Congressman Salazar's Funding Priorities for Interior & Environment

As a new member of the Appropriations Committee, I have new oversight responsibilities for the spending of federal dollars, as well as an increased role in the prioritization of federal spending.

For too long, the process of Congressional funding requests lacked transparency and accountability, leading some members of Congress to abuse it and the public trust. Since assuming the majority in 2007, Congressional Democrats have significantly reformed the process, including ensuring that every American can easily determine which member of Congress has submitted a requests.

Below you will find a list of my funding requests for the Interior & Environment Appropriations bill.

State-Wide Selenium Study
$5,000,000
Colorado River Water Conservation District
200 Centennial St., Ste. 201
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Explanation: The Colorado River has experienced high salinity and elevated concentrations of selenium, a nutrient that can be toxic to wildlife. These problems are exacerbated as the river flows south, and concentrations increase. Selenium effects agriculture, municipal water, ecological habitat, and this study is needed to improve the quality of water in the Colorado River.

Rifle Regional Water Purification Facility Transmission Line Improvements
$1,500,000
City of Rifle
202 Railroad Avenue
Rifle, CO 81650
Explanation: Without any state or federal grant assistance the construction of this new water purification facility will make Rifle's water rate beyond what the state considers reasonable for residents' water bills, a term use by the state was adversely impacted. This is based upon a percentage of the adjusted median income. Any time a community's water rates are beyond 1.5 percent AMI, the rates are considered to adversely impact the residents of that community. The anticipated rates without any significant financial assistance from outside sources will result in Rifle's water rates being 1.94 percent of AMI. Additionally, the Colorado Department of Health-Water Quality Control Division cites the need of this project in its Intended Use Plan/2009 Drinking Water Revolving Fund Project Eligibility List as a Priority 1 due to a continuous violation of an acute maximum contaminant level (MCL) or a surface water treatment rule (SWTR) treatment technique requirement.

Shenandoah-Dives Mill National Historic Landmark Save America
$375,000
San Juan County Historical Society
1557 Greene Street
Silverton, CO 81433
Explanation: The impact of historic preservation projects in Silverton and San Juan County cannot be overstated. Over the last 15 years, the San Juan County Historical Society has been the economic engine for the area, bringing over 10 million dollars into the community in the form of good-paying jobs and purchase of supplies and services. Our policy is to hire and buy locally, so most of those funds stay in town. In 2008 alone, Historical Society projects kept 6-12 people working all year. The Shenandoah-Dives Mill was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000. It is one of only 20 in the State of Colorado, and one of only 2294 in the United States.

Mesa Verde Visitor Center
$11,879,660
The Mesa Verde Foundation
4776 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80304
Explanation: The proposed 7500 SF Visitor Information Center (VIC) will be located at the park entrance to welcome visitors, help plan their visit, allow them to tour the Archeological museum and obtain information on visitor services provided by the concessioner. In addition, it will educate visitors on opportunities in Mesa Verde and the surrounding communities, and the Ancestral Puebloan cultures. This project would employ hundreds of people including employees of the design firms, prime contractor, six to ten subcontractors, multiple second-tier subcontractors, and suppliers.

Pueblo Clean Water Infrastructure Initiative
$3,500,000
City of Pueblo
211 East D Street
Pueblo, CO 81003
Explanation: The project will repair and replace equipment at Pueblo's Water Reclamation Facility, and will repair or replace aging sanitary sewers at various locations within the City of Pueblo. The project is vital to protecting water quality in the Arkansas River. More than 65 percent of Pueblo's sanitary sewers have already exceeded their 50-year design life. There are numerous documented locations where sanitary sewers are cracked and broken, elevating the potential for raw sewage overflows to enter the Arkansas River or its tributaries. The incidence of sanitary sewer collapses in Pueblo has risen dramatically in 2006 and 2007.

Uncompahgre National Forest, Ophir Valley
$2,750,000
The Trust for Public Lands
1410 Grant Ave., Suite D210
Denver, CO 80203
Explanation: Against a backdrop of unsurpassed alpine scenery, the Ophir Valley offers an abundance of recreational opportunities visitors and habitat for threatened and endangered species. This protection effort is a natural extension of the successful Red Mountain project, located just to the north and east of the Ophir Valley along a different portion of the San Juan Skyway. It also will be complemented by other land protection and recreation enhancement efforts along and adjacent to the San Juan Skyway, one of only 21 All-American Roads in the National Scenic Byway

Pine River Indian Irrigation Project Assessment and Rehab
$4,000,000
Southern Ute Indian Tribe
356 Ouray Drive
Ignacio, CO 81137
Explanation: The project is an engineering evaluation and condition assessment, with initiation of construction on project components requiring the least amount of engineering design, for an Indian irrigation project serving both Indians and non-Indians. The irrigation project itself consists of approximately 175 miles of canals and ditches, as well as a 1/6th share in an aging reservoir storing approximately 125,000 acre-feet of water for irrigation and other purposes. This project will also create over 50 jobs.

EPA-STAG Bill Language
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District
31717 United Ave
Pueblo, CO 81001
The Arkansas Valley Conduit (Conduit) is designed to provide clean drinking water to approximately 40 cities, towns and water providers in the lower Arkansas River Valley. The Conduit will begin at Pueblo Reservoir, travel east for about 140 miles, delivering water to the various communities along the way. These communities are in dire need of a source of water that will help them comply with the Clean Drinking Water Act in a manner that they can afford. At least thirteen of these water providers are currently under enforcement orders by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Enforcement, with several others on the verge of falling out of compliance. Every community that will receive water from the Conduit is currently rated below the 85 percent level of Average Household Income.

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