A high-stakes brawl over the drought-stricken Colorado River will be held at the Capitol this week.
The Trump administration’s top Western water authority is scheduled to appear before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday as the Interior Department prepares to take control of the waterway later this summer.
The department had already activated emergency authorities in April when it became clear the river’s flow rate would be the lowest on record this summer, threatening its ability to generate hydroelectric power and release water from Lake Powell, one of the nation’s largest reservoirs.
Some of these emergency operations — releasing about one-third of the water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir upriver on the Powell River — negatively impacted the recreational economy of ENR Chairman Mike Lee’s home state of Utah and neighboring Wyoming.
Water managers hope it’s enough to avert a crisis this year along waterways that support 40 million people, 5.5 million acres of farmland and a booming high-tech industry from Wyoming to Mexico.
But the seven states that share the water flow remain sharply divided over which cities, farmers, tribes and industries should reduce their water use when current water-sharing rules expire in October, forcing the Trump administration to make politically tough decisions.
Scott Cameron, acting director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation, said last week that the department plans to release a draft plan for unilaterally operating the waterway “in mid-to-late summer.”
Half of the region’s senators are members of the ENR committee, including Lee and leading lawmaker Martin Heinrich (DN.M.), and this week’s hearing will give them an opportunity to publicly pressure the Home Office about the plan.
This is important not only for local state voters but also for building a legal record on an issue that seems destined for a high-stakes legal battle that could end up in the Supreme Court.
Andrea Travnicek, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for water science, will be in the spotlight alongside David Palumbo, a top career official at the Bureau of Reclamation. Cameron is moving closer to the legal limit on how officials who have not been confirmed by the Senate can hold acting positions.
The stakes are arguably the highest for Arizona, where Sen. Ruben Gallego (D) heads the committee. Arizona is the nation’s youngest user of river water, thanks to a 1968 law that prioritized it after downstream states California and Nevada.
The 336-mile canal system that sends Colorado River water to Phoenix, Tucson and other booming areas in the central part of the state could essentially dry up under the plan, the state’s top river negotiator recently told state water officials.
Arizona officials are preparing to sue, but deciding whether and when to sue will be a complex legal and political calculation. The key players will be Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Chris Mays, who are seeking re-election as Democrats in deep purple states that voted for Trump in the 2024 election.
The hearing also provides a rare public opportunity to learn about Lee and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso’s approach to the issue. Two powerful Republicans are believed to be wielding strong behind-the-scenes influence over the Trump administration’s efforts on the Colorado River, including the White House’s decision last year to withdraw the nomination of a longtime Arizona water official to head the state’s landfills.
Schedule: The hearing will be webcast on Wednesday, June 10th at 9:30 a.m. on 366 Dirksen.
witness:
- Andrea Travnicek, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, Ministry of the Interior;
- Mr. David Palumbo, Deputy Director, Bureau of Reclamation;
- said Amy Haas, executive director of the Utah Colorado River Authority.
- Mike Vickrey, rancher with the Green River Valley Cattlemen’s Association.
- Tom Kiernan, CEO of American Rivers.
- Bill Hasencamp, Colorado River Resources Manager, Southern California Metropolitan Water District.
