Thursday Top of the Scroll: Trump official says lawmakers open to waiving environmental rules along Colorado River
As the drought-stricken Colorado River lurches toward a sprawling water and power crisis, lawmakers are beginning to discuss an escape hatch: waiving or streamlining environmental rules. “Several weeks ago, I met with the 14 senators from the Colorado River Basin, and on a bipartisan basis, several of them said, ‘Look, if we have a real crisis on the Colorado and we need to get things done, and if there are any environmental statutes that are slowing things down, tell us what they are and maybe we can legislate to clear out some of the unhelpful bureaucratic paperwork,’” acting Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Scott Cameron said during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing Wednesday.
Other Colorado River management news:
- KJZZ (Phoenix): This new Colorado River plan could force talks every two years. Is that a good idea?
- The Salt Lake Tribune: Frozen Colorado River funds are finally flowing to Utah
- ABC News: Water supplies along Colorado River basin in peril, experts say
- Cowboy State Daily (Cheyenne, Colo.): Flaming Gorge marinas race to survive as 1m acre-feet of water sent downriver
- Legis1: Western water crisis: Reclamation’s critical future
- Salt Lake City Weekly: Opinion: Lake Powell’s Glen Canyon Dam is failing and Utahns need to stop pretending it’s worth saving
- Coyote Gulch: Blog: Am I the only one who’s uncomfortable with the “40 million” number?
