Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today reported that the Senate has given final approval to a major spending bill that funds the labs and various important New Mexico water projects.  The measure can now be sent to the president for signature.

            The bill increases the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) stockpile budget to $7.23 billion – a 5 percent increase over last year’s budget.  Overall, the NNSA’s budget grew by 5 percent to $11 billion. 

            Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory will share the funding increase in the following two key areas:

·         $1.9 billion for Directed Stockpile Work, about half of this is for Sandia and LANL. 

·         $2 billion for Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities, an increase of $200 million over FY 2011.

“Our state fared very well in this important piece of legislation.  This bill funds helps our labs meet its extremely important missions, and makes several key water projects in our state a top priority in the federal budget,” Bingaman said.   

“This bill contains significant funding for initiatives that benefit New Mexico like algae development, nuclear waste clean-up and water infrastructure,” Udall said.  “Passing this bill means our agencies can get started moving forward on innovative projects that promote renewable energy and ensure that we are responsible stewards of our environment and resources.”

Other details:

Los Alamos National Laboratory

$318 million for operations that support Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities

$9.88 million for the new TRU waste facility

$10 million for the TA-55 Reinvestment project to ensure the safety of existing facilities

$200 million for the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility

$188 million for environmental cleanup

Sandia National Laboratories

$121 million for operations that support Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities

$25 million for the test capability revitalization program to ensure our stockpile can operate safely in a wide range of environments

$3 million for environmental cleanup

            The 2011 budget request also contains $2.3 billion for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation activities throughout the Department of Energy. 

            Other highlights for New Mexico:

• Waste Isolation Pilot Plan- $215 million

The spending bill also funds major water projects in New Mexico, including setting aside $34.887 million for planning, design, and construction of the Navajo – Gallup pipeline.

The bill also funds the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers, which fund significant water projects throughout the state.  Funding is as follows:

Bureau of Reclamation projects:

Aamodt Water Settlement - $9.29 million to plan, design, and construct a regional water system in accordance with the settlement agreement.

Carlsbad Project -- $3.956 million for ongoing operations of the Carlsbad Project which benefits the Carlsbad Irrigation District.

Eastern New Mexico Investigations Program - $46,000 for planning associated with improved water management in the Pecos and Canadian River basins in Colfax, Mora, Harding, San Miguel, Quay, Guadalupe and DeBaca counties.

Jicarilla Apache Rural Water Project - $490,000 to continue to repair and replace the drinking water delivery and wastewater system on the Jicarilla Reservation. 

Middle Rio Grande Project - $23.289 million to continue work on project operations relating to water delivery and continued participation in the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program. 

Navajo Nation Investigations Program - $227,000 to support water supply planning efforts within the Navajo Nation in cooperation with other agencies.

Rio Grande Project - $4.977 million for the ongoing operations of the Rio Grande Project which benefits the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in New Mexico. 

Río Grande Pueblos Project - $247,000 to assess the condition of the irrigation infrastructure of the Rio Grande Pueblos as directed by Bingaman’s Río Grande Pueblos Irrigation Infrastructure Act (P.L. 111-11)

San Juan River Basin Investigations Program - $179,000 to support investigations involving the San Juan river basin water supplies.

Southern New Mexico/West Texas Inv. Program - $190,000 to analyze water supply options for irrigation and municipal uses in the Las Cruces, El Paso and Juarez areas. 

Taos Pueblo Water Settlement - $3.952 million to provide grants for design and construction of mutual-benefit projects to both move future non-Indian ground water pumping away from

the pueblo’s buffalo pasture and to implement the resolution of a dispute over the allocation of surface water flows between Pueblo and non-Indian irrigation water rights owners.

Tucumcari Project - $71,000 for expenses associated with operation of Conchas Dam and Reservoir northwest of Tucumcari. 

Upper Rio Grande Basin Investigations - $77,000 to support investigations involving the Rio Grande water supplies in coordination with the States of Colorado and New Mexico and other water users.

Corps of Engineers projects

Abiquiu Dam - $3.7 million – for continued management activities at Abiquiu Dam and Reservoir.

Cochiti Lake - $3.2 million for continued management activities at Cochiti Lake.

Conchas Lake - $3.3 million for continued management activities at Conchas Lake.

Galisteo Dam - $919,000 to operate and maintain Galisteo Dam.

Jemez Canyon Dam - $1.1 million to operate and maintain Jemez Canyon Dam.

Middle Rio Grande ESA Collaborative Program -- $2.4 million

Rio Grande Basin, NM, CO & TX – $287,000 to improve water conveyance efficiencies and address ecosystem degradation and flooding throughout the Rio Grande Basin which includes over 160,000 square miles from Colorado, through New Mexico to Texas.

Rio Grande Floodway, San Acacia To Bosque Del Apache - $9.8 million for maintenance and restoration of the Rio Grande floodway.

Santa Rosa Dam and Lake - $1.8 million for operation and maintenance of Santa Rosa Dam and Lake.

Two Rivers Dam - $1 million for repairs and maintenance of the Two Rivers Dam in the Roswell area.

Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model Study - $1.3 million to continue work developing and utilizing the model to assist with Rio Grande operations. 

Tribal Partnerships -- $957,000 for planning activities for water resource projects to benefit Indian tribes.  The types of studies include flood damage reduction, environmental restoration and protection, and preservation of cultural and natural resources.    In September, Santa Clara Pueblo signed the first agreement with the Corps to prepare a plan to mitigate damage from the Las Conchas fire.