The chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee warned Arizona and two other states that rely on the Colorado River on Wednesday that they will lose access to hundreds of millions in conservation aid if they pursue litigation over water rights. Roughly $354 million is still available under a 2022 climate law. But the funds expire at the end of September. “States that choose to sue their fellow basin states over Colorado River operations should not expect Congress to reward that decision with additional federal funding,” Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah – one of the four Upper Basin states, said at the outset of a hearing on the stalemate among the seven states that share the river. “Federal taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize litigation among the states.”

Other Colorado River management news:

• KJZZ (Phoenix): Colorado River states inch closer to court battle as water experts testify in D.C.
• E&E News by Politico: Congress dives into the West’s water brawl
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Utah asks feds to cut off money to states that sue over the Colorado River
• High Country News (Paonia, Colo.): Glen Canyon Dam dances with deadpool
• The Weather Channel: Lake Powell about 158 feet away from “dead pool”
• KUNC (Greeley, Colo.): Why federal officials are taking a new approach to distributing water from the Colorado River
• Cowboy State Daily (Cheyenne, Wyo.): Pinedale rancher tells senators he’s tired of Wyoming giving up Colorado River water
• The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.): Opinion: California is conserving Colorado River water, but not some states