{"id":26439,"date":"2022-07-21T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T15:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=26439"},"modified":"2022-07-21T11:41:35","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T15:41:35","slug":"cronkite-news-hualapai-tribe-pushes-for-passage-of-water-rights-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/21\/cronkite-news-hualapai-tribe-pushes-for-passage-of-water-rights-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Hualapai Tribe pushes for passage of water rights settlement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PADSK1ls7K8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Video: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/PADSK1ls7K8> Senate Committee on Indian Affairs &#8211; Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 4104, S. 4439 &#038; H.R. 5221 &#8211; July 20, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Hualapai leader urges Senate to OK water plan, as wells fail in drought<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, July 21, 2022<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Morgan Fischer<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. &#8212; Hualapai Chairman Damon Clarke told a Senate committee Wednesday that getting access to Colorado River water is &#8220;the only feasible solution&#8221; for his tribe, whose wells are failing under the stress of the continuing drought.<P><\/P>\r\nThe Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2022 [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/4104\">S.4104<\/a>] would give the tribe water rights to the Colorado, Verde and Bill Williams rivers and fund construction of water infrastructure that would deliver about 4,000 acre-feet of water a year to the tribe.<span id=\"more-145917\"><\/span><P><\/P>\r\nBesides delivering water to the roughly 1,600 Hualapai on the reservation, the project would serve Grand Canyon West and its Skywalk, tribe-owned tourist attractions that Clarke said are major employers of tribal members.<P><\/P>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/21\/cronkite-news-hualapai-tribe-pushes-for-passage-of-water-rights-settlement\/hualapai-water\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-26443\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-attachment-id=\"26443\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/21\/cronkite-news-hualapai-tribe-pushes-for-passage-of-water-rights-settlement\/hualapai-water\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/DamonClarke.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1333\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Morgan Fischer&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Hualapai Chairman Damon Clarke, right, urged the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to pass a bill that would expand his tribe&#039;s water access and improve infrastructure, badly needed help as the drought causes wells to fail. (Photo by &lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/people\/morgan-fischer\/\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Morgan Fischer&lt;\/a&gt;\/Cronkite News)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1658354680&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Hualapai Water&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Damon Clarke\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Damon Clarke&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Hualapai Chairman Damon Clarke urged the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to pass a bill that would expand his tribe&amp;#8217;s water access and improve infrastructure, badly needed help as the drought causes wells to fail. Photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/people\/morgan-fischer\/&quot;&gt;Morgan Fischer&lt;\/a&gt; \/ Cronkite News&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/DamonClarke-1024x682.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/DamonClarke.jpg\" alt=\"Damon Clarke\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-26443\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Hualapai Chairman Damon Clarke urged the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to pass a bill that would expand his tribe&#8217;s water access and improve infrastructure, badly needed help as the drought causes wells to fail. Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/people\/morgan-fischer\/\">Morgan Fischer<\/a> \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;The Colorado River is the only feasible solution to these problems and the only water supply that can satisfy the longer term needs of our population,&#8221; Clarke said <a href=\"hhttps:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/20\/DamonClarke.pdf\">in testimony<\/a> to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. &#8220;The lack of a secure water supply is a major obstacle we still face.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/hualapai-nsn.gov\/\">The Hualapai<\/a> reservation encompasses around 1 million acres along 108 miles of the Grand Canyon, with the Colorado River serving as the northern boundary. But previous agreements have not allowed water to be drawn from the Colorado for the tribe, which relied on wells for its water.<P><\/P>\r\nBut a two-decade drought, believed to be the most severe in the Southwest in 1,200 years, has sent water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell to historic lows and has dried up the wells and stressed nearby aquifers the Hualapai relied on.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Three years ago, those wells suddenly failed because of the drought,&#8221; Clarke said.<P><\/P>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1308927337&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=false&#038;show_user=false&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=false\"><\/iframe><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Audio:\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/damon-clarke-hualapai-tribe-2\" title=\"Damon Clarke \/ Hualapai Tribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Damon Clarke \/ Hualapai Tribe<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe Hualapai have been working for decades to expand their water rights, efforts that were often opposed by the Interior Department. But Jason Freihage, Interior&#8217;s deputy assistant secretary for management, told the committee Wednesday that the department is &#8220;pleased to support&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/117\/bills\/s4104\/BILLS-117s4104is.pdf\">the latest bill,<\/a> which brought a fleeting smile to Clarke&#8217;s face.<P><\/P>\r\nBesides expanding access, the bill would also create a $180 million Hualapai Water Trust Fund Account and a $5 million Hualapai Water Settlement Implementation Fund Account that would be used for construction, operations and environmental compliance costs for a water pipeline.