Measure would boost funds for Navajos

Every time it rains at Navajo Mountain, ashes from last spring's fire clog the water system, making it necessary to truck water to the tiny Navajo Nation community.

The Navajo Revitalization Fund recently kicked $150,000 into an effort to build a pipeline to Navajo Mountain, a three-year, $5 million project to alleviate the area's water woes.

Rep. Brad King, D-Price, said the project is one reason he's sponsoring a bill to boost the revitalization fund's annual cap from $2 million to $4 million. The money comes from severance taxes from oil and gas drawn from the area.

"It's a terrible situation. ... Every time it rains, it does the same thing," King said. "Over 1,000 people all get their water from that area."

King's bill was unanimously approved by the Native American Legislative Liaison Committee on Wednesday as a committee bill, meaning it could bypass committee hearings during the 2007 general legislative session and move straight to the full House and Senate. Legislation to increase the Uintah Basin Revitalization Fund's $3 million cap is also in the works.

The funds use part of the state's severance tax from oil and gas drawn from the reservations to provide grants to the Ute and Navajo nations and San Juan, Uintah and Duchesne counties for capital projects such as housing, infrastructure and government buildings, said John Harja, chairman of both revitalization fund boards.

The expenditures must be used on the reservations in Utah, and while both funds try to find matching grants, the Navajo fund can only partially cover the cost of projects, he said.

Eligible funds over the cap go into the state's general fund, he said. In fiscal year 2006, the amount available to the Navajo fund neared its $2 million cap, he said.

"This year, we expect slightly over $2 million," he said, predicting that reaching the proposed $4 million dollar cap would be several years away.

In contrast, if the Uintah Basin fund had no cap, it would have drawn in $10.5 million in fiscal 2006, Harja said. "Raising the (Uintah) cap would have immediate impact," he said.

The Navajo fund has been used to provide housing, power and water lines. The fund also chipped in $100,000 for a modular building to house a Navajo court in Aneth.

The Ute fund has been used to purchase land for education buildings, including a Head Start facility, and currently is being used to help build a new government center and jail.

The bill discussed Wednesday would also eliminate the need for the governor's nod for the Navajo revitalization funds to be used. The language was intended to foster a good relationship between the state and Navajo nation but hasn't been an effective tool, Harja said.

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com