Feds prepared to sign CAP agreement, attorney says

Wednesday, April 12, 2000 | 10:39 a.m.

The agreement is designed to end a dispute over Arizona's share of the $4.7 billion it cost to build the 336-mile Central Arizona Project, which brings in Colorado River water for Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties.

The Central Arizona Water Conservation Board approved the agreement last month with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Several federal agencies had to check off on the deal before the judge would approve it. As of Tuesday, the federal Office of Management and Budget still hadn't signed off.

John T. Stemplewicz, an attorney with the Justice Department, told U.S. District Judge Earl Carroll on Tuesday that OMB should add its signature in the next two weeks. OMB still needs to find funding sources to make the agreement work, he said.

Carroll, who calls the agreement a "principled miracle," ordered state and federal officials to meet with him on April 25 to complete it.

Under the agreement, Arizona will give up 200,000 acre-feet of CAP water, 13 percent of the canal's total annual capacity. The federal government will use that water to help settle disputes with several Indian tribes.

Carroll's earlier ruling that Arizona owes no more than $1.78 billion led to the settlement. Under the agreement, Arizona, which launched the suit in 1995, will pay $1.65 billion.

The state gets credit for the roughly $100 million it already has paid. It will take about 50 years to pay off Arizona's share.