April 3, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 58 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S2229-S2230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       COLORADO RIVER DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a 
colloquy with my colleagues from the Colorado River Basin and with 
Senator Manchin, the ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, regarding the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan 
Authorization Act.
  I am pleased that we are considering this bill so quickly on the 
Senate floor. We need to act now as the historic drought conditions in 
the basin are a real threat to the water supply of 40 million people 
and 5.5 million acres of farmland.
  As the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, I 
think it is important that we spend some time clarifying the intent 
behind this bill. We started last month with an oversight hearing in 
the Water and Power Subcommittee to examine the Colorado River Drought 
Contingency Plan, which was chaired by my colleague, the Senator from 
Arizona, Ms. McSally.
  We also need to understand what the legislation that we are passing 
today does and does not do. As I read it, the measure directs the 
Secretary of the Interior to implement the Drought Contingency Plan 
agreements upon their execution by the seven basin States. The 2007 
final environmental impact statement on Colorado River Interim 
Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for 
Lake Powell and Lake Mead enables the Secretary to do so immediately as 
this document covers all of the Federal actions contemplated in the 
agreements.
  I ask Senator McSally, is that the correct reading of the bill?
  Ms. McSALLY. I thank Chairman Murkowski. Yes, the Senator is exactly

[[Page S2230]]

right. The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, or DCP, consists of 
the Agreement Concerning Colorado River Drought Contingency Management 
and Operations and additional agreements that appear as attachments Al, 
A2, and B to that agreement. It is an emergency response to 19 years of 
severe drought and is designed to get us to 2026 without a serious 
crisis. In the lower basin, this will be done by increasing the 
contributions and providing incentives to leave water banked in Lake 
Mead as intentionally created surplus, among other things. My bill 
reflects the urgency of the situation through its directive that the 
Secretary of the Interior act without delay to sign the agreements upon 
execution by the seven Colorado River Basin States.
  As Chairman Murkowski mentioned, it is expected that the Secretary 
will sign these agreements without delay since the actions to be 
undertaken are within the analyses and range of effects reviewed in the 
environmental documents prepared pursuant to the Endangered Species 
Act, ESA, and in the 2007 final environmental impact statement, EIS, on 
Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and 
Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead; and the EISs and 
ESA documents prepared for operation of the Colorado River Storage 
Project Act initial storage unit reservoirs. Additional environmental 
compliance is only applicable should Federal actions be undertaken that 
are outside the range of effects analyzed in those documents or the 
applicable records of decision.
  I ask Senator Cortez Masto, does she agree with this characterization 
of our bill?
  Ms. Cortez Masto. I thank my colleague from Arizona. I agree with her 
assessment. I would also add that this legislation was developed to 
ensure water conservation activities in the Colorado River Basin are 
able to begin in 2019 and be built into the planning of operations for 
2020. For this to happen, there can be no delay between execution of 
the DCP by the States and the signing and implementation by the 
Secretary of the Interior.
  I ask Senator Gardner, is this also his understanding from the upper 
basin perspective?
  Mr. GARDNER. Yes, the statements Senator Cortez Masto and Senator 
McSally have made regarding the existing environmental compliance 
documents and actions contemplated in the DCP agreements and the 
Secretary's expected immediate implementation of those agreements once 
acted upon by the basin states are consistent with my understanding.
  This legislation is an important steppingstone to helping assure the 
long-term sustainability of the Colorado River. It enables the seven 
Colorado River Basin States to take advantage of flexible water 
management tools they have created under the Upper and Lower Basin 
Drought Contingency Plans to address variable water supply conditions 
in the face of an almost two-decades-long drought that has no end in 
sight.
  The Upper Basin Drought Contingency Plan involves planning for how to 
move water from the Initial Units of the Colorado River Storage Project 
Act, otherwise known as the CRSP Initial Units, to protect critical 
elevations at Lake Powell and subsequently recover storage at the 
Units. It also provides a mechanism for the upper basin to conserve 
water to help assure continued compliance with the Colorado River 
Compact which will improve the resiliency of the entire Colorado River 
System. In the Upper Basin DCP, the ``applicable Colorado River System 
reservoirs'' include and are limited to the Initial Units of the 
Colorado River Storage Project Act, which include the Glen Canyon, 
Flaming Gorge, Aspinall, and Navajo facilities.
  This legislation enables the goals of the DCP to be met by 
authorizing the storage and release of water in CRSP initial units, 
without charge, for a demand management plan approved by the Upper 
Division states and the Upper Colorado River Commission. This water 
will be delivered into such storage pursuant to the law of, and at the 
direction and control of, the State from which the water is delivered, 
subject to approval of the Upper Colorado River Commission. Development 
of the Demand Management Plan, which will include water 
accounting mechanisms and other operational factors, will require hard 
work by all four upper basin States, but once completed will be a 
critical tool for these states to improve their water security.

  I ask Senator Bennet, who has been involved throughout the 
development of this bill, does he agree with my characterization?
  Mr. BENNET. I thank Senator Gardner. I agree with his assessment and 
those of Chairman Murkowski, Senator McSally, and Senator Cortez Masto, 
about the urgency and path forward for DCP implementation. I would like 
to reiterate that this bill does not exempt or waive any environmental 
laws. In drafting the DCPs, both the upper and lower basin carefully 
considered the environment and the existing environmental analyses and 
compliance documents. Additional NEPA compliance would be needed if 
Federal actions are outside the scope of effects analyzed in the 
existing compliance and decision documents.
  I ask Senator Sinema, if this is also her understanding?
  Ms. SINEMA. I agree with my colleagues' statements and am proud to 
continue the legacy of water policy leadership in Arizona. Water plays 
a pivotal role for the environment, economic development, and cultural 
heritage of Arizona, and I am proud to have worked closely with the 
State of Arizona and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep 
this process moving forward. Arizona takes a huge step towards securing 
its water future under the Drought Contingency Plan. The plan provides 
all Arizona communities, from Native American tribes to rural and 
agricultural regions to metropolitan cities, with greater certainty for 
reliable and secure water supplies. It shows what can be accomplished 
when stakeholders work together. I thank my colleagues for the 
discussion here today and urge passage of this legislation to ensure 
all Colorado River Basin States are able to implement the DCP as soon 
as possible.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I thank all of the Senators for providing their views 
on the language and for sponsoring this important legislation.
  I ask Senator Manchin, has he heard the discussion among the sponsors 
of this bill? Is what he has heard from them about the intent of the 
legislation in line with his understanding?
  Mr. MANCHIN. It is. I thank my colleagues for their support of this 
critical legislation and for participating in the discussion here 
today.
  Ms. McSALLY. I would like to thank Chairman Murkowski and Ranking 
Member Manchin for their time, attention, and support of this critical 
legislation. I also associate myself with the comments added by the 
bill cosponsors and thank them all for their work on this issue and 
their comments about this bill's effect.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I thank my colleagues for this clarification and 
explanation of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan 
Authorization Act. As we have just explained, the bill sponsors, along 
with the chair and ranking member of committee of jurisdiction are 
unified in the expectation that enactment of this bill will lead to 
immediate action by the Secretary of the Interior, and the DCP will be 
signed and implemented upon execution by the States.

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