S178JUL29

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending July 29, 2005

S.178 A bill to provide assistance to the State of New Mexico for the development of comprehensive State water plans, and for other purposes.

BRIEF

The committee report explained that “The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NM OSE) is statutorily required to perform assessments and investigations of the numerous stream systems and ground water basins located within New Mexico. In order to perform these assessments, it is necessary for the NM OSE to undertake hydrographic surveys and develop hydrologic models. These assessments assist Federal agencies by providing fundamental information on hydrologic conditions important for flood assessment, land management, Tribal water resources assessments and Federal water project management. The NM OSE lacks adequate resources to perform necessary hydrologic models and data collection. This lack of resources impairs the NM OSE's ability to make informed decisions about the state's water resources, participate in state-Federal water management decisions, effectively perform water rights administration, and comply with New Mexico's compact deliveries.”

Sponsor: Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (July 27, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: The CBO reports “The bill would authorize the appropriation of $3 million annually over the 2005-2010 period for technical assistance and grants. S. 178 would require nonfederal grantees to pay 50 percent of total project costs.”