U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet and Governor Jared Polis called on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to explore new opportunities for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Tribe to access federal funding for drought and water supply management. USBR recently announced that forbearance proposals – paying water users to forgo water use, like the projects the Tribal Nations had planned to submit – will not be considered in the upcoming Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding round aimed to increase water conservation and efficiency in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
“We write to urge you to ensure that the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (“the Colorado Tribal Nations”) have the opportunity to apply for funding programs that address drought and water supply management in the Colorado River Basin, including through upcoming drought mitigation funding under the Inflation Reduction Act,” wrote the lawmakers.
“We strongly encourage you to explore other avenues for Colorado’s Tribal Nations to pursue funding related to drought response, recognizing that they are currently forgoing their water use not by choice, but resulting from a history of inequity reflected in their long-term lack of infrastructure.”
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Tribe hold combined water rights to over 33,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Nighthorse southwest of Durango but lack adequate infrastructure to deliver that water to their reservations. As a result, the Tribal Nations currently cannot use or benefit from their water, and it flows downstream to other users.
The Tribal Nations planned to apply for IRA funding to receive compensation for forgoing development of their water rights, but recently learned that their planned project would not qualify under the upcoming IRA drought funding announcement. In the letter, the lawmakers urge USBR to explore alternative funding opportunities that could better suit the needs of the Colorado Tribal Nations.
Hickenlooper and Bennet fought for $8 billion for western water infrastructure, $10 billion for forests, $19 billion for agricultural conservation, and $4 billion for drought in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.