Western States Water Council 2005 Report

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Chihuahua Governor Patricio Martinez insists that the water debt will be paid, but says, "We don't have enough water in our reservoirs, and our position is the same, we cannot release or pay something that we don't have," according to The Brownsville Herald. The Mexican state's inability to deliver the water was confirmed by Horacio Almazan, president of the Junta Central de Aguas y Saneamiento in Chihuahua, the state's water and sewage commission. Almazan said "We cannot pay the water to the U.S. today or even next year." Downstream, local farmers from both Texas and Mexico together have formed an alliance protesting the manner in which the 1944 treaty is being enforced (or not enforced). "All the work that has gone into our regional plan is based on complete compliance with that treaty," Texas irrigator JoJo White says "Since Mexico looks like it's going to set a precedent of going into a treaty violation, now there's a big question mark. This plan may be worthless."" Clean Water Act House Hearing On February 28th, the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee's Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing on several recent Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations adopted by the Clinton Administration. The hearing focused on the issues Congress should address to help states improve water quality. Representing the National Governors' Association (NGA), North Dakota Governor John Hoeven spoke about CWA reauthorization, watershed management, nonpoint source management, state revolving funds, total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), and other issues. Governor Hoeven stated that CWA reauthorization is among the important goals for the nation's governors, but they recognize such an "ambitious feat" is probably not possible in this Congress. However, the governors feel there is much that can still be accomplished. Regarding nonpoint source pollution (NPS), Governor Hoeven expressed a need for significant funding, time and education. He also expressed NGA's view that NPS should be handled on a watershed basis with implementation of voluntary or enforceable mechanisms best left to the individual states.36 On the subject of TMDLs, Governor Hoeven urged Congress to adopt a CWA amendment providing states with at least fifteen years to comply with the mandates of the recent TMDL regulations. He also suggested that states should be granted the flexibility to establish their own priorities and milestones within that timeframe. The Governor expressed NGA's concern that the new TMDL regulations will change the traditional relationship between the states and the federal government, going beyond what was intended by Congress under the CWA. He stated that the most significant role the federal government can play is assisting states achieve water quality goals, adding that legislation may be necessary to give states the technical, scientific and financial resources to implement the TMDL program. The Governor also stressed the incompatibility of using a uniform national approach to attain state water quality standards, given the great diversity among 35The Herald, December 14, 2001. 36 Western States Water, Issue #1398, March 2, 2001. 40