With a current fund of $108 million, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission is testing how to distribute funds set aside for projects in four counties in the southwestern part of the state.
The commission and engineering consultant WSP held an open house Wednesday evening at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center, 3031 U.S. 180 E., to solicit input on how to design an application process. It was the third of four meetings the commission has held, two of which were held Tuesday in Deming and Lordsburg, and the last is scheduled for today in reserve.
Participants in Wednesday’s meeting included representatives of regional water associations, fire departments and other authorities as well as interested residents.
The commission has developed a draft policy for the application process, but Maya Clifford, program director for the Stream Commission, said the policy will be significantly revised once all feedback from meetings and online comments is received.
The draft policy can be read at bit.ly/3ypOsAn and comments can be emailed to US-NMISCin [email protected]. The comment period is August 30.
“Anything in this policy that is required by law or that we cannot achieve due to our limited capacity will not change. However, the idea is that we will submit a final draft to the Commission in September or October once we have collected all the comments and questions,” Clifford said.
Applications for the pilot funding cycle are expected to be accepted before the end of the year and evaluated by the Water Trust Board. The board will then make recommendations to the Stream Commission, but the final decision on which projects will receive funding will be made by the nine-member commission.
The $108 million comes from the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004, a federal law that settled more than a decade of negotiations over water use issues for Arizona and Native American tribes in the region.
New Mexico participated in the negotiations because the headwaters of the Gila and San Francisco rivers are in the state, Clifford said.
“Ultimately, the agreement stated that New Mexico could use $66 million not only for water-harvesting projects to meet water supply needs, but also potentially to build what was then called a unit or major diversion at the source of the Gila,” she said.
However, the state ultimately decided against a diversion project.
About 49 percent of the fund has been invested, and as of two weeks ago it has grown to $108 million that can be used for projects in Grant, Catron, Hidalgo and Luna counties.
Exactly what those projects might be and how much money will be made available in the pilot program have not yet been determined, Clifford said. The pilot program will likely fund projects that can be carried out in phases, and funded projects could ideally be completed within two years.
“We’ve already had some feedback on this, but when we were writing this draft policy, it was very important to all nine commissioners that the projects that are funded in this way are funded in a staggered manner, meaning that the funding is spread over several years,” she said. “They don’t expect you to come and ask for the moon and the stars, for the whole pie.”
Clifford cited as an example an agency where a pumping system had to be completely rebuilt.
“They expect you to come within a year to pick up the two pumps that you know need to be repaired, even though they know they’ll ultimately have to spend three or four years rebuilding all the pumps,” she said.
A flyer available at the meeting noted that projects must demonstrate that they meet the region’s water needs. The Stream Commission will also consider how projects contribute to regional development, water system resilience and security, and the economic health of communities, as well as how they protect or enhance cultural knowledge and practices and contribute to citizen engagement.
While the pilot program will provide money for projects, Clifford said the overall goal is to find out what needs communities in the region have.
“We are more interested in hearing from the public and learning what their needs are regarding these applications than anything else,” she said.
Republican state Rep. Luis Terrazas from the 39th Congressional District asked whether the commission had invested the funds indefinitely or whether they were valid for a specific term.
“Are we going to spend the money in two or three years, in five years, in 50 years, or are we going to try to keep some of the funds so that it can continue to grow and we can use it for projects in this region to have a fund for the future?” he asked.
“That’s a question I don’t know the answer to, because that’s up to you. This is your money, I want to be very clear about that,” Clifford said. “Our goal is to eventually distribute it in full. But what do you think? Do you think that should happen in 30 years, 50 years, 100 years, or forever?”
Some people in the audience asked about the Stream Commission’s capacity, or ability to provide enough staff to process the funding requests. Clifford said she would likely oversee two additional staff members who would be based in Silver City or somewhere in the four-county region.
Nick Fazio of the consulting firm WSP said the amount of resources directly available here is partly determined by the public.
“In my opinion, it depends partly on the input that comes in,” he said. “What is best for the communities here? What kind of resources do you need and where do you think they should come from?”
The support staff will be paid from the fund, Clifford said.
“That support will come from the Interstate Stream Commission by hiring staff here. That staff, if they report to me, will be paid out of the Unified Fund as it currently is,” she said. “However, other staff may have other funding mechanisms or be paid out of the general fund.”
Following the presentations, Clifford, Fazio and other Stream Commission staff met with attendees in small groups to further discuss the pilot funding project.
— Juno Ogle