Rep. Stansbury Reintroduces WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act
WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01), member of the House Natural Resources Committee reintroduced the WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act with Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Leger Fernández (N.M.-03), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC).
The WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to waive or reduce cost-share requirements to implement drought and water projects under the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program. To date, fewer than five percent of the projects funded under WaterSMART since its inception in 2010 have been led by Tribes or Pueblos. Rep. Stansbury drafted the legislation in response to testimony submitted before the House Committee on Natural Resources from several witnesses, including the National Congress of American Indians, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation on the need to make these funds more accessible to address Tribal water needs.
“Water is life,” said Rep. Stansbury. “I’m thrilled to reintroduce this bill to address the extensive barriers Indian Country has in accessing crucial water infrastructure dollars from federal programs like the WaterSMART. Addressing these needs is critical to responding to the lasting impacts of climate change and decades of underinvestment in Tribal water needs.”
The WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act builds on Rep. Stansbury’s career in water and sustainability. As a state legislator in the New Mexico House of Representatives, Rep. Stansbury passed numerous pieces of legislation on climate and water, including the bipartisan Water Data Act, which created a nationally-leading framework for leveraging the power of data to transform water management. The success of the Water Data Act has attracted partnerships across the state and the country, including the WaterSMART program and other federal, state, Tribal and local entities, research institutions, and non-profit organizations.
The full text of the WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act can be found here.