if you can take your seats we are going to get started. this is the subcommittee on water oceans and wildlife and we will come to order. the meeting today will hear testimony on the colorado river drought contingency plan. under committee role 4 f, any opel or statements will be limited to the chairman, ranking member, vice chair and vice ranking member. it allows us to hear from witnesses sooner and keeps members on schedule. i ask unanimous consent that all members opening statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted to the clerk by 5 pm today or the close of the hearing, whichever comes first. hearing no objection, it is so ordered. we also have a few members from the basin states who would like to join us on the dais for this hearing. i ask unanimous consent of the following members be allowed to sit on the dais and participate in the hearing today. representative greg stanton of arizona, representative ruben gallego from arizona, representative debbie lesko, representative andy biggs, representative david schweikert, representative scott tipton of colorado, and representative liz cheney of wyoming. hearing no objection, that too is ordered. >> i would ask unanimous consent that mr. gosar of arizona be allowed to sit with the subcommittee and participate. >> without objection. of course. i would also ask unanimous consent that congresswoman napolitano the former chair of the subcommittee be allowed an opening statements. without objection that will be done. i will not recognize myself for 5 minutes. i want to thank everyone for joining us today. it is a very important hearing to examine the colorado river river drought contingency plan. the colorado river basin has been in drought for 19 years and counting. it spans the states of arizona, california, colorado, new mexico, nevada, utah and wyoming. representatives from all seven states are here with us today to tell the committee about the severity of the drought. any action that has spurred them to come together. lake meade is one of the colorado river two main reservoirs and has hovered around a level that would trigger a shortage declaration which would automatically lead to water delivery cuts with for the million residents and 5.5 million eight acres of agriculture, the river supports communities from colorado down to coachella, california. it includes major cities including los angeles, phoenix, las vegas and denver and it also has viable natural resources and 29 tribes. the river supports a 20 $5 billion outdoor recreation economy. there is a lot writing on a river that thomas since the turn-of-the-century, has seen a lot 19% decline in flows on average. it has less water than we once thought it did. climate change is likely to make things worse. a month ago this committee heard expert testimony that hotter temperatures and lower precipitation will likely contribute to what scientists have turned negative drought in the southwestern u.s. and throughout the rest of this century. right now the colorado river has reservoirs telling the story of historic drought in action. lake meade, the river's largest reservoir is at 41% of capacity. in fact it is consistently at have capacity or less in the past 6 years. there is positive news this year with improved snowpack levels, a single what year will not fix the problem. even though the snowpack this year is above average, the flows into lake powell, the second largest reservoir for the liver will be below average. it reflects the fact there is a lot of catching up to do after the historically dry conditions we have seen over the past two decades. the seven colorado basin states know full well the challenge they face. they are here today to tell us how they hope to address it. last tuesday the states sent us the drought contingency plan, dcp, which is a set of agreements that would help keep the river's two major reservoirs from dropping two dangerously low levels. congress has been asked to approve enabling legislation to move it forward. the department of interior has worked with the states over the several years it has taken to get this plan to the hearing room today. there are certain provisions that will require congressional approval for the interior to implement. i'm pleased to see those involved in the dcp have managed to work across state lines, across party lines, to find ways to protect the colorado river. understand the states started the initial conversations in 2013. that was about what they could do. the next steps they could take to conserve water and protect the river, and former interior secretary sally jewell highlighted the importance of additional planning for the ongoing drought in december 2013. a speech where she discussed the need for the contingency plan that included states and tribes across the basin. today we have a bureau of reclamation preparation to testify before the committee about how they have continued to work to reach this point. i should note the u.s. government is making water conservation commitments in the dcp as are the tribes and other parties in the basin, including the nation of mexico, where the colorado river ends and the gulf of california in the gulf of california. i look forward to hearing more about the plan starting with the states has grown to an intergovernmental and international partnership. i want to make sure we do not forget the impact of the colorado river basin drought on ecosystems and the environment. it is heartening to see many in the environmental community have expressed support for the dcp. i want to applaud the efforts of seven basin states to work with our staff in recent days to ensure the members know we are respecting our nation's environmental laws in the dcp enabling legislation. my understanding is there is broad support from all seven basin states for dcp enabling legislation that will soon be introduced by the chairman. i appreciate the work of many who got us to this point and i should note that the ongoing drought has provided the common reason for the states to develop the dcp. each state will face its own distinct set of challenges in implementation. to understand these challenges and recognize a robust partnership that is the foundation of the dcp, this committee has asked representatives from all seven basin states to testify today. i look forward to hearing not just what the dcp is, but why it matters to everyone who depends on this river. with that i will invite the raking member to say a few remarks. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the subcommittee meets today to consider the colorado drought contingency plan agreed to by all the states that draw from the colorado river basin. the dams on the colorado have been the foundation of the prosperity of the western states that rely on them to store water from what your swisher abundance in dryers. 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of productive farmland now depend on the water stored behind these dams and the 4000 megawatts of hydroelectricity that the turbines generate. both natural and man-made developments brought us to this juncture. the first is the continuing drought in the american southwest. precipitation in most of the continental united states has increased considerably since the turn of the last century, almost .2 inches per decade. the exception is the southwest, which has seen a decrease in precipitation in the same period as weather patterns shift. in addition, the original allocations of the colorado river water were set in 1922 during a period of unusually high precipitation. it built into the system an overestimate of available systemwide supply. as yogi berra observed, it is tough to make predictions, especially about the future. the good news is the upper colorado snowpack is currently 120% of normal for the year. february precipitation was well above the 30 year median, and double in most places, and this month it is likely to be the wettest march on record in the colorado basin. one good year is no guarantee the 19 year drought is over. improve proof and experience warn us of the need to be prepared. droughts have plagued this region from time immemorial, over the last 1200 years, there have been five periods with droughts equal to or greater than this would. in the middle 1100s the region experienced a 25 year drought. history it is desperately warning us to be prepared. one thing is absolutely certain about the future of the colorado river basin. demand for water will increase with population. the supply of water will continue to fluctuate. that is a fine point of the matter. it is an inescapable reality we cannot ignore. it is a remarkable development that seven of the most politically diverse states in the nation could find an agreement on something as controversial as reduced water allocations, but that miracle is before us today. we would be well advised to show a bit of humility and for that the judgment of the states that directly depend on the water allocations set forth in this contingency plan. during the oracle of philadelphia, and jaime franklin observed the principal difference between the catholic and protestant religions was the catholics believed their church was infallible while the protestants believed that their church is never wrong. his advice to them that day, which i believe is entirely applicable here, as we should each doubt a little of our own infallibility and approve this compact. i yield back. >> the chair recognizes the gentle lady from southern california, who has been working on colorado river issues for a long time. ms. napolitano. >> thank you very much mr. chair and for holding this hearing. thank you for holding the hearing and thank you to the witnesses, for allowing me to make this statement. the colorado river drought contingency plan is an achievement of collaboration with foresight. it reflects a realistic appraisal by the water management of the river system of increasing water scarcity and the realization that the water supply -- pardon me -- is a finite resource. the basis states developed the practical a workable approach for dealing with the colorado river. the fact that seven states in the department of interior can come together as we said before over 2 years and have a meaningful path toward the goal of sustainability is something to be celebrated. southern california people will benefit from improved reliability of the water supply the dcp will provide. 