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Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
A deal in sight? Colorado River talks are moving again, officials say
BOULDER, CO — Metaphors about divorce and grief defined an emotional presentation about the Colorado River in Boulder, Colorado, on June 6. Those metaphors, however, did not represent strife or disaster in stalled water negotiations, but apparent progress and the willingness to let go of past ideas and move toward compromise. "We've heard about the stages of grief ... about denial and anger and the need to be at bargaining," said Chuck Cullom, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission. "Well, I believe the basin states are there." Officials involved in tense negotiations over how to manage shortages on the Colorado River suggested that months of harsh talk and stalemates have ended and negotiators are exploring new options. Federal officials indicated that even parts of the "Law of the River," a 100-year-old legal framework that governs Colorado River allocations, could change as a result of the negotiations. 'We're trying to pivot to something else and be creative, and we have good engagement on that right now," said Colby Pellegrino, deputy general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. While most of the negotiators from the seven Colorado River basin states did not attend the conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder, the speakers who did attend were cautiously optimistic about their chances at making a deal. The states have been wrangling for two years over how to distribute water cuts as reservoir levels and stream flows have plummeted in the river. Existing operation guidelines for the river expire in 2026, and the federal government will impose its own regime of water cuts unless states can reach a deal. Now, officials are signaling that progress has resumed toward a deal. Alternative urged: How will Arizona deal with Colorado River shortages? Cities need a 'Plan B,' expert says The Colorado River is a critical source of water for Arizona, providing 36% of the state's water, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Populous counties in central and southern Arizona — Maricopa, Pinal and Pima — are the most vulnerable when it comes to water cuts as their water rights have lower priority. Negotiators from the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River have blown through several informal deadlines to reach a deal, sniping at one another in public remarks and propping up their own proposals for shortage management. The debate often centered on whether upper basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) should take any administered water cuts, as lower basin states like Arizona have already taken cuts. Now, the basin states have begun the process of 'letting go,' Pellegrino said, backing away from some of the ideas they clung to at the beginning of the process and imagining new compromises. The states, along with federal officials, have met every other week since the end of March, according to Scott Cameron, acting assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of the Interior. Cameron said the Trump administration is looking to rework and expand the alternatives for river management that the Biden administration put forward in January. Cameron said Trump officials like Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are seeking to engage intensely and support Colorado River basin states in reaching a deal. Although the administration has fired large numbers of federal employees working in water modeling, Cameron said he was working to shield this process from those cuts, and state representatives have said they are receiving strong services from federal agencies. California's representative on the river, J.B. Hamby, said in an interview on June 5 that renewed support from federal officials has helped jump-start negotiations. 'For the longest time, states weren't meeting all that often, or were certainly not inviting the feds into the room," Hamby said. "Now that the Trump administration officials are actively engaged in our discussions, I think everyone who supports the basin-state process has seen that as a material benefit.' Cameron said he has also met with several of the 30 tribes in the Colorado River basin to learn about their unique and differing positions and incorporate their views into official negotiations. Less water: Worsening climate outlooks raise the stakes for an agreement on the Colorado River The Colorado River is expected to carry about half of the water it should, according to the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, pushing states dangerously close to trip wires for legal action under contracts that govern the river. Scientists expect climate change to bring more erratic flows to the river in the long term, with an overall decline in water levels. Brian Richter, scientist and president of the nonprofit Sustainable Waters, presented preliminary estimates on June 5 that potentially a quarter of human water use in the Colorado River basin over the last decade has been unsustainable, meaning it is drawing on limited water reserves that natural water cycles have not replenished. 