A pipeline that would help a small Arizona mining town make better use of its water supply. A levee protecting a reclamation facility in one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Both projects have federal funding lined up — and both are stuck in a bureaucratic holding pattern that could stretch on for years.
Superior and Buckeye are among the Arizona communities caught in lengthy federal environmental review processes required before Army Corps of Engineers funding can flow to local water infrastructure projects. A new bipartisan bill from Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly and Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis aims to cut that wait significantly for smaller-scale projects.
The Community Water Project Acceleration Act would exempt water projects from the full National Environmental Policy Act review process if they use less than $6 million in federal funds or if federal money represents less than 15 percent of the project’s total cost. Under the bill, the Army Corps would have six months to implement the new framework, and local governments would take on construction management responsibilities rather than relying on federal contractors.
The stakes are concrete for Superior. The town is waiting on environmental clearance to build a $2.25 million pipeline designed to move reclaimed water and address losses caused by ancient fissures running beneath Queen Creek — cracks that formed when mining operations first opened in the area and have been swallowing water ever since. Mayor Mila Besich said the delays aren’t just frustrating — they’re expensive, with inflation steadily eroding the purchasing power of the federal dollars already allocated for the project.
Buckeye’s situation is similarly frustrating. The city has a $25 million, five-phase plan to upgrade its Central Water Reclamation Facility and build a protective levee around a site that sits in a flood zone, with the federal government covering 75 percent of costs. The first phase is complete, but phase two is on hold pending another environmental review — despite the facility having already been through the NEPA process multiple times before. Mayor Eric Orsborn called it a catch-22: federal funding comes with strings that can delay the very work the money is supposed to accelerate.
If passed, the legislation would give communities like Superior and Buckeye a faster path from funding approval to breaking ground — a change that supporters say is long overdue in a state where water infrastructure needs are only growing more urgent.
