Summary: In the late 19th century, Congress began authorizing funds to build Indian irrigation projects. The goal was to spur economic development on Indian reservations and to meet federal legal obligations. Today, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) manages more than 70 projects that deliver water to about 1 million acres of reservation land. The Wapato Irrigation Project, located on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State, irrigates about 142,000 acres. The cost to run the project, which BIA has designated as self-sustaining, is to be covered by annual assessments against all irrigable acres. The project has contributed substantially to the local economy, but, over the years, the project has fallen into disrepair, and many irrigated acres are idle. Estimates of the cost to bring the project back to operating condition range as high as $200 million. This report examines the (1) key reasons for the project's idle acreage and the steps that can be taken to return these lands to agricultural production, (2) main reasons why operation and maintenance assessments for the project are past due, and (3) obstacles that BIA will face in trying to collect the past due assessments.
