FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    CONTACT:  CHRIS GALLEGOS
September 19, 1996                                 (202) 224-7082

House and Senate conference committee negotiators granted Domenici's request to provide $2.6 million to assist the Agua Sana group in developing a new water system to provide drinking water to the nine small communities in Rio Arriba County.

"The fact that the conferees reconsidered this project and approved an appropriation for Agua Sana bodes well for us in terms of getting the job done," Domenici said. "I am pleased that my request has been granted, and I hope to see progress made on bringing safe drinking water to these villages."

The Agua Sana funding will be provided through the Environmental Protection Agency budget. The funding is within the spending limits established in the six-year balanced budget resolution that was passed by the Congress.

The VA-HUD Appropriations Bill will now be referred back to both houses of Congress for final approval before being sent to the President for his signature.

Agua Sana is a group of small villages north of Espaola that have been plagued by contaminants in their drinking water. Agua Sana has developed a detailed engineering report for a new drinking water facility that would link all of their villages. The association has in the past received financial help from the state of New Mexico and from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Economic and Community Development Agency.

Villages included in the Agua Sana group include El Guache, Plaza Larga, Corral del Piedra, Hernandez, El Duende, La Cuchilla, Chili, Rio del Oso and Rio Chama. The new system would serve approximately 1,500 households or 6,000 residents.

The USDA in July awarded a $750,000 grant and a $250,000 loan to the Agua Sana Water Users Association under its Water 2000 program. These funds will be used to construct a water system that will serve approximately 450 rural customers.

Domenici noted that the funding for this project falls within the spending limits established by the Congress in its six-year balanced budget.