Another condition of the settlement is that the BuRec will seek funding from Congress for environmental programs on the Gila and Santa Cruz rivers. In this case, however, the federal government agrees to pay the total expense of the environmental programs on the Gila and Santa Cruz rivers. Also in need of resolution are water right disputes with the Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O'Odham Nation. The state needs to ensure a sufficient amount for growing municipal needs, and a good system must be in place to ensure supplies of affordable CAP water to irrigation districts, to use instead of groundwater. The above three related, but divergent strands will likely merge into a single congressional bill.
Congressional approval is key to settling the range of issues.
Federal officials have tentatively signed off on the settlement. The agreement, however, also must be approved by several federal agencies, with the federal approval process expected to take about 4-6 weeks. Because the agreement is meant to settle the lawsuit Arizona filed against the federal government in 1995, U.S. District Judge Earl Caroll, who has presided over the lawsuit, also must approve. The final step will be drafting a bill for congressional approval. AWR accepts news, announcements and other information from all organizations concerned with water.