N.M. Delegation Welcomes $15 Million in USDA Funding for Acequias and $45 Million for Tribal Water Projects
New funding initiative will support New Mexico’s farmers and producers while reducing water losses
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) are welcoming an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Water-Saving Commodities Program to support agricultural production while reducing water losses in communities across the West.
This update to the Water Saving Commodities Program initially announced in August follows consistent efforts by the NM Delegation to secure additional resources to help New Mexican agricultural producers address drought. New funding announced by the USDA includes $15 million to support acequias through a partnership with the New Mexico and Colorado State Associations of Conservation Districts and $45 million of funding from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to support the preliminary selection of three Congressionally-authorized Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Irrigation Projects including the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project in New Mexico.
"Growers are feeling the undeniable strain of less predictable rainfall and extended droughts. This means its harder and harder for growers to make ends meet, food at grocery stores gets more expensive, and the agriculture economy and way of life in rural communities take major hits,” said Heinrich, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration. “As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for federal agriculture funding, I am thrilled to see our appropriations helping farmers and producers—investing in water-smart solutions to keep putting healthy food on our tables, bolstering local economies, and protecting New Mexico’s long-term water security.”
“As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I am committed to bolstering New Mexico’s agriculture production, resources for acequias, and Tribal water projects. As New Mexico and our Western state neighbors address long-term drought, it’s critical that the federal government invests in reducing water loss and supporting our farmers, ranchers, and producers,” said Luján. “I’m proud to welcome this multi-million dollar investment for acequias and Tribes, including the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, and I will continue fighting to deliver investments to New Mexico.”
“Agua es vida—especially in New Mexico.This critical funding recognizes the deep connection our communities have to our water and agricultural traditions,” said Leger Fernández. “Acequias have guided the life-giving waters of New Mexico’s rivers to nurture our communities and fields for centuries, while Tribal irrigation projects are vital to sovereignty and food security. This $15 million for acequias and $45 million for Tribal irrigation projects will help our farmers and producers adapt to the challenges of drought and climate change while honoring and preserving our water heritage for future generations.”
“Our acequias are a lifeline for so many New Mexicans,” said Stansbury. “Our people have been stewards of these waters for generations, and I am grateful that this funding will not only help conserve our precious resources, but upgrade infrastructure to help with the impacts of drought. Water is life!”
“Agua es vida. This investment is a critical step towards protecting our vital acequias and will directly benefit our farmers, ranchers and Tribal nations who depend on sustainable water solutions,” said Vasquez. “This funding through the Water Saving Commodity program ensures we can protect our water supply, support economic growth and honor our commitments to environmental stewardship.”
Background on Water Saving Commodity Program:
In August, USDA announced the preliminary selection of 18 irrigation districts, including the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in New Mexico, for $400 million of new funding to support the production of water-saving commodities. USDA has entered into formal agreements with all 18 districts to implement water-saving strategies across the West. The Elephant Butte Irrigation District will receive up to $15 million in funding from this program.
In April, Heinrich, Vasquez and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) led 26 of their colleagues representing Western states in a letter urging the Biden administration to make further investments to address long-term drought caused by climate change. The lawmakers applaud the administration’s previous and ongoing efforts to combat drought in the American West – including through the Western Water and Working Lands Framework and by opening up Inflation Reduction Act funding for additional climate-smart agriculture practices – and called for further action to address Western drought through investments in upstream watershed-scale projects, water forecasting, water conservation, and watershed restoration.
Producers who participate in USDA’s Water Saving Commodity Program will receive payments for voluntarily reducing water consumption while maintaining and expanding water-saving commodity production. This funding will help conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities. The new program, coupled with investments from the Western Water Framework, will support innovative measures for water conservation while building resilience for long-term agricultural production in New Mexico and the West.
$15 Million for Acequia Partnerships:
With this newly announced $15 million of funding, USDA will dedicate resources specifically for Water-Saving Commodities partnerships with both the New Mexico and Colorado State Associations of Conservation Districts to collaborate with community operated irrigation systems known as acequias to produce water-saving commodities.
In many New Mexico communities, acequias are the stewards of surface waters that not only flow to their fields but help replenish rivers, wetlands and groundwater. These partnerships will enhance existing cooperative efforts and partnerships between acequias and local conservation districts to provide education, outreach, and technical services needed to keep production up while responsibly utilizing water and other natural resources during drought conditions.
Acequias and land grant-mercedes (land grants) are communities that are deeply important to the culture and history of New Mexico. These traditional communities can trace their origin back centuries and are now incorporated into New Mexico’s government as independent political subdivisions. Unlike other subdivisions, such as irrigation and conservation districts, acequias and land grants are unable to levy taxes on users, and thus the cost of upkeep and repairs has historically been placed on individual members of the community. There are hundreds of acequias and dozens of land grants in New Mexico.
Last year, Luján and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced bipartisan legislation that ensures acequias are able to access the same USDA disaster assistance programs available to other agricultural systems. The ACEQUIA Act amends the Non-insured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to ensure that Parciantes qualify for drought and other disaster assistance. Additionally, the legislation codifies current agency guidance that Parciantes do not need to obtain a special-use permit to perform routine maintenance or in-kind improvements on federal land. Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) introduced the House companion bill.
That legislation built on Senator Luján’s successful effort to ensure the USDA fully compensates Rio Arriba farmers and ranchers for unfair changes made to the Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) reimbursement rate by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in New Mexico.
As part of the 2018 Farm Bill, Heinrich and then-U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) secured a provision to make acequias and land grant-mercedes eligible for grants and technical assistance from conservation and environmental programs through USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to increase agricultural water efficiency and further conservation of soil, water, and other natural resources.
$45 Million for Tribal Irrigation Projects:
As part of the same announcement, USDA announced that the FSA has dedicated $45 million specifically for Water-Saving Commodities assistance to help Tribal communities with BIA Irrigation Projects. These investments will help the selected projects—including the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project in New Mexico—strengthen their irrigation practices in places experiencing the impacts from drought, reducing water losses, while continuing agricultural commodity production.
USDA held a Tribal consultation this summer, engaged with BIA, and applied a similar criteria that was used to select the irrigation projects to target funding within the Tribal set-aside.
###