40 million people rely on this amazing resource. each one of them is better off with the plan. we must pass the legislation to authorize secretary of the interior to implement what the seven basin states have agreed to and need. the testimony we will be hearing today reflect the bipartisan effort supported by the seven states, multiple water districts, native american tribes, and a broad coalition of environmental organizations. the authorizing legislation will initiate allstate efforts to manage the water in the colorado river system, along with the republic of mexico, which has willingly participated in and actively worked with the united states to address the drought conditions. we are blessed we have a good snowpack as was mentioned before in the upper colorado river watershed this year. this provides us the opportunity to take advantage of extra water if the dcp legislation is enacted, so the implementation can begin immediately. the southern california is still in drought condition. we have not yet -- excuse me -- we still need more rainfall. it will take more watery years to be able to come up to a fairly decent filling of the rivers and dams. we must have collaborative approaches to manage this most precious resource, water. the dcp will in cry increased dependability in southern california and provide consultant solvency issues. i look forward to working with this committee and the commissioners and all stakeholders providing a long- term solution to the solvency and i request that we continue this conversation later. i thank you very much for the ability to do this. thank you very much. i yield back. >> thank you. we will now here witness testimony. let me remind our first witness that under the committee roles, witnesses must lament the oral statement to five minutes. the entire statement will appear in the committee hearing record. when you begin, -- i don't need to tell you this, commissioner berman, there will be a light on the witness table that will be green. when you reach the one minute point it turns yellow. you know what the red light means. now i will introduce the witness for our first panel. it is commissioner brenda burman, the commissioner of the bureau of reclamation. i welcome you. you are recognized for five minutes. >> good morning chairman huban and members of the subcommittee. i am brenda burman, commissioner of the bureau of reclamation. thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the efforts of the colorado river basin on the drought contingency plan. we appreciate that the committee called this oversight hearing as partly as possible. to paint a picture, and as a handout you have been provided shows, the colorado river irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of farmland. it serves a proximally 40 million people in metropolitan areas across nine states in the u.s. and mexico, including denver, salt lake city, las vegas, phoenix, tucson, los angeles, san diego, mexicali, in tijuana. it is the most vital resource to the environment and the economy of the southwest. understanding its importance, the colorado river basin is in danger. we are currently expanding the worst drought in recorded history. the period from 2002 2018 is the driest 19 year period in over 100 years. this period represents one of the driest periods in the 1200 year paleo record. these dry periods cause my storage of lake powell and lake meade to drop precipitously. the combined storage in these two massive reservoirs said at approximately 40% of capacity. conservation and storage programs developed in the last few years have added approximately 25 feet in elevation to lake meade. it is these covers are conservation efforts that have helped the lower colorado river race and avoid shortage in the past 3 years. these efforts will also be instrumental in helping avert a shortage through 2019. all shortages are likely part of the lower basin's future, none of the lower basin states or mexico can afford to allow a true crisis of water supply to develop. simply put, if lake meade were to decline to elevations less than the mean sea level, the remaining storage would be less than 6 million acre feet. to put that in context, in a normal year we deliver 9 million acre feet. this would leave us without a full year supply. that is not the future we want this basin to experience. commission data from january indicate the critical elevations could be reached as early as 2021. the risk of the primary reservoir, lake powell and lake meade, reaching critically low elevations has increased nearly fourfold over the past decade and could continue to increase without action. the seven colorado river basin states deserve great credit here. over the past 25 years we have seen that by working together we are able to accomplish far more than anyone party, state or even any one country could do on its own. together, the upper and lower basins, all seven states, i committed to taking actions to reduce risk on the system. we applaud their efforts and successful negotiations that would bring a set of agreements to reduce risk on the colorado for all that rely on the river. whether you rely on the colorado river for your city's water supply, irrigate with water from the colorado, use electricity generated by the colorado, or enjoy the natural wonders of the colorado river, everyone benefits when we work together to protect this limited declining and irreplaceable resource. thank you again for calling this hearing. i look forward to your questions and the testimony of the basin state leaders that are here with us today. >> thank you, commissioner berman. i will recognize myself orca five minutes. in your testimony you talk about the importance of the dcp in terms of minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity for water conservation. the states have also expressed a great sense of urgency in seeking congressional authorization to move this forward quickly. can you speak to why the dcp is needed on such an urgent basis? >> we look out and see the risk of lake mead and lake powell falling to radically low elevations in the very near future. there has been a lot of conservation and partnership on the river. that is what has kept us out of shortage to date. the drought contingency plans are not designed to keep us out of shortage. they're designed to keep us out of crisis. that is what we see on the horizon. actions today will produce better results tomorrow. there is too much risk on the system to do nothing. as you mentioned, this is a wet year. one wet year will not fix of a 19-year-old problem. the sooner we ask, the more likely we are to prevent crisis. >> so the actions you reference include a commitment from reclamation it's out to come up with 100,000 acre-feet savings of water per year. can you speak to the kind of opportunities reclamation sees for achieving the savings? we have a really good story here. i will just mention, back in the early 2000, when i started working on the colorado river, the water that we lost in the system, the water lost out of hoover dam and never used, was ever 100,000 acre-feet. in some years he was ever 150,000 acre-feet. since that time, reclamation working with partners has been able to tighten the system, increase efficiencies, use infrastructure to save water and last year that loss on the system was 7000 acre-feet. we have overwhelmingly tightened the system. we plan to use all of our authorities, work with all of our partners on the river, to move forward to find even more water supplies within the united states commitments. >> under the dcp, if lake powell nears the target elevation of 3525 feet, upper basin states and the secretary would convene to create a response plan to make sure the reservoir stays above that level. can you explain why that target elevation was chosen, and what would happen if lake powell dropped below that level? >> the basin