The long-awaited bill to resolve the rights of the Navajo nation in San Juan County has been approved by Congress

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The law formalizes tribal water rights in southeastern Utah and provides $ 220 million for the construction of water projects on the Utah Navajo strip.

(Leah Hogsten | Photo Tribune file) Two young boys fill the family’s water tank at the Oljato-Monument Valley water pipe adjacent to the post office on June 22, 2020. The water fountain is one of the few locations in San Juan County where members of the Navajo Nation can get clean water. More than a third of Navajo households do not have running water, and the problem is even worse in San Juan County, where more than 40% of Navajo residents have to draw water. Families fill jugs at communal wells or buy bottled water from stores – both expensive and time-consuming burdens, which have only become more difficult during the tribe’s pandemic and daily and weekend riots.

| December 22, 2020, 9:30 p.m.

| Updated: December 23, 2020, 3:12 am

Shortly after COVID-19 was identified in the Navajo nation in March and the per capita case rate surpassed all US states, a common refrain emerged among health care workers, tribal leaders and members of Congress: It’s time to address finally the problems of water availability on the Navajo Nation.
In June, the Senate unanimously passed the Utah Navajo Water Rights Settlement Act, a long-awaited piece of legislation aimed at doing just that for the Utah side of the reservation. The legislation would recognize the Navajo nation’s right to 81,500 acres of water in the Colorado River Basin in Utah – enough to meet the annual needs of about 160,000 typical American households. It would also address the tribe’s current and future water rights claims and provide $ 220 million to build much-needed water projects in San Juan County.

Despite his bipartisan move, outgoing President Donald Trump threw the entire package of funding and aid into uncertainty on Tuesday night, when he harshly criticized it as “wasteful and useless.”

More than 40% of the homes of the Navajo nation in San Juan County – where tribal water rights have never been formalized – have no running water and many residents have to fill containers at public taps, a time-consuming and costly process. Others rely on water delivery from nonprofits.

The bill, made more urgent by the pandemic, gained bipartisan support after nearly 18 years of negotiations. Each member of the Utah delegation to the House of Representatives, three Republicans and one Democrat, sponsored him, and the public came forward to support his premise.

A June poll by Climate Nexus, in partnership with Yale and George Mason universities, found 84% support for the allocation of federal dollars to subsidize water projects for the 2 million Americans who do not currently have running water, among many of whom live on Native American reservations. And a study by the Indian Health Service found that every dollar the agency spends on home sanitation facilities achieves at least a double return on health benefits.
But months passed and nothing happened. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, issued a joint press release in October urging the House to pass the bill. Navajo President Jonathan Nez spoke at a water conference at Colorado Mesa University in November and was concerned that if the legislation is not passed in Parliament before the end of the year, it could continue to found Congress, as he did. o since then the first being introduced since then Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 2016.
On Monday, however, the legislation finally saw renewed life when it was included in the massive 2021 consolidated credit law, a $ 2.3 trillion spending bill that includes $ 900 billion in coronavirus aid and a $ 1 trillion package. $ 1.4 trillion bus spending. The legislation is now awaiting Trump’s signature.

“This is truly a historic milestone for the Navajo people and the state of Utah,” Nez said in a statement Monday. “For years, Navajo leaders have been advocating for the passage of the Utah Navajo Water Rights Act to provide clean water to our people living in the Utah part of the Navajo nation. The COVID-19 pandemic pointed to our critical need for cleaner water resources to keep our people safe and healthy. “

Nez thanked the lawyers for the bill in Congress, including Romney, McAdams and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, as well as Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the elected governor of the state.

(Kindness Navajo Tribal Utility Authority) More than 40% of Utah’s Navajo Nation homes do not have running water. Legislation passed by Congress Monday would allocate $ 220 million for water projects on the Utah Navajo strip.

“The legislation passed today includes several measures that I have fought for and that are important to Utah,” Romney said in a statement. “The Navajo nation, which is facing the highest rates of COVID infection in the country, will eventually have access to running water.”

“It is long overdue for the Navajo Water Rights Agreement to be signed into law,” Curtis, who represents San Juan County, said in a statement. “This settlement with general support will bring vital water infrastructure to the Utah portion of the Navajo nation and bring certainty to water rights in the region. I appreciate Senator Romney’s leadership in helping to bring this important legislation across the finish line. “

The passage of the bill was also praised by conservation groups, including Trout Unlimited.

Woody Lee, executive director of Utah Diné Bikéyah, called the legislation “one of the brightest moments of this year with unprecedented uncertainty.”

“Water heals for all beings on earth, according to Diné’s teachings,” he said. “This is a historic time when the people of Diné and the state of Utah have come together to recognize indigenous water rights. This human right to access water has been around for a long time. The Utah Navajo Water Rights Agreement will now be a catalyst for improving the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples. “

Former San Juan County Commissioner and former Navajo National Councilor Mark Maryboy has been involved in settlement negotiations for nearly two decades. More recently, he has been involved in an extensive needs assessment for San Juan County farmers, which could help target how funds are spent, according to KUER.

“I’ve met grassroots people and water technicians for a few years and I know there’s a great need for water,” Maryboy said. “Every family in the Utah part of the reservation deserves to have clean and safe drinking water.”

Although the $ 220 million allocated by the bill would provide a significant boost to the construction of water projects, James Adakai, president of the Oljato Chapter and manager of the Navajo National Project Management Department, told the Salt Lake Tribune this summer that it may not be enough to fully resolve what he called the “water crisis” on the Utah Navajo strip.

“This is a big project, running water lines, maybe 20 to 40 miles to very remote communities,” Adakai said. “The crossing of the line to the house, the drainage fields, the septic tanks, the works of the internal sanitary installations, the cost of the filling stations, the water storage tanks, the treatment plants – all construction costs, labor, materials and supply – are added. “

Zak Podmore is a Report for America body member and writes about conflict and change in San Juan County for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps him write stories like this; please consider making a deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.

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