Laserfiche WebLink
<br />: -\'},,",>j5 <br />(~ l) v:~ ! <br /> <br />. The leadership in Washington, D.C. - both in Congress and in the <br />Administration - is committed to change in Western water policy. In a speech <br />to the Colorado River Water Users Associationt Congressman George Millert <br />Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, stated: <br /> <br />I can tell you just as sure as hell that change is coming, <br />and it's going to happen. You will not be able to hold it <br />back. Some of you will carve out niches for another year <br />of privilege, for another year of subsidy t but eventually it <br />will happen, and I suspect it will be more painful each and <br />every year it is delayed. <br /> <br />Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt is searching for new ways to more effectively <br />manage the resources under his control. In a recent interview in Western Water, <br />Secretary Babbitt addressed the future of water development and the role of the <br />Bureau of Reclamation. He stated: <br /> <br />Now, the question is how do we redefine the Bureau's <br />mission - the era of gigantic dam building is allover <br />. .. The real issue now is management of the resource, <br />about making certain we've implemented good <br />conservation; that the agreem~nts among the states are <br />working to the mutual advantage of everyone; that <br />irrigation districts are using water efficiently; that we are <br />allowing water transfers where it is appropriate. <br /> <br />. Federal environmental regulation threatens not only future development <br />opportunities, but also the existing yield of water projects already built and in <br />place to serve historic demands. The reality we face is that these regulations, <br />primarily the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Actt are being used <br />to supersede state water law and force the bypass of storable flows or the release <br />of water from storage. The ESA has been used to: <br /> <br />Force the reoperation of Navajo Reservoir, Flaming Gorge Reservoir, the <br />Aspinall Unit, and Glen Canyon Dam; <br /> <br />Raise the prospect of a reallocation of water from federal water projects <br />in the Columbia River basin in order to protect andromonous fish runs, <br />and cause uncertainty in the use and allocation of water in the Columbia <br />River Basin; <br /> <br />Prod the State of Texas to enact a state law regulating groundwater <br />allocation and use, in order to properly regulate and manage the Edwards <br />Aquifer and avoid jeopardy to endangered fish species; <br /> <br />3 <br />