states will be testifying right after me. i think they will speak far more eloquently about -- >> eloquent. >> -- about why they have chosen that level and why it is important. we have work with them along the way. the ideas to protect the eye water with the idea that protecting power pole will protect resources and also protect the upper basin and also prevent a crisis on lake powell. a crisis where deprivation was not able to make delivery south. >> will i send in more detail about those technical questions. let me ask this. this dcp is to address the crisis immediately before us. but our work is not done on the colorado river basin. as you know, negotiations for future water use in the next colorado river guidelines will begin next year. i wonder if you could share some thoughts on what you think needs to be done for the long- term to prepare for droughts of the future, which we know will become more frequent and severe, because of climate change. >> back in 2007 when the department put in place the shortage guidelines and the coordinated operations of lake mead and lake powell, the idea was we would learn as we went, operate the system, understand the system better. we find ourselves in 2019 and we have learned a lot. the drought contingency plans are designed to be a seven-year insurance policy. that seven-year insurance policy by some the risk of us eating crisis by 2026. we are prepared to start negotiations in 2020. what happens after 2020? the drought contingency plan is so important, because what it will do is give us that space for the partners to come together for the states, the federal government, tribes, nongovernmental organizations, local entities, water districts, farmers, and work together on what is the next step. >> in the time we have remaining, i wonder if you could explain the water management differences in the upper versus the lower basin and how that is reflected in the dcp. >> that could take hours and hours, mr. chairman. >> you have :37. >> very good. and the lower basin states, lake made sits at the top of the system. so southern nevada water authority will testify today, they take their water from lake mead itself. but california and arizona take their water below hoover dam. they have a very large savings account sitting above their system. it is a good echo system. that storage has allowed them the certainty to move forward and it is the backbone of their economies. in the upper basin, there are several storage projects. the largest, lake powell, sits at the bottom of the system. so it is a much different calculus, about how saving programs work and how you will move, that reservoir, lake powell, it is absolutely important for how water flows south. meeting compact commitments and how the basin states, and the upper basin come together to make sure they are buying down their risk, that they know they will not hit crisis. >> i appreciate that. i'm sorry we did not have more time to do justice to that. the chair now recognizes the ranking member mcclintock forgot five minutes. then we will have to break for votes. we will come right back. i apologize in advance for the interruption. >> thank you. commissioner berman, we heard objection from some environmental groups that the state proposed legislation purposely averts federal environmental laws. do you think the legislative language proposed by the seven basin states attempts to circumvent environmental laws? >> ranking member mcclintock, no one ever likes this answer, but the administration is unable to comment on legislation that has not been introduced. i know that the states who will be testifying next, that is their proposed language. i expect they will be happy to explain all of what they have proposed. >> i have heard suggestions that in some way the dcp ought to be the subject to the california environmental quality act. should this plan or any of the basin states proposals be subject to it? >> again, i don't want to comment on >> let me ask you this. what effect would it have on the plan if they were required to conform to it? >> it is hard to picture what the federal government how it would comply with it. it would be a major change. it would be difficult to see how the federal government would be required to follow state law. >> tell me, what changes do you anticipate being made to federal law in order to accommodate the dcp? the drought contingency plans are designed, were designed by the seven states working with the federal government to work within existing law. there is a very complex law of the river that governs the colorado river. it includes the supreme court decree, statutes, and includes agreements and compacts, both international and between states, and in looking forward, the states have come together and put together a plan they believe creates incentive that can move forward and the law of the river, for these 7 years, will work within -- they believe the changes they put forth will allow the law of the river to work for the dcp for the next 7 years. >> are we approaching the maximum ability for the to utilize water in the colorado river basin? one thing that always strikes me, everyone thinks the colorado river is the greatest river in the west. the sacramento river is bigger. we store about 70 million acre- feet in total on the colorado system. we sort 10 million acre-feet on the sacramento. we lose the rest of that to the ocean each year. are we reaching the upper limits of our ability to retain water in the colorado basin, assuming we go back to a normal weather pattern? >> i think you have just said it. the colorado river has an overwhelming storage supply. storage capacity. and that storage capacity has allowed us to survive 19 years of drought. so, the storage capacity on the colorado river system -- >> let me ask you this. what would the southwest look like today without the system of dams in the colorado basin? >> -- it would be very difficult to see how the be very difficult to see how the southwest could thrive or survive without the storage we have seen on the system. >> thank you very much. >> votes have been called, so the committee will now recess subject to the call of the chair. we should be back shortly. thanks. >> >> >> thank you for your patience everyone. we are back. i believe the gentleman from arizona, mr. stanton, was next in line. here he is, the former mayor of phoenix knows something about the colorado river and the settlement agreement. mr. stanton, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much mr. chair. sorry about that quick vote that we had to take. everyone was presented that regard. mr. chairman, i want to thank you for allowing me to participate in their hang today about the future of the colorado river, a critically important issue to us from arizona. i want to send a special thank you and welcome to the arizona director of water resources who will testify. the importance of the colorado river to the rest and my state cannot be overstated. 40 million people in seven western states get their water from the colorado and nearly 40% of the water used in phoenix comes from the colorado . we must absolutely protect them. we must do so without delay. make a mistake, one primary reason we are here today is climate change. climate change has ravaged the american southwest. we are in the 19th year of drought. the federally funded national climate assessment found that rising global temperatures have change the southwest water cycle and increased snowpack. less snowpack means less water to the colorado river. as a result the once mighty river is dangerously over allocated and on the verge of collapse. to prepare for the impact of the changing climate, and a dryer future, water users in the seven colorado river basin states have work to reach important agreements to voluntarily conserve water and better manage the river to mitigate the risk of water levels falling to perilously low levels in lake mead and lake powell. it has not been an easy process. it has taken several years. go i want to recognize the painstaking work it has taken the parties to reach these important agreements. during my time as mayor, the city of phoenix work closely with the director and his team at 80 wr. i know exactly how much time and effort went into making these agreements happen. it is important to recognize that the agreements and the legislation is a copper mice. everybody is going to feel some pain. if we can get through this, get this through congress, arizona will enter into shortages on the colorado sooner and in larger amounts. it is essential to conserving and protecting against over allocation of the colorado river system. this is our new reality in the desert southwest. we must prepare for today and in the future. mr. chairman, i can ask you to enter into the record two letters. one lidar from the newly elected mayor of the city of phoenix, kate gallego on the important surpassing the dcp. and for business leaders across arizona, utah and colorado, who are in support of quick action on the dcp. >> without objection. >> thank you. i have a question for director berman. was covered a bit earlier. it is worth repeating. at the