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Lower Arkansas Valley Farmers Sound Alarm Over Urban Water Demand
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KRDO.COM, Approved, Local

Lower Arkansas Valley Farmers Sound Alarm Over Urban Water Demand

By Bart Bedsole | KRDO OTERO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - There is a battle going on right now across the west between cities and farming communities... over water.  Southeastern Colorado has become a target lately of large thirsty cities, but now many of the folks who live there are voicing concerns about not only the future of their farms but the future of America’s food supply.  The Hanagan family in Otero County is among them.  Kim runs the family’s market along Highway 50 most of the time, where her sons frequently arrive with new shipments, while Eric Hanagan manages the farm a few miles south of Swink. He is the fifth generation in his family to farm their land, which now includes about a thousand acres. "We were founded about 1909," he says, “It...
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EPA Moves To Clarify Water Rules After Years Of Costly Confusion and Federal Overreach
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The Federalist, Approved, National

EPA Moves To Clarify Water Rules After Years Of Costly Confusion and Federal Overreach

By: Beth Brelje | The Federalist The soon-to-be-replaced significant nexus rule meant a ditch in a rainstorm or pooling water that occurs only in the rainy season could be grounds for the federal government preventing land use. The Trump administration is about to curb an overzealous Obama-era environmental regulation by revising the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, introduced a proposed WOTUS rule change Monday that is meant to establish a clear, durable definition of the rule that won’t be changed every time a new administration comes in. There will be 45 days of public comment on the propos...
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Seven States Fail to Agree on Colorado River Plan Before Key Deadline
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Seven States Fail to Agree on Colorado River Plan Before Key Deadline

By: Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The future of the Colorado River, and its use by seven states that rely on it, is still up in the air after negotiators failed to meet a deadline set by the federal government. The Upper Basin and Lower Basin states were asked to have a plan set for the future of the river by Tuesday night, as the current plans are set to expire by the end of 2026. The river is heavily utilized by the Lower Basin states, which make up Arizona, California and Nevada. Otherwise largely deserts, the Colorado River allows for both communities and agriculture to thrive in those states. The Upper Basin, consisting of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, comparatively rely less heavily on the Colorado River even as populations continue to rise in those states. "We made an ag...
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Colorado, Western States Face Federal Deadline to Avert Colorado River Showdown
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado, Western States Face Federal Deadline to Avert Colorado River Showdown

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette This Tuesday is the deadline set by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the seven states of the Colorado River to develop a framework for an agreement governing the river’s operations. But that agreement seems just as far away now as it did when Scott Cameron, who was named acting head of the Bureau of Reclamation in October, announced the deadline in June. Cameron told the Arizona Reconsultation Committee during its June meeting that Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is prepared to act if the seven states failed to come up with the agreement framework by this week’s deadline. “Our goal is to parachute a seven-state deal” into an environmental impact statement the agency is developing and as the preferred alternative in Mar...
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Western Water Crisis Deepens as Key Colorado River Decisions Loom
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The Fence Post, Approved, State

Western Water Crisis Deepens as Key Colorado River Decisions Loom

By Ali Longwell | The Fence Post Western Slope elected officials, water managers, engineers and conservationists met in Grand Junction on Friday, Oct. 3, all focused on one thing: the uncertain future of the Colorado River. “Water users, as a lot, tend to crave certainty, and that certainty seems more and more elusive these days,” said Peter Fleming, general counsel for the Colorado River District, at this year’s annual seminar hosted by the River District. Andy Mueller, the River District’s general manager, said the Colorado River Basin was “at a crossroads.” While the seminar broached many of the challenges and opportunities facing those who rely on the Colorado River, most discussions came back to two looming decisions that will dictate how the future looks for the 40 millio...
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Feds Need Different Approach to Colorado River
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Feds Need Different Approach to Colorado River

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com This month’s withdrawal of President Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) provides an opportunity, not just for a new nominee but for a new approach to the whole Colorado River management mess. It is an opportunity the White House and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum should take very seriously. The nominee’s withdrawal, due to the skepticism of Upper Basin senators, highlighted the deteriorating relationship between BOR and the states. In fact, BOR under Trump has thus far taken essentially the same tack as under Presidents Obama and Biden, namely threatening the states – including those in the Upper Basin – with a federal takeover if they don’t produce an “acceptable” plan to reduce their use of water. As negotiations...
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When did the Upper and Lower Basin of the Colorado River become a thing?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

When did the Upper and Lower Basin of the Colorado River become a thing?

By Steve Harris | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice And other insights from the 1922 Colorado River Compact negotiations Though I was not in attendance in 1922 (don’t laugh), the minutes of the negotiations are very thorough. At the first Commission meeting starting on January 30, 1922, the negotiations were centered on separating the Colorado River flow by the potential for irrigated lands in each state. Reclamation—only about 20 years old at the time—had made surveys of the potential irrigated lands in each state. The acreages are listed in the minutes of the first meeting. Miss the first piece? Read: “Harris Water Time” and the Colorado River Compact’s century of lessons Colorado River Commission delegates meet in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1922. Secretary of Commerce...
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USDA move to Fort Collins could add 6,000 jobs and $1B in output, study finds
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

USDA move to Fort Collins could add 6,000 jobs and $1B in output, study finds

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s planned relocation of up to 2,600 employees to Fort Collins could bring more than $1 billion in new business output and over 6,000 new jobs to the area by the end of next year, according to a study by the think tank Common Sense Institute. In July, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the department would be relocating up to 2,600 personnel and operations to five new hubs, including Fort Collins. According to CSI study authors Dr. Caitlin McKennie and Cooper Pollard, the move is expected to “stimulate job creation, bolster local businesses, and enhance collaboration with Colorado State University,” which ranks 23rd in the nation for agricultural sciences. Agriculture plays a “vital role...
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The push to redefine beneficial use ignores 100 years of western water law
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

The push to redefine beneficial use ignores 100 years of western water law

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Last week when some marauding teens bashed a mailbox with a bat, angry neighbors posted on nextdoor.com, “there needs to be a law against that.” Is that just an impulse reaction, or do they really not know there is a law against that. Since 1909, it has been a federal offense to tamper with, vandalize, deface, or destroy mailboxes, under penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. People often think things ought to be illegal that already are, that we should regulate things we already do, even that things ought to be defined that already are. I couldn’t help wondering how serious recent headlines were, announcing that several environmental industry groups had petitioned the Bureau of Reclamation to stop allowing water to be wast...
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Colorado River faces new threat as zebra mussels take hold
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Fox31, Approved, State

Colorado River faces new threat as zebra mussels take hold

By: Spencer Kristensen | FOX31 KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife officially declared a portion of the Colorado River as “infested” with invasive zebra mussels after sampling detected adult zebra mussels in the river and another nearby lake in Grand Junction, CPW announced in a press release on Monday afternoon. “While this is news we never wanted to hear, we knew this was a possibility since we began finding veligers in the river,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis in the press release. “I can’t reiterate this enough. It was because we have a group of individuals dedicated to protecting Colorado’s water resources that these detections were made.” On Aug. 28, the Aquatic Animal Health Lab suspected veligers, the microscopic larval stage of zebra mussels, were collected fr...
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