Arizona Fights Changes in Colorado Plan

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m THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC E.Arizonabattling � changes for Colo in plan rado River Continued from,Al zona of water even when stor- age levels in one reservoir were high. The. request for federal mediation could upset an al- ready- tenuous peace among the seven states, which nego- th "The basin is still in the grasp of this drought, and it is critically important that we resolve this issue now" Robert Johnson U.S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioner hated for more an two years -over how to manage the river producing rules that could ,,,m times of drought. create a shortage on Lake The states' version was un- Mead even when ample water dergoing 'a final review, and remained in Lake Powell. , Kempthorne was expected to "It's a scenario that may `approve it'in December. never develop," Guenther said. The federal government `But it could happen. And if it 'wanted the, plan in place to did, we don't feel it would be avoid protracted legal battles if appropriate to short Arizona drought 'or shifting climate water .users when there was continued to shrink the river's water in Lake Powell" flow. . Growing demand for water among the nearly 30 million people who rely on the ; Col- orado River has also increased tension. Guenther said'a delay could help the states produce a bet -, ter operating plan and, m turn, ward off future lawsuits. "We think the whole proc- ess is moving too quickly, he said. "We're not giving enough time to,seriously resolve this particular issue. It would be our feeling that it would not hurt to slow the process down a little and give the negotia- tions a chance to succeed. Federal officials .acknowl- . 'edged the stalemate between Arizona and the other states but suggested further work within the current framework. "In light of the fact that in the last eight years the Col= orado River has suffered through the worst drought in recorded history; it is ex- tremely critical that we imple- ment new guidelines for ma- nagmg the Colorado River un- der low -water conditions this year," said Robert. Johnson, commissioner of the U.S. Bu ,''reau of Reclamation, the Inte- ` rior Department's < , water dn - oh son said the bureau had been working. with the states for thep ' t two months to resolve the d e'rences and .even delayed release of the'fi- nal environmental- impact :statement on- the operating 49 P I- AN. . mnE P: der is 111t em U . a 0 E Z 0 m mnE P: der is 111t em