legislation in the dcp does not move forward, can you describe what will happen in the basin states? >> yesterday in the senate, i think the basin states testified themselves very eloquently to why this was so important. i would say the situation on the river is urgent. this is a dangerous situation and we could reach critically low elevations, affecting drinking water of 40 million people. and affects 5.5 million acres that could go drive. and affect species endangered and not endangered. it affects entire economies and recreations of the southwest. action is needed now. the states are looking at water management decisions they have to make this year. for example, the metropolitan water district in southern california has to make decisions in the very near future about, do they leave water in lake mead this year? or, if there is no tcp, do they have to take it out? the gila river indian community in arizona faces urgent decisions as water managers about whether they look to help the state and leave water in lake mead. those decisions cannot move forward unless they have the certainty of the drought contingency plans. >> thank you very much. i yield back. >> i think the gentleman. the chair recognizes mr. costa for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member for this important hearing. commissioner berman, congratulations and welcome. i am going to make this, all politics are local, and water to california is absolutely a critical issue. as you know, it tends to be either feast or famine. we have there have drought periods or an abundance of rainfall and snow in the sierras. this year we have been blessed with the lidar. we have an abundance of snow and rain. we have in excess of 150% in some of the areas where measurements have been taking place. the sand luis reservoir. i'm please. i looked at it last week. it is full. or practically full. our other reservoirs are above their averages. the ten-year average is how we measure the water. congressman coxon and i sent you a lidar . we sent it to the regional director. i hope you're familiar with the lidar. when senator feinstein and i worked several years ago, we hoped there was flexibility, especially when we had an abundance of rainfall, as we have had this year, to try to maximize allocation for the respective districts. we are at 100% on the sacramento river valley. we are 100% with the exchange contractors and plan water users. in that revised estimates in middlemarch, we are at 55% on the sand luis unit. and for the life of me, when we have an abundance of cfs going to the delta, it begs the question why we are at 55% when every everywhere else we are at 100%. i wonder if you can respond to that. the timing is really critical on this stuff. for permanent crops, obviously, that is good news. we make decisions with bankers in february and marge based on the water allocation for the annual crops, i'm talking about, fresh fruits, vegetables , asparagus, tomatoes, all these annual crops. and we do that based upon -- bankers loan money based on allocation of water. can you explain why in april and may we seem to be limited when we have this incredible amount of snowpack we are dealing with? >> thank you, representative costa. we received your lidar. we are working diligently to get you an answer right away. i would say we are acutely aware of the water needs of our water contractors in the central valley project. we work to maximize the water allocations and make them as earlier in the year as we possibly can. on the central valley project, we were able to move forward in mid-march and a lot of times they have to wait until the end of the month to increase allocations. so we are happy to say we could increase allocations in mid- march. >> you did that for everyone. which is good. i am at a loss to try to figure out why everybody else is up 100% -- at 100% -- in the states increased their allocation. at the sand luis unit we are stuck at 55%. if we cannot provide maximum allocation in abundance, in a big hydrological year like this year, then obviously we will never be able to come close to making the allocation numbers. >> it has continued to rain and snow in california. >> i am trying to take credit for it, since i got blamed for the drop. i think it is only fair. it is not working. go ahead. >> so, the state snow reports will come out at the beginning of april. we will use those and work with national marine fisheries service to see if we can increase allocations at the time. >> so, wait and see another two weeks is what you are telling me? >> we will be doing everything we can to maximize the water allocations. >> let me ask you about the colorado and drought contingency plan. i heard my colleague raise issues that are important not only to arizona but california and other lower basin states, without the drag contingency plan under current operation agreements, what would happen if lake meade goes into shortage conditions below 1075 feet or 1025 feet? >> there is a specific allocation. first under the 2007 guidelines, the lower basin states of nevada and arizona agreed to make certain cutbacks when the lake reached shortage level. those levels were named at 1075, 1050, and 1025. we worked with mexico, and mexico also has a great two certain cutbacks at those levels. the drought contingency plan incentivizes and create reasons to create even more conservation . that conservation will come into effect if congress moves to complete the drought contingency plan and we move forward to implement. that will start as elevation 1090. for example, when i checked yesterday, that is exactly where the lake level is today. so, moving forward, parties will be saving more and more water. bypassing the drought contingency plans, what congress would be doing, the parties would be doing moving forward, is not only incentivizing further conservation, but allowing the certainty of the parties to move forward to make those investments. >> thank you. my time is expired. thank you mr. chairman. we will continue to work together to solve some problems. >> the chair recognizes mr. schweikert for cup five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it has been many years -- i was in the state legislature many years ago -- we did our groundwater recharge districts. it is fun coming back and reading the material you are producing. everything old is still the same. medic commissioner, just so those of us who, not necessarily water, we have had a big hydrological year. that it if that is the proper terminology. does that take the pressure off you or us or should we use this as an opportunity to continue to sort of work out the final mechanics on the contingency plan? i am fearful there may be a number of us who say, it is a great year, we don't have to deal with this. >> i am fearful of the exact same thing. when you're is not going to fix a 19 year drought. we are at a very critical situation on the colorado colorado river. their parties, water managers, who must make decisions in the next several weeks and months. those decisions cannot be made unless they have the certainty to know the incentives of the drought plan will be there. the investments can be made without being lost. those decisions have to be made in southern california and in arizona. i'm sure there are decisions that need to be made in nevada and the upper basin states. it is critically important that the drought contingency plans move forward this year. >> mr. chair, medic commissioner, and that same sort of vein, i have been asked by someone in my district about to the quality of the data you get on what we will call it watershed, the snow shead, on knowing, what we have, what the predictions are on the melt rates and those things. are you comfortable you have good enough data set that you can telegraph to those irrigation districts in california, that those of us who have concerns, because we have priority, do you have the tools you need right now? >> we have very robust data on the colorado river system. reclamation works with u.s. geological survey, we work with national weather service, with no wall, with universities, with their own phd modelers to put forward that information. there is one thing about the information we put forward that summarizes all of that. it is watched by seven basin states. it is watched by mexico and we know it has to be accurate because there are a lot of people watching and checking her math. >> the back half of that. as a member of commerce, if we wanted, ourselves or one of us to login other than always watching lake levels of lake powell, going to the website, there's a portal i can pass on to our constituents. we can say what is happening in our part of the country. >> the web reclamation website is a good place to go as far as colorado river information. there are other places to go for more specific local information. just following up on either more tools that are needed? we are never satisfied with just what we have. the president's memo in october of last year, it called on making western water supplies more reliable. it did that by looking at, what are our scientific tools we need to improve? forecasting is