Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Republican Rob Bishop (R-Utah) issued the following statement on the introduction of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act.   

“States spent countless hours to build consensus and finalize this plan. While rare in form, Congress is respecting States’ work and moving quickly to give this agreement the force of law. I look forward to working with Chairman Grijalva and colleagues from impacted states to move this legislation through the House and to the president’s desk for signature.”

Background:

The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan is a historic agreement between the seven upper and lower Colorado River Basin states on voluntary water allocation reductions in the event the two major reservoirs on the system, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, dip below specific water elevation levels. On March 19, 2019, Colorado River Basin States transmitted legislative language to Congress to allow the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation to implement the plan.

Bill text can be found HERE.