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[Pages S2379-S2380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COLORADO RIVER DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AUTHORIZATION ACT
Ms. McSALLY. Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate passed my bill, and
yesterday, we passed identical House legislation to ensure this went to
the President as quickly as possible. I would like to take a few
minutes to thank those involved with these agreements and again
highlight the importance of this historic achievement.
The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, also known as the DCP,
was negotiated between the seven Colorado River Basin States to respond
to this prolonged drought. It is designed to protect Lakes Mead and
Powell from reaching certain critical water elevations that would
trigger severe water supply and hydropower impacts, including the risk
of reaching crisis levels where operational control of the Colorado
River System is lost.
The set of five agreements that makes up the DCP builds off of the
tools and water saving commitments made by the basin States in the 2007
Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations
for Lakes Powell and Mead to further address water security and respond
to actual water conditions as demanded by responsible water resource
management. These added savings bring the risk of the Mead hitting
1,000 feet over the next 7 years to near zero.
I am especially proud of the work done on these agreements in
Arizona, which takes the biggest and most immediate reduction in water
supply under the DCP. Through inclusive,
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good-faith negotiations, cities, farmers, tribes, and conservations
groups came together to make the tough decisions required to improve
long-term water security and avert the looming water supply crisis.
I would like to thank and congratulate Governor Doug Ducey and his
staff, the Arizona State legislature, Tom Buschatzke and his team at
the Department of Water Resources, the CAWCD board, Ted Cooke and the
CAP staff, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis and the
Gila River Indian Community Tribal Council, Colorado River Indian
Tribes Chairman Dennis Patch and the CRIT Tribal Council, and the
dozens and dozens of ag, water, municipal, NGO, and other stakeholders,
including the entire Arizona DCP Steering Committee, involved on this
outstanding achievement that will improve Arizona's water security for
years to come.
Work on the DCP has been underway for nearly 6 years. It has spanned
the terms of two Presidents, three Interior Secretaries, and 13
Governors. The effort has seamlessly transitioned between Republican
and Democrat administrations, both here in DC and out in the States,
and I am proud of the swift action taken by Congress to authorize this
agreement.
The Colorado River DCP Authorization Act was developed in a
bipartisan and bicameral manner, and involved the Governors'
representatives for each of the seven basin States. Responding to
concerns of some in the House and Senate about potential unintended
consequences of the legislative language proposed as part of the DCP
agreements, several changes were made to provide assurances that the
Nationals Environmental Policy Act applies to future Federal actions
outside the scope of existing environmental analysis and compliance
done in the Upper and Lower Basins.
I would like to thank Senators Cortez Masto, Gardner, and Barrasso,
along with House Natural Resources Chairman Raul Grijalva and Ranking
Member Rob Bishop for working with me to reach this compromise
legislation.
This exact statutory language is crafted to ensure water conservation
activities in the Colorado River Basin can begin in 2019 and be built
in to the Annual Operations Plans for 2020. Once the Colorado River
Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act is enacted, execution and
implementation of the DCP can and should begin immediately, as all of
the actions in the agreements authorized by this bill are well within
the scope of existing NEPA and Endangered Species Act compliance in the
Upper and Lower Basins. Specifically, the actions to be undertaken are
within the analyses and range of effects reviewed in the 2007 final
environmental impact statement on Colorado River Interim Guidelines for
Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and
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 future
Federal actions be undertaken that are outside the range of effects
analyzed in those documents or the applicable Records of Decision.
In closing, I am proud to have led my colleagues from the seven basin
States to get this DCP Authorization Act passed through Congress as
quickly as possible, and I thank them for their hard work and support.
The Colorado River DCP Act chooses the path of water conservation,
compromise, and proactive water management over and litigation,
conflict, and creation of a zero sum game on the River. I understand
that there will be more work to be done after we have authorized the
DCP, but we have made important progress in passing this critical
legislation.
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