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~;'> t" iiving Rivers News and Announcements Page 1 of2 ;, i) 3 I 8 7 iJt 'U Search -II Home About News Archives Campaigns Joi LR Press Release July 22, 2003 House votes to destroy Colorado River Delta wetlands Taxpayer money to be wasted on mothballed desalting plant; Senate yet to act Contacts: Owen Lammers, Living Rivers, POB 466 * Moab, UT 84532 * 435-259-1063/fax 259-7612 Lisa Force, Living Rivers, POB 1589 * Scottsdale, AZ 85252 * 303-237-2269/fax 480-990-2662 Kara Gillion, Defenders of Wildlife * 824 Gold SW, Albuquerque * 505-248-0118 The U.S. House of Representatives voted last Friday to retool a defunct desalting plant near Yuma, Arizona. The Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) estimates the cost of repairing the now obsolete plant technology at $26 million. The decision was made despite the reality that operating the plant will destroy the majority of wetland habitat in the Colorado River delta region, and that far less costly measures are available to meet US treaty obligations for water delivery to Mexico. "At a time when federal deficits are skyrocketing, it's unbelievable that Congress would consider throwing away taxpayers dollars to retool this plant, " says Lisa Force, program director for Living Rivers. "This is pork barrel politics its worst." The inclusion of the provision in the House report on the 2004 Energy and Water Appropriations bill allows for re- operating the Yuma Desalting Plant, a measure which the Bureau estimates will cost a minimum of $36 million annually. Completed in 1992 at a cost of $256 million to clean up brackish wastewater from farms in southern Arizo", the plant was shut down several months later due to extremely high operating costs. The Bureau of Reclamation has down played an alternative solution costing 33% to 85 % less-just $6 million to $26 million annually-involving paying willing sellers to lease water they presently do not need. The agricultural wastewater that the plant would process is now funneled into the Cienega de Santa Clara, a 40,000- acre open water ecosystem in the Colorado River delta region. The desalting plant would remove the entire flow from the cienega and return only highly saline brine to the wetlands. "This provision would destroy an extremely important wetland in Mexico that contains the largest remaining populatiol of Yuma Clapper Rail in the world," says Bill Snape, Defenders of Wildlife Vice President for Law and Litigation. "It wi be impossible to replace the value of the Cienega de Santa Clara to the Colorado River ecosystem." The cienega is the largest remaining wetland in the southwest Americas and is home to fifty-six threatened, endangered and declining species. Several scientific studies funded by the Depatment of Interior confirm that the wetland would be completely destroyed by desalter operations. "This is reminiscent of the days of old, when the Bureau wasted tax payer money left and right, leaving renowned habitat laid to waste," says John Weisheit, conservation director of Living Rivers and the designated Colorado Riverkeeper. ''We are disappointed that some members of Congress wish to move forward with such an expensive and destructive proposal. Congress mandated public involvement in Colorado River management but we fear the public is not being heard," says Steve Glazer, Chair of the Sierra Club Colorado River Task Force. ''We're fighting hard to ensure the Senate does not duplicate the folly of the House," adds Lisa Force. The U.S. Senal http://www.1ivingrivers.net/archives/artic1e.cfrn ?NewsID=494 7/24/2003