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<br />Ro~ky-M;puntain News: State <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Page 1 of2 <br /> <br />Rocky Mountain News <br /> <br />To print this page, select File then Print from your browser <br />URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0.1299.DRMN_21_3732554.OO.html <br />Feds to map river plan <br /> <br />States fail to agree on drought rules; Norton takes over <br /> <br />By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News <br />April 27, 2005 <br /> <br />LAS VEGAS - Seven Western states failed to reach agreement Tuesday on how to manage the mighty <br />Colorado River in times of drought, an impasse that means the federal government will begin crafting its <br />own plan May 1. <br /> <br />"We've tried to come to a consensus, but it hasn't been possible for us to do that," said Larry Anderson, <br />director of the Utah Division of Water Resources. <br /> <br />Advertisement <br /> <br />Phones + <br /> <br />Plua <br /> <br />Call <br />303-444-PLUS <br /> <br />Q~ <br />\I /1.'.1'1 <br />L..J:, <br />. <br /> <br />Click here for a free phone! <br /> <br />Anderson and more than 40 other water officials met in Las Vegas in a last-ditch effort to meet an April 30 <br />deadline imposed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. Norton wanted the states to come up with <br />at least the rudiments of a drought- management plan for the river and its two main reservoirs - Lake <br />Powell and Lake Mead. <br /> <br />But weeks of talks leading up to the final meeting Tuesday failed to deliver any consensus on how the river <br />could be equitably shared if shortages arise, or whether releases from Lake Powell to Lake Mead should be <br />reduced this year. <br /> <br /> <br />A key issue has been the request by Colorado and three other states to hold more water in Lake Powell this <br />year to help it recover from the drought. <br /> <br />Norton will decide by the end of the week whether to alter releases from Lake Powell, but she plans to spend <br />much of the next two to three years holding public hearings to build a federal drought-management plan for <br />the river. <br /> <br />"The idea was that the states would develop some middle ground," said Tom Weimer, assistant secretary <br />overseeing water issues at the U.S. Department of Interior. <br /> <br />http://www.rockymountainnews.comldnnn/cda/article -print/O, 1983,DRMN _ 21_ 3732554_... 4/28/2005 <br />