Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership as chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and as a senior member of the Arizona delegation for his leadership on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, the importance of the Colorado River to the West and my State of Arizona cannot be overstated. Forty million people in seven Western States get water from the Colorado, and nearly 40 percent of the water used in Phoenix comes from the Colorado. We must absolutely protect it, and we must do so without delay.

To prepare for the impact of the changing climate and a drier future, water users in the seven Colorado River Basin States reached agreements to voluntarily conserve water and better manage the river to mitigate the risk of water levels falling to perilously low levels in Lakes Mead and Powell, the two largest man-made reservoirs in the United States.

A little over a week ago, a Natural Resources subcommittee heard testimony from representatives from all seven basin States on the urgency to authorize the drought contingency plan as quickly as possible.

This urgency was also expressed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman, who described the consequences of not advancing the drought contingency plan. She said: ``This is a dangerous situation, where we could be reaching critically low elevations that affect the drinking water of 40 million people; that affect 5.5 million acres that could go dry; that affect species, both endangered and not endangered; that affect entire economies and the recreation of the Southwest. Action is needed now.''

The legislation before us today is critical because it directs the Secretary of the Interior to immediately execute the agreements reached so water conservation efforts can get underway this year.

This is by no means a permanent long-term solution. We all recognize that more must be done. But this legislation is an important step, and it must be advanced without delay.

It is also important to note that this legislation has strong support from a wide variety of interests across the State of Arizona, from our Tribal leaders, including the Gila River Indian Community and the Colorado River Indian Tribes, to cities and municipalities across the State, including the city of Phoenix. Industrial users support it, as do environmental organizations.

I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill.

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