0001| SENATE MEMORIAL 18 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| JOHN PINTO | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| A MEMORIAL | 0011| REQUESTING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE | 0012| SECRETARIES OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE TO FUND THE | 0013| CONSTRUCTION OF THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND OTHER RELATED | 0014| INFRASTRUCTURE AT NAVAJO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRY | 0015| LOCATED IN SAN JUAN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO. | 0016| | 0017| WHEREAS, on April 11, 1956, the eighty-fourth United | 0018| States congress passed Public Law 84-485, authorizing the | 0019| secretary of the interior to construct, operate and maintain | 0020| the Colorado river storage project and participating projects | 0021| and for other purposes; and | 0022| WHEREAS, on December 12, 1957, the Navajo Nation council | 0023| passed resolution CD-86-57 urging authorization by congress of | 0024| the Navajo Indian irrigation project and the San Juan-Chama | 0025| diversion project in New Mexico and approving in principle | - 1 - 0001| legislation proposed for this purpose; and | 0002| WHEREAS, on June 12, 1962, the eighty-seventh United | 0003| States congress passed Public Law 87-483 to authorize the | 0004| secretary of the interior to construct, operate and maintain | 0005| the Navajo Indian irrigation project and the initial stage of | 0006| the San Juan-Chama diversion project as participating projects | 0007| of the Colorado river storage project and for other purposes; | 0008| and | 0009| WHEREAS, the San Juan-Chama diversion project was | 0010| completed on time and has an annual diversion of one hundred | 0011| ten thousand acre feet from the San Juan river for utilization | 0012| in the Rio Grande basin in New Mexico, but the Navajo Indian | 0013| irrigation project is twenty years behind schedule and has | 0014| been funded in a piecemeal fashion; and | 0015| WHEREAS, the Navajo Indian irrigation project currently | 0016| has seventy thousand acres under cultivation and another ten | 0017| thousand acres currently being developed with thirty thousand | 0018| acres still left to develop; and | 0019| WHEREAS, the Navajo Nation's enterprise, the Navajo | 0020| agricultural products industry, in partnership with the | 0021| largest potato grower in the United States, is forming a new | 0022| joint growing venture to grow an additional fifteen thousand | 0023| acres of potatoes; and | 0024| WHEREAS, this joint growing venture will provide one | 0025| hundred new jobs with an estimated two million dollar | - 2 - 0001| ($2,000,000) annual payroll; and | 0002| WHEREAS, the Navajo Nation's enterprise, the Navajo | 0003| agricultural products industry, is working to form another | 0004| partnership to include the largest frozen potato processor | 0005| company in the United States to create a factory venture to | 0006| produce three hundred million pounds of frozen potato products | 0007| with an estimated one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) | 0008| in gross annual sales, providing four hundred new jobs with an | 0009| estimated twelve million dollar ($12,000,000) annual payroll; | 0010| and | 0011| WHEREAS, the potato processing plant project will help | 0012| reduce the current fifty percent unemployment rate on the | 0013| Navajo Nation, a giant step toward self-sufficiency, and will | 0014| demonstrate to the United States congress that the annual | 0015| funds for the Navajo Indian irrigation project make new | 0016| industry such as this possible; and | 0017| WHEREAS, these projects will also help the Navajo Nation | 0018| respond to the new welfare reform act, Public Law 104-193; and | 0019| WHEREAS, in 1996, the New Mexico legislature amended the | 0020| New Mexico Finance Authority Act to include in eligible | 0021| projects those of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo located | 0022| wholly or partially in New Mexico, including a political | 0023| subdivision or a wholly owned enterprise of an Indian nation, | 0024| tribe or pueblo; and | 0025| WHEREAS, in 1996, the New Mexico legislature authorized | - 3 - 0001| capital project loan financing through the New Mexico finance | 0002| authority to the Navajo Nation for a water treatment plant and | 0003| related infrastructure for a potato processing plant at the | 0004| Navajo agricultural products industry on the Navajo Nation, | 0005| estimated to cost two million dollars ($2,000,000); and | 0006| WHEREAS, in the same year, the legislature authorized the | 0007| issuance of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in | 0008| severance tax bonds to construct water treatment infrastructure | 0009| for this same project; and | 0010| WHEREAS, in 1997, the New Mexico legislature authorized | 0011| the New Mexico finance authority to make loans of up to twenty | 0012| million dollars ($20,000,000) from the public project | 0013| revolving fund to the Navajo Nation for the development of a | 0014| potato processing plant; and | 0015| WHEREAS, in 1997, the New Mexico legislature provided an | 0016| intergovernmental business tax credit against corporate income | 0017| tax for new businesses locating on Indian land providing | 0018| relief on double taxation; and | 0019| WHEREAS, on March 29, 1996, the Navajo Nation council | 0020| passed resolution CMA-25-96 appropriating two hundred fourteen | 0021| thousand dollars ($214,000) for the purpose of planning a | 0022| potato processing plant at the Navajo agricultural products | 0023| center and last month appropriated ten million dollars | 0024| ($10,000,000) to its undesignated reserve for direct capital | 0025| contribution toward the potato processing plant, the water | - 4 - 0001| treatment plant and related infrastructure at Navajo | 0002| agricultural products industry, thereby demonstrating the | 0003| Navajo Nation's good faith efforts toward development of this | 0004| important economic development project; and | 0005| WHEREAS, pursuant to Public Law 104-127, the federal | 0006| Agricultural Improvement Reform Act of 1996, the Equity and | 0007| Educational Land Grant Statute of 1996 and the Equity and | 0008| Educational Land Grand Statute of 1994, the United States | 0009| department of agricultural and the United States department of | 0010| commerce have discretionary authority to make grants and loans | 0011| for economic development projects and on April 29, 1994, | 0012| United States President William F. Clinton issued a memorandum | 0013| directing federal government cooperation with the Native | 0014| American tribal governments to help support this project; | 0015| NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE | 0016| OF NEW MEXICO that the congress of the United States, the | 0017| secretary of the federal department of agriculture and the | 0018| secretary of the federal department of commerce be requested | 0019| to fund the construction of the water treatment plant and | 0020| other related infrastructure at Navajo agricultural products | 0021| industry located in San Juan county, New Mexico; and | 0022| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be | 0023| sent to every member of the New Mexico congressional | 0024| delegation, the secretary of the federal department of | 0025| agriculture and the secretary of the federal department of | - 5 - 0001| commerce. | 0002|  |