Environment | Politics

Rep. Gosar faces criticism over bill that benefits Hualapai Tribe

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

A view of the area affected by the Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act. Photo from Freeport Minerals Corp / Planet Ranch Project Fact Sheet

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) is in the hot seat over another bill that cleared the 113th Congress in the final days of the session.

H.R.4924, the Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act, addresses certain water issues for the Hualapai Tribe. It also resolves a water dispute affecting a mining operation owned by Freeport Minerals.

Gosar has said the bill has "overwhelming support" in Arizona. But officials in Mohave County said they weren't consulted about any of its provisions, including one that they believe could allow the tribe to acquire land and have it placed into trust.

“Congressman Gosar is in denial, he has the personality that he can’t be wrong – he is a prince," county supervisor Steve Moss told The Havasu News-Herald. “Congressman Gosar is 100 percent owned by Freeport… he is putting the interests of Freeport ahead of the taxpayers of Mohave County, he is putting the interests of Freeport ahead of his campaign promises.”

Gosar has fired back at his critics in the county, all of whom are fellow Republicans. A page on his website aims to dispel a "misinformation campaign" that he attributes to Moss and other officials.

“I genuinely have no idea what is behind the supervisors’ misinformation campaign,” Gosar said in a letter to the paper.

Hualapai Chairwoman Sherry Counts is also defending the bill. She said the measure does not actually require any land to be placed in trust.

“The Hualapai Tribe is part of Mohave County,” Counts wrote in a letter to the paper. “We are citizens of Mohave County. What benefits the tribe benefits the county… it has been disappointing to listen as some treat our tribe as though we are outsiders in our homeland.”

The tribe, however, will receive $1 million from Freeport for water and infrastructure studies. The company is also required to contribute to an economic development fund that the tribe will use to secure additional water rights.

The county has vowed to pursue litigation over provisions related to the transfer of water rights for Freeport's mining operation. But their objections weren't enough to stop President Barack Obama from signing H.R.4924 into law on Tuesday.

Gosar other major achievement during the 113th Congress was a land swap that will authorize a mine on sacred Apache lands. He refused to apologize for calling Native Americans "wards of the federal government."

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Planet Ranch debate in full force during wait for president’s decision (The Havasu News-Herald 12/17)