Tag: Upper Colorado River Commission
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Gov. Jared Polis, Upper Basin states criticize federal draft plan for managing the Colorado River
With no agreement among the seven Colorado River states, which missed multiple federal deadlines, the Upper Colorado River Commission on Monday sharply criticized the U.S. Department of the Interior’s draft plan for managing the river after the current guidelines expire this year. The critics accused federal officials of exceeding their authority and of relying on…
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With guidelines expiring, federal agency releases draft plan for Colorado River operations
Two months after the seven states of the Colorado River Basin failed to reach consensus on managing the waterway, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a set of proposed alternatives. The alternatives are familiar concepts, including “no action” — an unlikely scenario — and certain levels of coordination, including voluntary measures, among the states. One…
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Interior Department unveils $450 million funding boost for Upper Colorado River Basin
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The U.S. Department of the Interior announced new funding that the agency said would support ecosystem and habitat restoration in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The initiative, whose funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act and follows earlier investments in water conservation and environmental benefits,…
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Snowpack lagging last year’s bounty, Colorado River negotiations intensify
After a blockbuster winter last year fended off tough decisions for the Colorado River basin, a Colorado River commissioner warned last week high snowpack levels may not bless the West again and states need to prepare. Becky Mitchell, the state of Colorado’s commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission, said the seven basin states of the…
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Colorado River states face new deadline on water usage reductions
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Another deadline to establish major cutbacks in water use in the seven-state Colorado River Basin is quickly approaching, as the states continue talks, as ordered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Last summer Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton ordered the states to figure out how to…
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Polis moves to revamp team dealing with Colorado River drought crisis
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Under pressure to protect the state’s dwindling supply of Colorado River water from other states with more political clout, Colorado is reshuffling its river leadership team and asking lawmakers to approve $1.9 million in funding for a new policy and technology task force on river…
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Hickenlooper-Barrasso bill aims to reauthorize Colorado River water conservation plan
U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and John Barrasso are teaming up on legislation to help the upper basin states of the Colorado River in their quest to meet the demands by the Bureau of Reclamation to conserve water. The legislation from the Denver Democrat and Wyoming Republican would reauthorize the System Conservation Pilot Program through 2026, to…