At long last, passage of HR 489 means water for the Rim Country

Bill introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar clarifies jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior with respect to CC Cragin Dam

By Carolyn Wall

With the passage of HR 489 in both the U.S. House and Senate, the  pipeline project, using $10.6 million in stimulus money from the federal government to provide 15 miles of 18-inch pipeline from CC Cragin Dam north of Payson in the Coconino National Forest, can be underway as early as spring 2012.

The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-1), passed the House on October 3 and the Senate by unanimous consent October 18. Passage of HR 489 ended six years of confusion over who had jurisdiction of the dam, the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Reclamation. With the passage of HR 489, the Bureau of Reclamation, which acquired the dam from Salt River Project in 2005,  takes control over the dam and the authority to approve any projects relating to it, paving the way for Payson's plan to bring a much-needed source of water to the area.  The U.S. Forest Service will maintain jurisdiction over the land and wildlife in the area of the dam.

The long-awaited project will provide much needed employment in the area within 60 days, according to Payson Mayor Kenny Evans who has worked tirelessly with federal, county and local officials to bring water from the dam to the Rim Country.

One proposal has the pipeline extending from existing pipeline at Washington Park at the top of Rim Trail to Forest Road #199 down into Payson, a distance of some 14.5 miles.

In an earlier interview, Evans talked about the history of water in the Rim Country, explaining that Arizona water was over-allocated and that there was not enough to go around when The National Reclamation Act gave Salt River Project (SRP) 90 percent of the surface water from northern Arizona for use in the Valley.

The Blue Ridge water would not have been available to Payson except for one fact - when SRP got 90 percent of all the surface water, they were to provide water to the affected cities and towns, Evans said. He said that when SRP failed to do this, they met their obligation to Payson by agreeing to let the town use the Blue Ridge Water. “We have to pay 27 percent of the expenses, and a stimulus grant will help cover the cost," Evans said.

U.S. Forest Service officials agreed in September 2008 to accept an application that was submitted by the Town of Payson in 2007 for a pipeline from Blue Ridge Reservoir that would supply 3,000 acre feet of water to the town.

At that time, Ed Armenta, then District Ranger with the Payson Ranger District said, “What happens to the other 500 acre feet of water that will be available from the reservoir? I think it should be a concern of the residents of Northern Gila County.”

Armenta said the agreement to accept the application was a “win-win” solution for everyone concerned because there will be only one pipeline in place and that pipeline will be big enough to supply other smaller communities that may want to use part of the remaining 500 acre feet of water.

Gila County officials, the Town of Payson, Tonto Apache Tribe, Star Valley, SRP, and Bureau of Reclamation officials discussed the need to get started on the pipeline and agreed that they wanted just one pipeline big enough to carry all 3,500 acre feet of water.

According to Wikipedia, "the acre-foot (or more specifically the time rate unit of acre-foot per year) has been used historically in the U.S. in many water-management agreements, for example the Colorado River Compact, which divides 15 million acre-feet (MAF) per year or (586 m³/s) among seven western U.S. states."

The Town of Payson set aside $200,000 for a study with the consultant group SWCA, Inc.

The study, under the direction of the U.S. Forest Service, looked at the cultural, social and environmental aspects of the pipeline. The plan to put it in place had to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

Buzz Walker, water supervisor for the Town of Payson, said the 18-inch pipeline will be able to carry more than the 3,500 acre feet. “That’s important because the Tonto Apache Tribe could establish additional water rights,” he said. Walker said the project is expected to cost $30 million, a portion of which will come from Town of Payson Water Department reserves.

The pipeline and water treatment plant would be owned by the Town of Payson, and any rural entities that use the water would pay Payson for the treatment and transportation of the water, Walker said.

Gila County District One Supervisor Tommie Martin said the county has committed to spending $4 million to hold in trust for all users of the water except the Town of Payson.

Similar bills were introduced by Senator John McCain and former Representative Ann Kirkpatrick in both the Senate and the House, but failed to make it to a vote. HR 489 now goes to the President Barack Obama to be signed.

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