<P><\/P>\r\nThe bill was sponsored by Arizona Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly. Sinema told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearing\/legislative-hearing-receive-testimony-s-4104-s-4439-hr-5221\">the hearing<\/a> the bill provides &#8220;long-term stability to the Hualapai tribe&#8217;s water needs in northern Arizona, which is especially important as Arizona and the Southwest face historic drought conditions.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/21\/cronkite-news-hualapai-tribe-pushes-for-passage-of-water-rights-settlement\/hualapai-water-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-26445\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-attachment-id=\"26445\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/21\/cronkite-news-hualapai-tribe-pushes-for-passage-of-water-rights-settlement\/hualapai-water-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/KyrstenSinemaAlexPadilla.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1333\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Morgan Fischer&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., talks about her bill to grant expanded water rights to the Hualapai tribe and fund construction of a water pipeline, as Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., looks on. (Photo by &lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/people\/morgan-fischer\/\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Morgan Fischer&lt;\/a&gt;\/Cronkite News)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1658354704&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Hualapai Water&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Kyrsten Sinema and Alex Padilla\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Kyrsten Sinema and Alex Padilla&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona), left, talks about her bill to grant expanded water rights to the Hualapai tribe and fund construction of a water pipeline, as Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) looks on. Photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/people\/morgan-fischer\/&quot;&gt;Morgan Fischer&lt;\/a&gt; \/ Cronkite News&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/KyrstenSinemaAlexPadilla-1024x682.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/KyrstenSinemaAlexPadilla.jpg\" alt=\"Kyrsten Sinema and Alex Padilla\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-26445\" \/><\/a> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona), left, talks about her bill to grant expanded water rights to the Hualapai Tribe and fund construction of a water pipeline, as Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) looks on. Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/people\/morgan-fischer\/\">Morgan Fischer<\/a> \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAn identical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/117\/bills\/hr7633\/BILLS-117hr7633ih.pdf\">House bill<\/a> was sponsored by Rep. Tom O\u2019Halleran, D-Sedona, and co-sponsored by Arizona Reps. Greg Stanton, D-Phoenix; Paul Gosar, R-Prescott; Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix; and Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Tucson. It got a hearing May 12 before the House Natural Resources Committee, but no further action has been taken.<P><\/P>\r\nIn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sinema.senate.gov\/sinema-kelly-ohalleran-introduce-hualapai-tribe-water-rights-settlement-act\">a statement<\/a> after the bill was introduced, O&#8217;Halleran said it &#8220;takes into account tribal sovereignty, the protection of our most precious natural resource, and the growing communities of Peach Springs and Grand Canyon West.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\nBesides less-crowded views of the Grand Canyon, the Hualapai owned and operated Grand Canyon West includes the Skywalk, a glass-bottomed walkway that extends 70 feet into the the canyon, with the canyon floor 4,000 feet below. But water shortages have affected the tribe\u2019s ability to keep these tourism services up and running.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;The collapse of these wells have forced us to limit our operations at Grand Canyon West, threatening our tribal economy and the main source of employment for our members,&#8221; Clarke told the committee.<P><\/P><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><P><\/P>\r\nTo keep operations running, the tribe has had to pump water from an aquifer and haul it &#8220;15 miles by truck on a gravel road to get to Grand Canyon West,&#8221; Clarke said. &#8220;It is the only way we can continue our remaining operations at Grand Canyon West.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\nThe Hualapai &#8220;will help in any way we can to secure enactment of this critical legislation,&#8221; said Clarke, who called the bill &#8220;absolutely essential if our tribe is to attain a secure future on our reservation, to accommodate future growth of our population and to realize the full economic potential of our reservation.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice<\/div>\r\n<a href=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearing\/legislative-hearing-receive-testimony-s-4104-s-4439-hr-5221>Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 4104, S. 4439 &#038; H.R. 5221<\/a> (July 20, 2022)\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<HR><EM>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2022\/07\/20\/hualapai-leader-urges-senate-to-ok-water-plan-as-wells-fail-in-drought\/\">appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>.  It  is published via a <A href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at <A href=\"https:\/\/www.asu.edu\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM><HR>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h4-responsive\">Related Stories<\/div><div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/20\/senate-committee-on-indian-affairs-legislative-hearing-to-receive-testimony-on-s-4104-s-4439-h-r-5221\/\" title=\"Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 4104, S. 4439 &#038; H.R. 5221\">Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 4104, S. 4439 &#038; H.R. 5221<\/a> (July 20, 2022)<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getting access to Colorado River water is \u201cthe only feasible solution\u201d for the Hualapai Tribe, Chairman Damon Clarke said.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,20,13,1,14],"tags":[869,1945,42,46,1430,118,71,1005,836,3176,49,48,1431,1693,743,405,151,124,3159,213,91,247,251,153],"class_list":["post-26439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-117th","tag-ann-kirkpatrick","tag-arizona","tag-cronkite-news","tag-damon-clarke","tag-doi","tag-economic-development","tag-grand-canyon","tag-greg-stanton","tag-h-r-7633","tag-hnrc","tag-house","tag-hualapai","tag-jason-freihage","tag-kyrsten-sinema","tag-mark-kelly","tag-paul-gosar","tag-ruben-gallego","tag-s-4104","tag-scia","tag-senate","tag-tom-ohalleran","tag-tourism","tag-water","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/21\/DamonClarke.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-6Sr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}