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After nearly 80 years, the Gila River Indian Community’s (GRIC) struggle to restore its water rights ended in 2004 when Congress passed the Arizona Water Settlements Act. This legislation approved a number of compromises that provided a means for the Community to restore its self-sufficient agricultural economy, but failed to achieve one of its major goals: to restore the natural flow of the Gila River on the Reservation. One of the compromises the Community made was to forego immediate funding of its on Reservation irrigation infrastructure and accept funding over a period of years. Community members still wanted a return of the riparian habitat that is so important to the Akimel O’otham and Pee Posh, but irrigation infrastructure will not be fully built out until 2029. In the interim, the Community is not physically able to use its full CAP entitlement but still wishes to do so.
In order to achieve its goals the Community turned to SRP for its expertise in utilization of water resources, in particular, expertise in riparian recharge and water storage. The Community wishes to recreate at least a part of the river, while at the same time creating Long Term Storage Credits (LTSC) that the Community can use and sell, if appropriate, in order to help finance its riparian recharge activities.
In response to the growing need for renewable water supplies in central Arizona, the Community and SRP intend to make the LTSCs available to a variety of current and prospective water users to provide those users access to renewable water supplies. Under this agreement, the Community also intends to explore using its unique situation of being in both the Phoenix and Pinal AMAs to create opportunities for water providers and other water users to more effectively manage the region’s water resources.
Christa McJunkin is a Senior Water Resource Analyst with the Salt River Project, and holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from NAU and a Master’s of Public Administration from ASU. She began her career at the Arizona Department of Water Resources, eventually becoming the manager of the Office of Assured and Adequate Water Supply. She left ADWR to become a water resource consultant with Fluid Solutions, primarily representing developers and water providers on issues relating to assured water supply requirements and water rights. Christa joined SRP in 2011 and works on water resource planning and the day to day operations of SRP’s joint venture with the Gila River Indian Community, the Gila River Water Storage, LLC.
Jason Hauter is a member of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s American Indian law and policy practice group, which provides legal and strategic advice to American Indian tribal governments and other entities that share a commitment to tribal political empowerment, sovereignty and economic development. Prior to joining Akin Gump, Mr. Hauter served as in-house counsel for the Gila River Indian Community, representing the community on a variety of matters, including economic development, construction, taxation and internal policy. Mr. Hauter received his J.D. in 2002 from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he was a founding member and editor of the Tribal Law Journal.