[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2379-S2380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       COLORADO RIVER DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Ms. McSALLY. Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate passed my bill, and 
yesterday, we passed identical House legislation to ensure this went to 
the President as quickly as possible. I would like to take a few 
minutes to thank those involved with these agreements and again 
highlight the importance of this historic achievement.
  The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, also known as the DCP, 
was negotiated between the seven Colorado River Basin States to respond 
to this prolonged drought. It is designed to protect Lakes Mead and 
Powell from reaching certain critical water elevations that would 
trigger severe water supply and hydropower impacts, including the risk 
of reaching crisis levels where operational control of the Colorado 
River System is lost.
  The set of five agreements that makes up the DCP builds off of the 
tools and water saving commitments made by the basin States in the 2007 
Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations 
for Lakes Powell and Mead to further address water security and respond 
to actual water conditions as demanded by responsible water resource 
management. These added savings bring the risk of the Mead hitting 
1,000 feet over the next 7 years to near zero.
  I am especially proud of the work done on these agreements in 
Arizona, which takes the biggest and most immediate reduction in water 
supply under the DCP. Through inclusive,

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good-faith negotiations, cities, farmers, tribes, and conservations 
groups came together to make the tough decisions required to improve 
long-term water security and avert the looming water supply crisis.
  I would like to thank and congratulate Governor Doug Ducey and his 
staff, the Arizona State legislature, Tom Buschatzke and his team at 
the Department of Water Resources, the CAWCD board, Ted Cooke and the 
CAP staff, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis and the 
Gila River Indian Community Tribal Council, Colorado River Indian 
Tribes Chairman Dennis Patch and the CRIT Tribal Council, and the 
dozens and dozens of ag, water, municipal, NGO, and other stakeholders, 
including the entire Arizona DCP Steering Committee, involved on this 
outstanding achievement that will improve Arizona's water security for 
years to come.
  Work on the DCP has been underway for nearly 6 years. It has spanned 
the terms of two Presidents, three Interior Secretaries, and 13 
Governors. The effort has seamlessly transitioned between Republican 
and Democrat administrations, both here in DC and out in the States, 
and I am proud of the swift action taken by Congress to authorize this 
agreement.
  The Colorado River DCP Authorization Act was developed in a 
bipartisan and bicameral manner, and involved the Governors' 
representatives for each of the seven basin States. Responding to 
concerns of some in the House and Senate about potential unintended 
consequences of the legislative language proposed as part of the DCP 
agreements, several changes were made to provide assurances that the 
Nationals Environmental Policy Act applies to future Federal actions 
outside the scope of existing environmental analysis and compliance 
done in the Upper and Lower Basins.
  I would like to thank Senators Cortez Masto, Gardner, and Barrasso, 
along with House Natural Resources Chairman Raul Grijalva and Ranking 
Member Rob Bishop for working with me to reach this compromise 
legislation.
  This exact statutory language is crafted to ensure water conservation 
activities in the Colorado River Basin can begin in 2019 and be built 
in to the Annual Operations Plans for 2020. Once the Colorado River 
Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act is enacted, execution and 
implementation of the DCP can and should begin immediately, as all of 
the actions in the agreements authorized by this bill are well within 
the scope of existing NEPA and Endangered Species Act compliance in the 
Upper and Lower Basins. Specifically, the actions to be undertaken are 
within the analyses and range of effects reviewed in the 2007 final 
environmental impact statement on Colorado River Interim Guidelines for 
Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and 
Mead, and the EISs and ESA documents prepared for operation of the 
Colorado River Storage Project Act initial storage unit reservoirs. 
Additional environmental compliance is only applicable should future 
Federal actions be undertaken that are outside the range of effects 
analyzed in those documents or the applicable Records of Decision.
  In closing, I am proud to have led my colleagues from the seven basin 
States to get this DCP Authorization Act passed through Congress as 
quickly as possible, and I thank them for their hard work and support. 
The Colorado River DCP Act chooses the path of water conservation, 
compromise, and proactive water management over and litigation, 
conflict, and creation of a zero sum game on the River. I understand 
that there will be more work to be done after we have authorized the 
DCP, but we have made important progress in passing this critical 
legislation.

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