one of those tools. reclamation, just recently closed up prize competition. it set out to it was sent to the nation, can you approve forecasting? the colorado river basin and other places. we had so many entrants, we have three folks we have picked to work with. but, those types of tools are improving all the time. >> the last quirky question. do not point and laugh at me. i don't have the joy of sitting in the committee. over the years we have had to we have had certain folklore. we need to encourage california to line their canals because of seepage. or the sorts of things. are there other things that would not fit typically into a drought contingency plan that, we talk about these things, from arizona, where scared to death of our friends to the west of stealing our water. >> which is the second. >> [ laughter ] >> i mean it with love. other actually those sorts of ideas out there that over the next couple of decades could be drawn, and we could think there are other things for all of us that would help us on, if not today, in a future drought situation that we can start embracing the technology or engineering? at the risk of stealing time, commissioner berman, can you wrap that answer in 30 seconds? >> thank you for your patience. >> i think there is an incredible story to be told in the southwest. you look at the conservation programs, agriculture, cities, california and nevada, arizona, which i am most familiar with. the upper basin is very similar. it is a pretty incredible story to tell about the changes in efficiencies, changes in conservation that have moved forward in the last decade. that does not mean there is and room to do more. but the story is very impressive. >> thank you. mr. mcclintock and i were commiserating. it is pretty rare that members of the california delegation whenever feel outnumbered on anything. but clearly arizona is showing up on this issue. >> [ applause ] >> it did not work out well for california. just saying. we will recognize the next member from arizona, the chair of the committee, mr. raul grijalva who has some comments and questions about the colorado river. >> it is not proprietary, but it does feel that way occasionally. thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank you and the ranking member for expediting this hearing. the timing of this is critical. much appreciation for that and the work of your staff in working with all the stakeholders, and the basin states, as well, and particularly doing a really good job in putting something together we can all support, i hope. commissioner, welcome and thank you. could you please tell us how the dcp fits in the framework of existing environmental compliance? >> certainly, mr. chairman. the upper and lower basin got contingency plans were designed specifically to fit within existing environmental compliance. let's start in the upper basin. the drought response operations agreement, one of the key agreements and the drought contingency package, was designed with input from a broad range of stakeholders to strike a careful balance between protecting environmental resources throughout the upper basin and assisting and facilitating, adding storage to lake powell. if the upper basin states achieve this careful balance by recognizing from the outset that any drought response actions that would send additional water from the key upstream reservoirs would do so within the rigorous bounds of the biological opinions. conversely, after the efforts to protect lake powell have been completed, we need to ensure the additional water sent downstream is able to be replaced, leaving the upper west reservoirs hole. in conclusion, in this example, the drought contingency plans use the environmental flexibility to not only said water to lake powell, but then allow the upper reservoirs to recover, all while complying within the framework of existing record of decisions and biological opinions. i'm sure the next panel will talk about that. turning to the drought contingency provisions in the lower basin, the lower basin dcp provides for billions of water conservation by each lower basin states that use lake meade elevations. it is important to note, at the same elevations under historic agreements reached in 2017 with mexico, water savings by mexico would take place at the identical lake meade elevations. the primary root mechanism for achieving the water savings, which add extra water to lake meade, are designed to occur to the creation of intentionally created surplus, what we call ics. ics is the water conservation tool designed in the 2007 guidelines to incentivize extraordinary conservation allowing partners to save water now, leave it in lake meade, and recover it at a later date. the new element of the dcp if that states have agreed that ics will occur and identify required volumes and at the specified lake meade levels i identify. the lower lake meade goes, the greater required water savings. it thereby decreases the lake meade declined. in this way we utilize the essential tools that are the framework of the 2007 guidelines by adding mandatory savings. at the same time the actions to be undertaken at the lower basin dcp are designed to fit within the environmental documents prepared with the endangered species act and the national environmental policy act and the 2007 final environment impact statement on colorado river interim guidelines and lower basin shortages coordinating operations for lake powell and lake meade. >> thank you, commissioner. i think for many members of this committee, your answer is very welcomed and very much appreciated, knowing that environmental requirements and our nation's and burma to loss going to be respected by dcp, i think is the added emphasis impetus to moving this as rapidly as possible. it is much appreciated. as the chairman said in his opening statements, we will be introducing the legislation shortly to authorize dcp and expedite its movement through committee and eventual action. i should note that the legislation that is being introduced is from the basin states, it respects the environmental laws as you outlined, and allows us to immediately authorize dcp, which is very important given the urgency of time and the millions of people that are affected by what we do here. i want to thank the states for all the time they have spent with our staff and the vast majority of a constructive. thank you. i also want to note the absolute critical role of the tribes in dcp, the colorado river indian tribes in the gila river indian community are essential to the dcp success. i want to commend them and their leadership, their communities, for the contribution they have made to the health of the colorado river. finally, discussions regarding the, i have made a commitment with the commissioner and congressman reese and congressman vargas to work with them and pledged to work with them and the stakeholders to deliver some possible solutions to the salton sea. they have my commitment on that. i hope commissioner, going forward, we will be able to work with your office to explore that and see what possibilities are available in terms of the remediation, restoration agenda that is being talked about for salton sea. i look forward to that. >> i would be happy to work with you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. the chair recognizes the next member from arizona. i had no idea the arizona delegation was the site. >> [ laughter ] >> ms. velasco, you are recognized forgot five minutes. >> we are out in full force today. bipartisan no less. i want to say, it is not a question. i have a statement. i was in the arizona senate when this discussion of the drought contingency plan starter. it was quite contentious for a while. i'm very pleased with the work that you have done with the work that are arizona department of water has done. with governor ducey, and with the arizona state legislature. it has been an effort. i know at times it has been contentious. but we hung in there. mr. grijalva, thank you for leading the legislation. i believe this is truly going to be a bipartisan coalition to preserve our water rights in arizona. thank you so much. >> the chair now recognizes mr. gallego for five minutes from the state of arizona. >> thank you mr. chair. we have achieved some really big partisanship here. the most important one is the fact maricopa county and pima county agreeing to anything is quite miraculous, especially for us arizonans, knowing politics there. first of all, politics aside, i want to thank chairman grijalva. we are very lucky as arizonans both on this committee and if you have worked on any issues, the fact that he happens to be sherman at this exact moment in time, when we needed him and he has assured this through the federal process, which can be tricky, and the fact he has done it's mostly and we will continue to move forward in such a fast manner, it is all due to him, and his effort and his staff. we should thank him for that. i also of course, which i think are state representatives and state senators and governor and all of our staff in the water department in arizona who really put themselves out there , stretched