Number: 2002-10
WHEREAS, the Dakota Water Resources Act of 2000, passed on December 15, 2000, in the closing minutes of the 106th Congress, directs the Secretary of the Interior to maintain the Garrison Diversion project’s principal supply works and it authorizes 23,700 acres of irrigation development along the McClusky Canal, which will require operation of the Snake Creek Pumping Plant and McClusky Canal, it authorizes 1,200 acres of irrigation along the New Rockford Canal, which will require completion of a link between the McClusky and New Rockford Canal and the operation of the New Rockford Canal, and it authorizes 5,000 acres of irrigation in the Oakes Area, which will require construction of the James River Feeder Canal and delivery of Missouri River water to the James River; and
WHEREAS, in addition, as in the 1986 reformulated Garrison Diversion project, the James River Feeder Canal also will serve as an emergency outlet for the New Rockford Canal. The Dakota Water Resources Act contains no provisions for mitigating impacts in South Dakota; and
WHEREAS, the Dakota Water Resources Act places no restrictions on the amount of Missouri River water that can be diverted through the McClusky Canal or delivered to the James River, and officials of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District have stated publicly, including congressional hearings, that most of the irrigation development under the Dakota Water Resources Act will be done privately with state and local financing; and
WHEREAS, therefore, with 37,000 acres suitable for irrigation development already identified on the James River, and with the elimination of federal restrictions on other irrigation development, the Dakota Water Resources Act opens the potential for extensive irrigation development in the James River Valley of North Dakota, with attendant proportional impacts on the James River in South Dakota; and
WHEREAS, because irrigation development beyond the 5,000 acres authorized in the Oakes Area will be done without direct federal involvement, including federal environmental impact analysis and mitigation requirements, the impacts will not be known until they occur; and
WHEREAS, the Dakota Water Resources Act is a classic example of moving water from one watershed to another without concern for environmental problems such as introduction of nonnative species of plants and animals, non-point source pollution from irrigation back flows, total maximum daily load (TMDL) thresholds in the Clean Water Act (CWA), water management for an already flood prone James River within South Dakota, water quality in the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the lack of input from the people of South Dakota even though South Dakota is to receive the irrigation wastes of North Dakota.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its Annual Meeting assembled March 7-9, 2002 in Stone Mountain, Georgia, declares that the Dakota Water Resources Act of 2000 is poorly conceived, badly designed legislation that threatens to adversely impact the environment of downstream communities, states and Canada, which should be actively avoided; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation opposes the implementation of those elements of the Dakota Water Resources Act of 2000 which have the potential to result in significant harm to the environment in North Dakota and in downstream states and Canada; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports implementation of wisely planned elements of the Dakota Water Resources Act that provide assistance to Native American tribes to improve necessary water supplies and potable water systems; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation reiterates its general opposition to the transfer of water from one river basin to another, including the transfer of Missouri River water into the Hudson Bay drainage, and declares that the implementation of certain features of the Dakota Water Resources Act could adversely impact the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge and other national wildlife refuges.