SAN JUAN, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins came to the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday with federal relief funds and promises that the Trump administration will get tough with Mexico to pay the water it owes the United States.
Rollins announced that South Texas farmers and ranchers were getting a $280 million federal block grant to help those who have been affected by water shortages.
The funds will be administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture and are part of $10 billion in direct payments to agricultural producers announced Tuesday through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, she told Border Report.
“This is real. It is today and we are here to fight for the farmers and the ranchers of this area of the country,” Rollins said.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller issued a statement Wednesday, thanking Rollins.
“This is a helping hand, not a handout, and it is a necessary one,” he said. “I want to personally thank Secretary Rollins for her leadership in ensuring our hardworking farmers and ranchers receive the assistance they need as quickly as possible.”
Rollins took part in a roundtable discussion with local farmers and ranchers in the border town of San Juan on Wednesday and was joined by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, both Texas Republicans.
Cruz says the federal funds are a “special carve out” just for farmers and ranchers affected in South Texas.
But he says it is only a “short-term solution.”
Long term, he says Mexico needs to pay the water it owes South Texas into the Rio Grande under a 1944 international water treaty.
“Nothing is more important than water. We are facing a water crisis in South Texas and it is a water crisis that is man-made . It is a water crisis that is a direct result of Mexico’s refusal to abide by their treaty obligations,” Cruz said.
Under the treaty, Mexico must pay the United States 1.75 million acre-feet of water every five years. The current five-year cycle ends in October, and Mexico has only paid 488,000 acre-feet, according to the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission.
Mexico owes over 1.3 million acre-feet, and water experts don’t expect the country to make the full payment.
De La Cruz says that amount could supply the City of Houston with enough water for three years.
The only sugar mill in the state shut down last year in Hidalgo County after sugar crops failed from a lack of water. Now the local citrus industry is threatened, De La Cruz said.
“This is a critical time and a year from now if we do not have water we will be in a doom and gloom state right here in South Texas,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz in January proposed a resolution to condemn Mexico for its lack of water payments. She also has advocated for sanctions against Mexico.
Rollins says she has met with President Donald Trump who is aware of the lack of water payments by Mexico. She says Secretary of State Marco Rubio also is aware and getting involved.
“We hope that we can get some water from Mexico. It’s not going to be the full amount, of course, but any delivery, of course, would be beneficial to the United States,” Sonny Hinojosa, of the Region M Water Development Board, told Border Report.
Hinojosa was among dozens who attended the roundtable discussion, along with farmer Tommy Hanka.
Hanka says improving South Texas water infrastructure also was discussed.
“Our irrigation districts in the Rio Grande Valley are not efficient in delivering water,” Hanka said. “If we don’t keep a consistent supply of water here in the Rio Grande Valley, simply, we’re not going to have water for the cities and for yards and for houses.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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