themselves in many ways in terms of partisanship, both democrats and republicans, to make this happen. leslie, our tribal nations. they really stepped up. they did not need to do that. indian country in arizona was truly putting their heart out there for arizona. if it was not for them, working with us, in a collaborative manner, and being really stretching themselves, this would never have been done. we need to make sure we recognize that they deserve just as much price as any other politician. i am very glad to see this happen. arizona as we say, whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting. apparently, >> well said. >> all right. thank you. i think ms. cheney is here to introduce one of the second panel witnesses, right? mr. fulcher, did you want to be recognized? >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for being here. >> and for not being from arizona. >> we're close, but -- >> we all can't be perfect, you know. >> you're going to get us both in trouble. >> thank you, commissioner, for being here. i want to just let you know i'm from idaho, not arizona, and the water users there are very interested in the streamlined process. that's been something that has the potential of giving some of the locals just a little bit more control. and i wanted to just have you talk about that for a moment. how do you see that moving forward, and what would a qualifying entity need to do in order to implement that streamlined process for certain legislation? >> in discussing streamlining of say, environmental compliance as you move forward on important proje projects -- >> specifically, if i may, it would be more for locals to have more input in a specific project. >> so what we've done, there are a number of things that have moved forward. this congress has just passed title transfer legislation, which is something that the department has been hoping for for a number of years. we're excited that that's passed. that process will streamline and allow the administration to move forward and set up a program, which we're working hard to do, that will allow local entities to transfer their reclamation projects to local ownership, giving them the true on-the-ground control instead of having the federal government controlling those projects. on a number of other fronts, both the administration and the department specifically have been working to streamline the environmental process, to look for more local control but also to see if those processes can be done so they're understandable to a layperson, so that they can be done within the bounds of a time frame that gets a real project done, that can be done with the page limits where a layperson can pick up a document and understand it. so that's just an example of some of the ways that we're trying to move forward to show that there's more local control. >> right. and that is specifically what i was looking for. potentially offline or at some further point, i could get some more information about that specific -- the process that a qualifying entity might need to go through. >> we're happy to work with you, sir. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. yield back. >> thank you, mr. fulcher. commissioner burman, thanks for your testimony. we'll now excuse you and bring up our second panel of witnesses. >> the real experts, mr. chairman. >> as our second panel comes forward, let me remind the witnesses under committee rules they should limit their oral statements to five minutes. the entire statement, however, will appear in the hearing record. again, for the second panel witnesses, when you begin your testimony, there will be a green light. when there's one minute remaining, that light will turn yellow. the red light means it's time to complete your statement. i will allow the entire panel to testify before we begin the questions, and now i will begin to introduce our witnesses. this will allow a minute here for folks to come forward. this second panel includes the governor's representatives of the seven states of the colorado river basin who are with us to present their testimony. since the dcp includes specific plans for the lower basin and the upper basin, we'll start with the three lower basin representatives and then hear from the upper basin. so in order of their testimony, we will hear first from peter nelson, who is the chairman of the colorado river board of california. then we'll hear from thomas bushotski, director of the arizona department of water resources. we will then hear from john ensminger, general manager of the southern nevada water authority located in las vegas. then we will move to the upper basin. we'll hear from jamesekland, who is colorado's commissioner to the upper basin commission. and then from the state of new mexico, we'll hear from john d'antonio. he's the state engineer of new mexico. then we will hear -- this is a big panel. then we will hear from eric mills, the director of the utah division of water resources. then finally i will invite my colleague, the gentlewoman from wyoming to introduce the witness from wyoming, who will be our final witness. ms. cheney. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. and thank you to all of you for being here. it's my particular honor to introduce our state engineer, mr. pat terrell, and to welcome him here. he has done more for wyoming, wyoming water issues than i think just about anybody else living today, and we are sad that he'll be retiring as of monday. but really i'm honored to have this opportunity to thank him for everything that he's done for the state, to thank him for i know the continued advice and counsel and guidance he will be giving us after he retires, and also to thank him for his important work on this plan, which i'm very pleased to see the bipartisan support. and i'd like to say wyoming may not have as large a contingent in congress as arizona, but we are certainly quality. not that arizona's not, but so let me then stop there, welcome you, pat. thank you very much for being here, for all of your time. and thanks, mr. chairman, for letting me take the opportunity to introduce pat. >> we're going to blow up this multi-state settlement if we continue here. all right. mr. nelson, you're up first. you're recognized for five minutes. >> great. thank you. good morning. thank you for the introduction, and thank you, chairman huffman, majority leader mcclintock, and committee members. i have 32 years of farming experience in the coachella, imperial, and palo verde valleys. i serve on the coachella valley water district board, and from 2000 to 2014, i served on the salton sea authority. i have roots in the basin near the salton sea, and hope for my granddaughters to grow up in a vibrant community with plenty of water and clean air. today i'm appearing on behalf of the colorado river board of california. thank you for the opportunity to testify on the colorado river drought contingency plan. these plans are of vital importance to california and the entire colorado river basin, including the republic of mexico. i will focus my comments on the lower basin dcp. enactment of federal legislation is needed this year to implement the lower basin dcp, which could result in significant benefits for california, including but not limited to, incentivizing the conservation and storage of water in lake mead this year with the assurance of greater flexibility in storage and recovery of ics supplies so that demands and needs are met during shortage conditions, providing operational certainty for intentionally created surplus, conserve water supplies if lake mead declines to below elevation 1075, all of which result in reducing the risk of lake mead dropping below the critical elevation level of 1,020 feet from over 40% without the dcp to just about 5% with implementation of the dcp during this interim period. in 2000, the basin's combined r reservoir system was approximate lip 95% of capacity. by 2004, the reservoir system had phfallen to just above 50% ca pass its. collaborating on the development of the 2007 colorado river interim guidelines. the '07 guidelines have helped us manage the lower basin bert, but not enough to overcome the last 19 years of drought. the dcp agreements, which strengthen the most effective tools of the '07 guidelines, this dcp would significantly reduce the risk of lake powell and mead declining to these critically low elevations through the remain term of the '07 guidelines, which ends in 2025. the salton sea and the imperial irrigation's participation in the lower basin dcp is being addressed. california acknowledges concerns recently expressed regarding salton sea management and restoration issues. unfortunately as of today, the lower basin dcp would be implemented in california without the imperial irrigation's participation. as chairman for only four months, this was a big disappointment to me personally. i wanted the iid to be a part of the dcp and will work to bring them back. the lower basin dcp agreement was amended to give the iid the option to become a party that that agreement, after its effective date, with the consent of all the parties here. to meet the commissioner's