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Irrigation project's cost questioned, new cost study sought Saturday, Sep 16, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Under pressure from lawmakers, the head of Arkansas' natural resources agency agreed Friday to update the price tag of the embattled Grand Prairie irrigation project. Several members of the Arkansas Legislative Council questioned the estimated $319 million cost of the project and asked for an updated cost study. Randy Young, executive director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, agreed to seek an independent study to determine the current cost. A federal judge has halted the project and ordered further study of the effect of construction on the habitat of the rediscovered ivory-billed woodpecker. Rep. Sam Ledbetter, D-Little Rock, said Friday he was worried that the actual cost of the project was much higher than the $319 million estimate prepared in 1997. He said he didn't like the idea of the Legislature agreeing to pay for a portion of a project when no one knows how much it will cost. "I don't want to wake up and find out we've over extended ourselves," Ledbetter said. "If you go back and look at the original project documents, this year we would be completing the entire project under the original estimates, and obviously we're not anywhere close." David Carruth, president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and an opponent of the project, said later he was pleased with the Legislative Council's decision to ask for a new cost study. He said he expects the new study to show the cost at $400 million or more. The project calls for construction of an intricate system of canals and piping to bring as much as 115 billion gallons of water a day from the White River to 1,000 Grand Prairie farmers. The original $319 million cost estimate includes $208 million from the federal government, $87 million from the White River Irrigation District and the state, and $24 million from farmers. Once completed, farmers would buy water from the irrigation system to pay off the local share of their cost, Young said. The state has already spent $15 million, including $9 million in bonds that the district must repay, the Legislative Council heard Friday. Crews began work last spring on the foundation for a pumping station near DeValls Bluff, but construction was halted in July when U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson granted a temporary injunction requested by environmentalists, including Carruth and the Wildlife Federation. Environmentalists contend in a lawsuit that the project would endanger the rare bird. During Friday's meeting, Col. Charles Smithers, district engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Wilson indicated in a telephone conference this week a decision on whether work on the pump station and some on-farm reservoirs can continue could come next week. In response to questions, Smithers said he doubted the project would damage the ecosystem of the White River or the habitat of any fish or birds, including the woodpecker. He said the project is needed to relieve an aquifer being used to irrigate farmland. Without the relief, the shallow Alluvial Aquifer could begin going dry by 2015, he said. Also Friday, Gary Carnahan of Springdale, chairman of the Natural Heritage Commission, talked about the Natural and Cultural Resources Council, which administers grant funds for the acquisition, management and stewardship of state-owned lands. Carnahan presented lawmakers with a list of grants the council had approved during the past year. Lawmakers were particularly interested in $1.2 million approved for landscaping at the Governor's Mansion. The Governor's Mansion Commission had originally asked for $1.3 million. Lawmakers were also told that Little Rock garden designer P. Allen Smith's firm, P. Allen Smith and Associates, helped design the project and his company was the only bidder. The bid was for $1.4 million. Carnahan said the commission has yet to sign a contract for the project. He said the commission had several choices, including seeking additional bids or try to find private donations to make up the $200,000 difference between the $1.2 million grant from the NCRC and the current bid of $1.4 million. First lady Janet Huckabee said Friday afternoon that the project is needed to replace the irrigation system around the 8.5 acres of property on which the Governor's Mansion is located. She said the yard has been damaged in many areas because of construction of the new Grand Hall, and some areas of the yard have not been worked since the tornado of 1999 and the ice storms of 2000. Also, she said a recent storm knocked over two trees on the property. "There will be some extensive landscaping," Huckabee said, including pergolas and fountains. Also, trees will be added along the property line for privacy. The project will also include beautification of the grounds outside the recently completed Grand Hall, she said. |
