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Posted on 10/09/2003 9:29:38 PM PDT by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA -- The father of U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., said he never asked his son to introduce an amendment to a House Defense Authorization bill to remove this Southern Arizona Army post from any responsibility for water use off the installation.
The Renzi rider, as the amendment is called, has stirred up some environmentalists who say the amendment will mean the San Pedro River will be harmed, if not killed, if the rider is adopted.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Eugene Renzi said he is the president of Man Tech, a major military contractor that does work on the post and elsewhere for the military.
He also is the president of the international arm of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. The Southern Arizona Chapter of AFCEA sponsored the event held at the fort's Barnes Field House Wednesday and today.
He denied his son's amendment will benefit him or his company. The retired general said he has no vested interest in Fort Huachuca. Eugene Renzi served at the fort twice -- from 1974 to 1977 and from 1983 to 1984.
The Center for Biological Diversity is at the forefront of the effort against the rider and alleges that Renzi will benefit if the amendment is adopted.
Brian Nowicki, the endangered species policy coordinator for the center, said the fort and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entered into an agreement with the post taking responsibility for a portion of water use off the military installation.
That agreement is in jeopardy if the amendment is approved, Nowicki said Wednesday. The fort has agreed to take responsibility for 54 percent of the off-post population in the Sierra Vista subwatershed, which includes the incorporated communities of Bisbee, Huachuca City, Sierra Vista and Tombstone, and the areas of Hereford, Palominas and Whetstone.
As for the retired general's son writing the amendment, Nowicki said, "There appears to be a conflict of interest."
The amendment will help the representative's father's business, he said.
In response to that comment, the retired general said Wednesday, "Nonsense. That's not true."
Eugene Renzi, who was on post Wednesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the 21st Annual Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Systems Technology Exhibition, said he really didn't want to be dragged into the controversy.
Eugene Renzi said his son "is working his heart out for Arizona."
As for the amendment, Eugene Renzi said his son was asked by U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., to introduce the amendment.
Last year, Kolbe, whose district includes Fort Huachuca, tried to have a rider with similar language passed by the House of Representatives. That rider failed to muster support from the U.S. Senate. During a House and Senate conference committee, the language was dropped.
Attempts also are being made this year to see the Renzi rider go down to defeat. Like last year, the House of Representatives passed the rider. And like last year, the language regarding Fort Huachuca was not in the U.S. Senate bill for defense authorization.
The issue once again is before a House and Senate conference committee. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is being pushed to either get the language approved by both congressional chambers or have it killed.
McCain has said he is looking for language he can support that will ensure the post and the off-fort communities will protect the river and conserve water so that the installation is not in jeopardy during the next round of Base Realignment and Closure process.
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