II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 363

To improve water quality within the Rio Puerco watershed, New Mexico,

and to help restore the ecological health of the Rio Grande through

the cooperative identification and implementation of best management

practices that are consistent with the ecological, geological, cultural,

sociological, and economic conditions in the region, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 7 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To improve water quality within the Rio Puerco watershed,

New Mexico, and to help restore the ecological health

of the Rio Grande through the cooperative identification

and implementation of best management practices that

are consistent with the ecological, geological, cultural,

sociological, and economic conditions in the region, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rio Puerco Watershed

3 Act of 1995’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) over time, extensive ecological changes have

7 occurred in the Rio Puerco watershed, including—

8 (A) erosion of agricultural and range

9 lands;

10 (B) impairment of waters due to heavy

11 sedimentation;

12 (C) reduced productivity of renewable re13 sources;

14 (D) loss of biological diversity;

15 (E) loss of functioning riparian areas; and

16 (F) loss of available surface water;

17 (2) damage to the watershed has seriously af18 fected the economic and cultural well-being of its in19 habitants, including—

20 (A) loss of communities that were based on

21 the land and were self-sustaining; and

22 (B) adverse effects on the traditions, cus23 toms, and cultures of the affected communities;

24 (3) a healthy and sustainable ecosystem is es25 sential to the long-term economic and cultural viabil26 ity of the region;
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1 (4) the impairment of the Rio Puerco watershed

2 has caused damage to the ecological and economic

3 well-being of the area below the junction of the Rio

4 Puerco with the Rio Grande, including—

5 (A) disruption of ecological processes;

6 (B) water quality impairment;

7 (C) significant reduction in the water stor8 age capacity and life expectancy of the Ele9 phant Butte Dam and Reservoir system due to

10 sedimentation;

11 (D) chronic problems of irrigation system

12 channel maintenance; and

13 (E) increased risk of flooding caused by

14 sediment accumulation;

15 (5) the Rio Puerco is a major tributary of the

16 Rio Grande, and the coordinated implementation of

17 ecosystem-based best management practices for the

18 Rio Puerco system could benefit the larger Rio

19 Grande system;

20 (6) the Rio Puerco watershed has been stressed

21 from the loss of native vegetation, introduction of

22 exotic species, and alteration of riparian habitat

23 which have disrupted the original dynamics of the

24 river and disrupted natural ecological processes;
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1 (7) the Rio Puerco watershed is a mosaic of

2 private, Federal, tribal trust, and State land owner3 ship with diverse, sometimes differing management

4 objectives;

5 (8) development, implementation, and monitor6 ing of an effective watershed management program

7 for the Rio Puerco watershed is best achieved

8 through cooperation among affected Federal, State,

9 local, and tribal entities;

10 (9) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through

11 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, in

12 consultation with Federal, State, local, and tribal en13 tities and in cooperation with the Rio Puerco Water14 shed Committee, is best suited to coordinate man15 agement efforts in the Rio Puerco watershed; and

16 (10) accelerating the pace of improvement in

17 the Rio Puerco watershed on a coordinated, coopera18 tive basis will benefit persons living in the watershed

19 as well as downstream users on the Rio Grande.

20 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, act22 ing through the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage23 ment shall—

24 (1) in consultation with the Rio Puerco Man25 agement Committee established by section 4—
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1 (A) establish a clearinghouse for research

2 and information on management within the

3 area identified as the Rio Puerco Drainage

4 Basin, as depicted on the map entitled ‘‘The

5 Rio Puerco Watershed’’ dated June 1994, in6 cluding—

7 (i) current and historical natural re8 source conditions; and

9 (ii) data concerning the extent and

10 causes of watershed impairment; and

11 (B) establish an inventory of best manage12 ment practices and related monitoring activities

13 that have been or may be implemented within

14 the area identified as the Rio Puerco Watershed

15 Project, as depicted on the map entitled ‘‘The

16 Rio Puerco Watershed’’ dated June 1994; and

17 (2) provide support to the Rio Puerco Manage18 ment Committee to identify objectives, monitor re19 sults of ongoing projects, and develop alternative wa20 tershed management plans for the Rio Puerco

21 Drainage Basin, based on best management prac22 tices.

23 (b) RIO PUERCO MANAGEMENT REPORT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
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1 the Interior, in consultation with the Rio Puerco

2 Management Committee, shall prepare a report for

3 the improvement of watershed conditions in the Rio

4 Puerco Drainage Basin described in subsection

5 (a)(1).