'There is a massive cultural change that has to happen in this space, and about how we use water, and that is going to affect the culture of every single water user,' Pellegrino said. "And we need to be doing that cultural change very rapidly." Cameron indicated that the negotiations could mean big changes in the bedrock laws that govern the river, saying some of the legal framework defining river management can be changed by Congress or state legislatures. The Colorado River is governed by a long list of compacts, court decrees, and international agreements with Mexico. "We don't take all aspects of what people lump together as the 'Law of the River' right now to be fixed," Cameron said. "If the needs of society change, we ought to be open to having a conversation about changing existing law." Cameron said his team has notified federal lawmakers that they might seek congressional action in the spring of 2026. The federal team aims to have a final decision in place by the summer of that year. Interested in stories about water? Sign up for AZ Climate, The Republic's free weekly environment newsletter. But to even reach a state-approved deal, Pellegrino said, state negotiators need to be better shielded from stakeholders and interest groups in their states that keep squashing ideas for deals before they can be fleshed out. 'If every whisper of what we are working on results in every person who's worried about how it might affect them running and saying, 'This isn't the deal for us,' we're never going to get there,' Pellegrino said. Cullom and Pellegrino said the basin is dealing with a hydrological reality in the river that no one can change. 'People are trying to turn this thing upside down and sideways, trying to find a unicorn," Cullom said. "But there is probably not an operational scheme that prevents us from the challenges that this drier future brings.' Austin Corona covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to Environmental coverage on and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Colorado River negotiations are getting unstuck, officials say
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘One Big Beautiful Bill' moves ahead minus target on Clark County land, Colorado River water
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Montana Republican's threat to vote against the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' ultimately spelled the demise of a Nevada congressman's attempt to sell off public lands in Clark County, Northern Nevada and Utah. U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) infuriated conservation advocates and Nevada Democrats with his amendment, tacked onto the multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package in a late-night session last week. But the amendment died as Republicans determined they couldn't risk bringing the bill to a vote without Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke's vote. The bill passed early Thursday by a 215-214 vote. It wouldn't have been that close, but two Republicans missed the vote. According to a report by The Hill, New York Republican Andrew Garbarino 'fell asleep in the back, no kidding,' and Arizona Republican David Schweikert arrived after the vote had closed. Another Republican voted 'present.' 'I'm happy that my Republican colleagues, led by Rep. Zinke, acknowledged that it would wrongfully change the way federal lands are managed,' U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) said in a statement Wednesday night. 'They stood their ground, and we were able to stop the unprecedented Amodei proposal.' Lee's office said land marked for sale in Amodei's proposal lined up with the public land that Utah has been targeting for its Lake Powell Pipeline, which would send water to St. George and other Utah communities. 'If this land were sold and the pipeline were built, it could divert 28 billion gallons of water each year from Lake Powell and the Colorado River to communities in southern Utah, away from Nevada and the other Basin states,' according to a news release. 'This is a huge win for Nevada's and the Southwest's water security,' Lee said. For decades, federal law has ensured that proceeds from land sales in Southern Nevada stay in Nevada, reinvested in projects for parks and recreation, and also partially allocated to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. That all happens through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA). Amodei's amendment would have sent these proceeds to the federal government to subsidize tax cuts in the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' U.S. Rep. Dina Titus also fought against Amodei's proposal, offering her own amendment to reverse that plan. In an interview Wednesday night with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Amodei expressed frustration. 'You might have played checkers for a week, but the chess game starts now,' Amodei said. That report indicated more than 65,000 acres in Clark County would have been sold. Zinke was appointed Secretary of the Interior at the start of President Donald Trump's first term, but left less than two years later amid ethics investigations. Sierra Club leaders declared a win. 'This is proof that when people fight for the things and places they love, they win,' Olivia Tanager, director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, said in a statement. 'Nevadans stood up, raised hell, and made it crystal clear: our public lands are not for sale. Let this be the dawn of a new day in Nevada and across the country, and let us all say once and for all: no land sales at the expense of communities today, not tomorrow, not ever,' Tanager said. Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, said, 'We hope that Zinke's move sends a strong message to lawmakers of all stripes: We can never break the public trust and the Colorado River for billionaire tax breaks.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
