Isleta Pueblo To Celebrate Multimillion-Dollar Settlement

ISLETA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — Tribal and federal officials will be gathering on the banks of the Rio Grande at Isleta Pueblo to celebrate the settlement of a dispute stemming from one of the diversion dams along the river. Officials said Friday the multimillion-dollar agreement grants the federal government easement for the dam for the next 100 years and resolves trespass issues associated with dam. The pueblo also will receive a lump sum payment as well as support for sediment management, restoration projects in the wooded area along the river and other environmental work. Through the negotiations, officials also ratified standard operating procedures for the dam and completed plans for data collection, dam operations record-keeping and sediment disposal. Pueblo Gov. E. Paul Torres says Isleta recognizes the importance of the dam in that it delivers water to farmers and communities along the river.