The Western Slope just asked for federal climate dollars to buy crucial water rights. Trump wants to roll back the funding
A $99 million plan to buy and permanently preserve some of the oldest water rights in Colorado is inching closer to securing all of its funding. But President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to gut climate spending could throw a wrench in the deal, despite its bipartisan support. The Colorado River District, which advocates on behalf of Western Slope water users, submitted a funding application today to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation under a program for drought mitigation. The district is seeking $40 million from the federal agency to help purchase water rights from Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility. Xcel Energy owns and operates the aging Shoshone Hydroelectric Generating Plant, nestled on the Colorado River near Glenwood Canyon.
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