISC is setting up a biased and unfair process that precludes an open discussion about this decision. How can the ISC consult with the citizens of southwestern New Mexico when we're being left out of the decision making process?
It is critical that the full range of water supply and demand management alternatives are considered in order to ensure that southwestern New Mexico's future water needs are met in a cost-effective manner while protecting the Gila River.
The Gila Conservation Coalition has kept cost-effective non-diversion alternatives in the forefront of discussions in the AWSA planning process to ensure that they are considered as New Mexico makes this critical decision. A common-sense approach to meeting our future water needs is through implementation of low-cost water supply and demand management alternatives, such as municipal and agricultural conservation and sustainable use of groundwater, rather than a large-scale, expensive Gila River diversion project. We can meet our water needs, protect the Gila River and the wildlands it supports for future generations, and save the tax payer millions of dollars.
Call or send an e-mail TODAY to the ISC and tell them that its evaluation scheme is wrong and you want a fair, open and transparent process to determine how southwest New Mexico will meet its future water needs. The ISC next meets on May 18, so your calls and emails are needed immediately.
Interstate Stream Commission Email Addresses and Phone Numbers
Jim Dunlap, ISC Chairman waterjim1@live.com; 505-598-5845
Estevan Lopez, ISC Director estevan.lopez@state.nm.us; 505-827-6103
John D'Antonio, State Engineer john.dantonio@state.nm.us; 505-827-6091
Patricio Garcia PAGarcia@rio-arriba.org; 505-753-4508
Blane Sanchez indnh2o@aol.com; 505-869-2068
Mark S. Sanchez msanchez@abcwua.org; 505-768-2504
Julia Davis Safford csranch@bacavalley.com; 575-376-2827
Buford Harris bufordharris@yahoo.com; 575-644-8614
James Wilcox jrwilcox@pvtnetwords.net; 575-887-2871 x 421
Please cc: the Gila Conservation Coalition at info@gilaconservation.org so we can keep track of your emails.
Template for E-mail to ISC Commissioners (Please feel free to put into your own words)
Dear Commissioner ______:
I am writing to you to urge the Interstate Stream Commission to put in place a fair and transparent process to evaluate the full range of proposals under the Arizona Water Settlements Act, including non-diversion water supply and demand management alternatives.
The draft scoring system for Tier 2 evaluation criteria is significantly biased toward diversion projects, giving 10 times more points to Gila River water development projects than to non-diversion proposals, making it impossible for non-diversion projects to be considered in the planning process.
The Arizona Water Settlements Act makes it clear that New Mexico has a choice as to whether it uses funding for non-diversion or for diversion projects to meet our future water needs. Furthermore, the Act directs the ISC to consult with the citizens of southwestern New Mexico in deciding how to expend AWSA funds.
I encourage you as an ISC commissioner to revise the draft evaluation process to provide for a non-biased, open and transparent process that includes assessment of the full range of project proposals in order to ensure that southwestern New Mexico's future water needs are met in a cost-effective manner while protecting the Gila River.
I thank you for consideration of my comments.
Sincerely,
Your name
address