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph

7 (1) shall—

8 (A) identify reasonable and appropriate

9 goals and objectives for landowners and man10 agers in the Rio Puerco watershed;

11 (B) describe potential alternative actions to

12 meet the goals and objectives, including proven

13 best management practices and costs associated

14 with implementing the actions;

15 (C) recommend voluntary implementation

16 of appropriate best management practices on

17 public and private lands;

18 (D) provide for cooperative development of

19 management guidelines for maintaining and im20 proving the ecological, cultural, and economic

21 conditions on public and private lands;

22 (E) provide for the development of public

23 participation and community outreach pro24 grams that would include proposals for—
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1 (i) cooperative efforts with private

2 landowners to encourage implementation of

3 best management practices within the wa4 tershed; and

5 (ii) involvement of private citizens in

6 restoring the watershed;

7 (F) provide for the development of propos8 als for voluntary cooperative programs among

9 the members of the Rio Puerco Management

10 Committee to implement best management

11 practices in a coordinated, consistent, and cost12 effective manner;

13 (G) provide for the encouragement of, and

14 support implementation of, best management

15 practices on private lands; and

16 (H) provide for the development of propos17 als for a monitoring system that—

18 (i) builds on existing data available

19 from private, Federal, and State sources;

20 (ii) provides for the coordinated collec21 tion, evaluation, and interpretation of addi22 tional data as needed or collected; and

23 (iii) will provide information to—

24 (I) assess existing resource and

25 socioeconomic conditions;
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1 (II) identify priority implementa2 tion actions; and

3 (III) assess the effectiveness of

4 actions taken.

5 SEC. 4. RIO PUERCO MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Rio

7 Puerco Management Committee (referred to in this sec8 tion as the ‘‘Committee’’).

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be con10 vened by a representative of the Bureau of Land Manage11 ment and shall include representatives from—

12 (1) the Rio Puerco Watershed Committee;

13 (2) affected tribes and pueblos;

14 (3) the National Forest Service of the Depart15 ment of Agriculture;

16 (4) the Bureau of Reclamation;

17 (5) the United States Geological Survey;

18 (6) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;

19 (7) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;

20 (8) the Army Corps of Engineers;

21 (9) the Natural Resources Conservation Service

22 of the Department of Agriculture;

23 (10) the State of New Mexico, including the

24 New Mexico Environment Department and the State

25 Engineer;
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1 (11) affected local soil and water conservation

2 districts;

3 (12) the Elephant Butte Irrigation District;

4 (13) private landowners; and

5 (14) other interested citizens.

6 (c) DUTIES.—The Rio Puerco Management Commit7 tee shall—

8 (1) advise the Secretary of the Interior, acting

9 through the Director of the Bureau of Land Man10 agement, on the development and implementation of

11 the Rio Puerco Management Program described in

12 section 3; and

13 (2) serve as a forum for information about ac14 tivities that may affect or further the development

15 and implementation of the best management prac16 tices described in section 3.

17 (d) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate

18 on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment

19 of this Act.

20 SEC. 5. REPORT.

21 Not later than the date that is 2 years after the date

22 of enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the

23 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Rio

24 Puerco Management Committee, shall transmit to the

25 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen-
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1 ate and to the Committee on Resources of the House of

2 Representatives a report containing—

3 (1) a summary of activities of the management

4 program under section 3; and

5 (2) proposals for joint implementation efforts,

6 including funding recommendations.

7 SEC. 6. LOWER RIO GRANDE HABITAT STUDY.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, in

9 cooperation with appropriate State agencies, shall conduct

10 a study of the Rio Grande that—

11 (1) shall cover the distance from Caballo Lake

12 to Sunland Park, New Mexico; and

13 (2) may cover a greater distance.

14 (b) CONTENTS.—The study under subsection (a)

15 shall include—

16 (1) a survey of the current habitat conditions of

17 the river and its riparian environment;

18 (2) identification of the changes in vegetation

19 and habitat over the past 400 years and the affect

20 of the changes on the river and riparian area; and

21 (3) an assessment of the feasibility, benefits,

22 and problems associated with activities to prevent

23 further habitat loss and to restore habitat through

24 reintroduction or establishment of appropriate native

25 plant species.
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1 (c) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 3 years after the

2 date on which funds are made available to carry out this

3 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall transmit the study

4 under subsection (a) to the Committee on Energy and

5 Natural Resources of the Senate and to the Committee

6 on Resources of the House of Representatives.

7 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

9 sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 a total of $7,500,000 for the

10 10 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of

11 this Act.

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