Who should pay? Navajo council holds money for a waterline over questions of feds' role

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council held off on legislation requesting $1.3 million from tribal funds to build about 2 miles of new residential waterline extensions, a project that could potentially tap into the ongoing Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.

The council's hesitation stemmed from concerns about whether federal funding should be used before Navajo Nation funding. Council members were meeting in their annual winter session this week.

The waterline extension would serve 16 families in the community of Kin Dah Lichii, residents who have been promised water services for more than 40 years and are still waiting. The community is located about 50 miles west of Gallup, between Window Rock and Ganado.

But the project wouldn't only benefit these families. One day, the extension will connect to the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, said the sponsor of the bill, Council Delegate Vince James.

The Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project is a $1 billion project that will divert more than 37,000 acre-feet of water annually from the San Juan River and Cutter Reservoir, treat it to meet drinking water quality standards and deliver it to Gallup and surrounding communities through 260 miles of pipelines and 24 pumping stations.

“The plan is that one of these days it will connect to the waterline project and assist in the west side of the summit into the western part of the Navajo Nation,” James said, “all the way to Leupp, Dilkon, Wide Ruins, Sanders, all that whole section there. That’s how important this project is. All those homes that are along Highway 264, they don’t have running water.”

Under the proposal, the $1.3 million would go to the Navajo Department of Water Resources, which would be the fiscal agent for the funding. The department, along with Indian Health Service, would process an agreement to transfer funds to IHS, something that has been done in the past.

Yvonne Kee Billison, of the Navajo area IHS office of environment health sanitation facility construction, said the water extension is an active project that IHS engineers are working on, along with other projects to make the connection to the waterline.

The project should take a year to a year and a half to complete, she said, noting that water should be running in this time frame as well, for chlorination and pressure testing.

Although the project is in the works, James said larger pipes are needed, and the cost of material and machinery is the major reason why the money is needed.

“There are 16 families that will benefit from this waterline construction,” Billison said. “However, the engineers on this project have planned and designed the waterline to be bigger in diameter. We are talking about a bigger waterline so that water will continue over the summit to connect with other waterlines for other communities.”

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Treaty obligation by the federal government

Indian Health Service is a federal entity, so a treaty obligation exists, a trust responsibility of the federal government to provide adequate, safe and sanitary facilities within homes and communities for water and wastewater on the Navajo Nation. Because of that, paying for the work with internal funds has become an issue for other delegates.

“When we are talking about federal dollars, we are talking about trust responsibility from the Department of Interior,” said Council Delegate Brenda Jesus, chairperson of the Resource and Development Committee. “With that trust responsibility, it is directed to Indian Health Service to provide these types of basic necessity infrastructure for our people across the Navajo Nation.”

Council Delegate Carl Slater, vice chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, posed the question that since the project is active, why can’t the Navajo Area Indian Health Service pay for the project ”with the hundreds of millions of dollars that have come” its way?

In September, Indian Health Service announced fiscal year 2023 allocations for $702.6 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The measure sets aside $700 million to IHS each year from fiscal year 2022 through 2026, for a total of $3.5 billion for the IHS Sanitation Facilities Construction program. These resources are available until expended, are one-time, non-recurring, and can only be used for the purposes specified in the statute.

Indian Health Service tracks projects to address sanitation needs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities through the Sanitation Deficiency System.

As of Dec. 31, 2022, there were 1,369 projects across the country, totaling $4.4 billion in eligible costs, and $1.1 billion in ineligible costs. Of the 1,369 total projects, 751 were considered economically feasible, and 618 were considered economically infeasible.

“It seems like the Nation is being shaken down right now, and I don't like that,” Slater said. “We have our own needs and coffers to look after and we’ve had a decline in revenue for the past four years. We keep treating this government like a treat machine to just hand out money for things the federal government is obligated to do.”

Families are still waiting for water

The community of Kin Dah Lichii had received federal funding through the Navajo Division of Community Development for waterline extensions.

In preparation for the waterline, the Fort Defiance Office of Environmental Health and Navajo Engineering Construction Authority started the construction process in 2018, installing the main waterline extension and servicing some homes with septic tanks and extensions into the homes.

But in 2020, the Kin Dah Lichii Chapter was informed by the Fort Defiance Office of Environmental Health that the waterline funding was depleted due to heavy equipment breakage based on underground rock formations on the south side of State Route 264.

“This is not just going to provide progress to only Kin Dah Lichii,” James said. “It’s going to provide progress to a lot of families on the west side of the summit. It’s going to make progress, improvement of the livelihood for all these different homes throughout these communities that don’t have running water, that are still using outhouses.”

Billison said the Navajo Nation will soon be getting a list from IHS of Sanitation Deficiency System projects that are becoming project-ready, and IHS will be using Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding for these projects.

“There is an SDS project from the 2023 list, there are over four pages of projects that are unfunded,” Billison said.

She said this funding comes in lump sums, and the current active projects across the Navajo Nation have partial or full funding to move forward. This project needs $1.3 million, Billison said.

“Now what the (Kin Dah Lichii) chapter would like to do is push it forward and get it funded so that the waterline will be connected,” Billison said. “IHS will eventually fund that project, but not right away. It will be considered for funding. It will be funded, that is our responsibility, but it might not be at the time frame that the chapter would like."

Council Delegate Shaandiin Parrish, chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee, said the issue goes back to the concept of “hold the federal government accountable” by ensuring that federal dollars are used before using Navajo Nation dollars. She listed other solutions for this legislation, such as using American Rescue Plan Act funds.

“The listing at the IHS is extensive,” Parrish said. “I do support the services for our people, but the concern I have is the funding process. I think it's a great opportunity for each and everyone of us here on council to evaluate our needs with IHS. It is important our families get water, but as a council we need to be smarter at what funding sources that we are tapping into.”

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Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Navajo Nation Council holds back money for a waterline amid questions