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THE DENVER POST COLORADO '. r- "'-~ -, Friday, October 20, 20001 -=- r Senators debate Animas-La Plata ,I. But vote on water project delayed for weekend campaigning By Bill McAllister Denver Post Washington Bureau Chief WASHINGTON - It took 32 years, but tbe long-stalled Animas-La Plata water project in southwestern Colorado once again was debated on the Senate floor Tbursday night But to the disappointment of the proj- ect's supporters, Senate leaders put off any vote on the proposal for a scaled- down version of the project near Durango until next week_ The delay was to give incumbent senators a long weekend to campaign for re-election. Even so, there seemed to be no doubt the Senate will endorse a project some call "Animas Lite'" that would be built on the Animas River to satisfy the water rights of Colorado ute Indian tribes_ Tbe only question was whether the sen- ators would agree to restrictions that Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., urged be placed into legislation being pushed by Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse CampbelL Campbell called on his colleagues to re- ject the Feingold language and likened approval of the $334 million water proj- ect to a moral obligation to American In- dians_ "After 474 broken promises to Indians, it's time we kept one," said Campbell, citing numerous broken treaties. The on- ly American Indian in Congress, Camp- bell said Indians, unlike senior citizens, don't have a powerful lobby in Wasbing- ton to protect their ioterests. Tbat's why the project, which would pump water from the Animas and store it in a large reservoir for the Colorado Utes, Navajos in New Mexico and others, is crocial, Campbell said_ Without the project, there is the risk that utes could win rights to water that otbers in south- western Colorado are now using, he said. Feingold, who had held up Senate con- sideration of the measure for several months, said he did not question the Utes' rights to water, but wanted to add three provisions to the authorizing legislation_ One would wipe out the government's 1968 authorization for a much larger project, another would declare that Con- gress is not saying that the project has cleared all environmental standards, and a third would require that non-Indians who use water from the project pay a higher rate than Campbell had proposed. Tbe project is one of the last major Western water projects that the federal government has proposed, and Campbell has said it is almost certain to be the sub- ject of a lawsuit, if approved_ Using his role as chairman of the Senate Commit- tee on Indian Affairs, Campbell has staged a push for the legislation in the final days of the current session_ Colorado Sen_ Wayne Allard noted that the impetus for legislation grew out of what he called "the'. Great Sand Dunes conference," when Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt visited the Dunes National Monument in southern Colorado earlier this year. While atop the dunes, Campbell press- ed the secretary to resolve the Animas- La Plata project, and Babbitt later en- dorsed the idea. Animas-La Plata The U_S. Senate is expected to endorse a plan to build the Animas-La Plata water project. ~: The Denver Post ..