WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema met with members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe to discuss the tribe’s water settlement and other issues that are important to the community.
“I’ll continue working with the White Mountain Apache Tribe to ensure their sovereignty is respected and their water rights are protected,” said Sinema.
Sinema met with Chairwoman Gwendena Lee-Gatewood, Vice-Chairman Jerome Kasey III, Attorney General KeAloha Douma, and Councilmen Arnold Beach and Jarold Altaha.
Sinema has long been a champion for protecting the White Mountain Apache Tribe’s access to a reliable water source. Sinema has advocated to extend the enforceability date established by the White Mountain Settlement. An extension of the enforceability date is needed due to unforeseen conditions at the site of the dam that delivers water to the tribe and surrounding communities. On May 21, 2019, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the FY2020 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that extends the enforceability date to April 30, 2023. Now, the Senate must act.