deadline, the dcp authorization to protect california's ics supplies, the metropolitan board authorized that agency to step in for the iid and assume responsibility of the volume of the dcp contributions that iid had negotiated in its interstate agreements with metropolitan. in either case, with or without the iid's participation, there is no impact on air quality or natural resources in the salton sea during the remaining period, interim period of the '07 guidelines. along with our sister states in the basin, we are united in the goal of causing no harm to the salton sea and hope that the iid will initiative its commitment to participate in and implem en the dcp in the same way that it began, a willing partner in a consensus-based, stakeholder-driven effort. in closing, in choosing compromise and collaboration over conflict and litigation, we ask that you enact the legislation to implement the dcps. we have the support of the seven states, the republic of mexico, as well as stakeholders across the basin, including members of the environment community. thank you very much for the opportunity to address you, and i look forward to your questions. >> thanks, mr. nelson. mr. bushotski, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. good morning. chairman huffman, i am tom bushotski, the director of the arizona department of water resources. thank you for providing me an opportunity to present testimony on behalf of the state of arizona on the lower basin drought contingency plan or the dcp. it is a plan negotiated by representatives of the states of arizona, california, nevada, water agencies within those states, and the united states bureau of reclamation to address the ongoing drought in the lower colorado river basin that began nearly two decades ago and that has no end in sight. dcp also accounts for the drier future that we all expect will be the norm for the river in the coming decades. the drought and that drier future could lead to lake mead falling to critical elevations. the dcp is an urgent measure that could help avert a crisis. the time to act is now. the dcp and the drought contingency plan crafted by the upper basin states are the latest examples of the states working together with the bureau of reclamation to achieve agreed-upon solutions to issues facing the states regarding the colorado river. the republic of mexico has also agreed to a binational water scarcity plan for their colorado river water that provides additional benefit to the actions of the seven basin states. we have developed a sound plan for protecting the water supply in both lakes in the face of historic drought conditions, and we have done so in a matter that continues to protect and respect the water rights of those that rely on the colorado river. the dcp is innovative and strikes a careful balance between flexibility and certainty that results in a more sustainable lake mead. the dcp is an overlay to the existing operational criteria set out in the 2007 interim guidelines that include water shortages in the lower basin to protect critical lake mead elevations. the dcp recognizes that the 2007 guidelines are covered by existing environmental compliance under nipa, and the esa. the dcp was expressly designed to fall within the parameters of that existing environmental compliance. the dcp benefits accrue as a result of less water being delivered from lake mead. the dcp will have consequences for water users in arizona. nevertheless, stakeholders in arizona that include tribes, cities, towns, counties, irrigation districts, agriculture, ngos, and members of our legislature came together to create an arizona implement plan to engender support for the dcp. water users in arizona recognizing the urgent need to address colorado river issues agreed to make sacrifices. their support enabled legislative action on january 31st, 2019, with nearly unanimous approval by the state legislature, authorizing me to sign the dcp documents and to bind the state of arizona. governor doug ducey signed the legislation that same day in the same room that arizona's landmark 1980 groundwater management act was signed, symbolizing the importance of the dcp to the state. it is important to understand that the drought contingency plan is an initiative of the seven pabasin states. i recognize that the participation of the bureau of reclamation over the last few years was key to the success of this endeavor, and i thank them. over the last two decades, innovative management on the colorado river has been dependent upon cooperation between the states and upon partnerships with the federal government even as presidential administrations have changed. the dcp continues that paradigm. in conclusion, i urge the adoption of the bipartisan federal enabling legislation necessary to implement the drought contingency plan. thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony to the sub question, and committee, and i look forward to answering your question. >> thank you very much. the chair now recognizes mr mr. emsminger for five minutes. >> chairman huffman, ranking member mcclintock, i'm the general manager of the southern nevada water authority and the governor's representative for the state of nevada. thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the colorado river drought contingency plans, also known as the dcp. i'm going to begin my comments by addressing two issues raised by the imperial irrigation district that may be on your minds. one, that iid was cut out of the dcp and, two, that less agricultural runoff will reach the salton sea as a result of the dcp. addressing the first, iid was not in any way cut out of the dcp. from very early on in the process that has now spanned approximately six years, iid's principles, lawyers, staff, and sometimes directors were actively engaged in the development of the dcp. while iid professes support of the dcp throughout the process, iid's board never acted on or even put on an agenda the operational rules that comprise the dcp. while each of the parties to the dcp would prefer that iid participated from the outset as a cignatory, the parties have now built an on-ramp for iid to participate fully in the event its position changes. until it does so, however, iid's exclusion is self-imposed. dcp will not result in less water reaching the salton sea. and consequently, the -- affecting the sea and its surrounding communities is erroneous. the dcp package forwarded to congress by the seven basin states will neither impact the amount of water reaching the sea nor the sea's environment. furthermore, if at any time iid elects to participate based on previously approved intrastate agreements, iid's 250,000 acre feet of contributions will be comprised of water that is already conserved in lake mead or with the metropolitan water district. i want to be clear. the seven states want iid to rejoin the dcp. our decision to move forward was made out of necessity, not out of animosity. nevada has responded to the drought with an aggressive conservation campaign, large-scale infrastructure improvements, and contributions to basin-wide initiatives to help mitigate the impacts of drought. we have invested more than $250 million in conservation programs that have reduced our consumptive ruse of colorado river water by 26% during the same time period our population increased by 43%. we have spent nearly $1.5 billion on new facility designed to protect colorado river supplies without any funding from the federal government. the seven states have chosen to take actions that comprise the dcp voluntarily because not one of us can bear the burden alone. it is our responsibility to nurture this river that sustains our community. the future of the american southwest depends upon it. thank you for your time. i'll be happy to answer any questions. >> thank you very much. the chair now recognizes mr mr. ecklund for five minutes. >> chairman huffman, ranking member mcclintock, my names is james ecklund and i am the colorado river president representative, an attorney in denver. i won't repeat what others have said. colorado supports the contingency plans and the important accompanying legislation. i'm here because water stress in the colorado river basin has been exacerbated by climate change while our reliance on a healthy river system has only increas increased. we began to see these effects nearly two decades ago when we learned that the bottom can fall out from underneath this system over the course of only a few short years. so don't be misled by the snowpack, the excellent snowpack we've received so far this year. it only demonstrates the wide swings we have to manage moving forward. you can put an ice cube, even an excellent ice cube in a hot cup of coffee, but eventually it's going to disappear. but for the 40 million people who depend on this river, it is not an abstraction. this hardest working of american rivers is very real to us, and this is personal. i'm a fifth general coloradan from the western slope of our state. my great-great grandparents homesteaded our family's cattle ranch on a colorado river tributary in ute tribal lands. today my parents larry and celia -- hi, mom -- run our cow/calf operation and still educate me on water, the colorado river, and fortunately about everything else. meanwhile my awayiamazing wife children -- water truly binds our state together. you'll find the vast majority of our water on one side of the continental divide, and you'll find the vast majority of our population on the other side of that divide. all of our major rivers run out of our state to 18 downstream states and mexico. the only other state with that dynamic that i know of is hawaii. so when it comes to water, working together is baked into colorado's dna, and i'm happy to say collaboration is alive and well as you can see from this panel in the dna of the colorado river basin as a hole. working together across basin divides from upper to lower basin states, rural and urban interests, and across water sectors, we have developed sound tools for protecting the health of the colorado river system in the face of historically dry conditions. and we have done all this without infringing on the water rights of those who rely on this river or on the environment. quite the opposite. a healthy system is critical to environmental flows that are part of colorado's brand and security for water users that power our economy. so why now? well, the urgency is real because our system is stressed by warming temperatures. when water resources are stressed in any river basin, our environments and people in poverty often bear a disproportionate amount of the pain. we know this to be true nationally and globally. you see red on some of the maps that are flipping through here directly over our basin. if you act now -- i sound like an infomercial -- but if you act now, we will be able to incent the storage of water in lake mead. so you get water in lake mead. you get water in lake powell. you get the benefits to the environment. and you act on climate. >> but no steak knives? >> well, that's coming. that's coming, and operators are standing by. but we really need you to control in order for us to control our own destiny to act now is the point. so the dcp provides colorado and the upper basin with two tools we believe necessary to successfully avoid or mitigate a crisis at lake powell. one, we strategically manage releases from reservoirs that sit above lake powell. and, two, we provide storage space in lake powell for water we conserve under demand management. if we don't act, there is currently no such incentive. to be clear, when i say demand management, that's just a $5 phrase for using less water and storing it in lake powell. importantly these tools operate within the framework of and comply with existing environmental laws. it's business as usual, so to speak, for applicable records of decision and biological opinions under the national environmental policy act and the endangered species act. nor are we asking you to enlarge or add to the secretary of the interior's authority. quite the opposite there. any upper basin demand management program will be at the direction and under the control of the respective states implemented under state law. while neither of these tools individually constitutes a panacea, modeling demonstrates that a combination of these actions can poztively influence colorado river operations and outcomes. the benefits are even greater when these upper basin efforts are coupled with the lower basin efforts. failure is not an option. were the colorado river system to fail, our efforts to preserve and protect landscapes, critical species, water quality, and other environmental resources that each of the colorado river basin states and the nation depend on and value would be significantly compromised. so do it for your grandkids. do it for the environment. do it for yourselves, but let's get this done. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. mr. d'antonio, you're recognized for five minutes. >> good morning, chairman huffm huffman, ranking member mcclintock, and members of the committee. i'm the new mexico state engineer and governor's representative for the state of new mexico on the colorado river. thank you for inviting me to testify before your subcommittee today. i'm here with my fellow governor's representatives to urge you to support the seven states' request to pass federal legislation allowing the secretary of the interior to sign and implement the seven states drought contingency plans or dcps for the colorado river. immediate action is necessary on the dcps to more effectively combat the drought we've experienced the past 19 years. the dcps are needed and appropriate tools developed by consensus between seven states to reduce the negative impacts of this continuing drought on cities, farmers, tribes, and the environment. the dcps will be exercised within the constraints of existing environmental laws and regulations. the dcps are the culmination of the multi-year efforts of a large group of parties, the seven basin states, the united states, the republic of mexico have come together to ensure continued water supplies for over 40 million people. each state and country is doing its part to keep water levels in lake powell and lake mead from dropping to dangerously low levels and would result in significant water shortages to the lower basin and the reduction, loss of hydropower, electrical generation for millions of people in the southwestern united states. specifically for new mexico, the upper basin drought response operations agreement will help maintain the elevation of lake powell for hydropower generation and the demand management storage agreement will help remain river flows for compliance with the 1922 d compact. we'll reduce the risk of power shortage for our citizens who get electricity from the western area power administration and the risk of water shortages for our users. in the san juan basin, navajo reservoir is operated to provide water for two of our indian tribes and a number of other water users and to maintain endangered species flow in the river through new mexico and utah to lake powell. its operations have reduced or eliminated the impacts of drought on the main stem of the san juan river. navajo reservoir operations provide endangered species compliance through the san one river implementation program for numerous water users including the navajo nation. also the san onejuan chama. divers to the rio grande basin have significantly reduces the impacts of extended drought on portions of the rowio grande. finally, the project water is used by cities, farmers, and to the benefit of endangered species on the rio grande base in. in 2018, the drought was so severe that without san one channel water flowing to the rio grande, the river would have been dry for several hundred miles. when the 2007 interim guidelines were negotiated, the department of interior performed an analysis pursuant to the national environmental policy act and published record of decision. the dcp agreements are written to operate within the constraints of these records of decision, biological opinions, and endangered species flow recommendations. navajo reservoir, which is in new mexico, is managed in part to maintain sufficient flow in the san ojuan river to help endangered fish all the way to lake powell on the arizona-utah border. those efforts have been going on for several decades and will continue as the dcps are implemented. if navajo reservoir water is determined to be available for release under either of the two upper basin dcp agreements, releases of the water will be coordinated with the san juan recovery implementation recovery program in compliance with the applicable recommendations. between 2015 and 2018, the upper division states of the upper colorado river commission ran a system conservation pilot program to determine the feasibility of voluntary compensated conservation in the upper basin. that program was a precursor to the demand management storage program that is proposed as part of the upper basin dcp. the navajo nation through the navajo agricultural products industry participated in the upper basin system conservation pilot program in 2017 and 2018 was the single largest contributor to water savings in the upper basin during these two years. new mexico is also engaged with the hick rhea apache nation and the dcps and several contractors, the san juan water commission, the nature conservancy and all participants of the san juan recovery implement program as part of our outreach dcp efforts. new mexico is confident that these and others will continue to be important partners as the dcp moves forward. the state's urging congress to have legislation in place by april 22nd of this year, and i want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today, and i rurge you to introduce and pass legislation to authorize the secretary to sign and implement the dcps without delay. thank you. >> thank you very much. the chair now recognizes mr mr. millis for five minutes. >> thank you, and good morning, chairman huffman, ranking member mcclintock, and members of the subcommittee. thank you again for allowing me to speak. i'm eric millis. i am the division director for the utah division of water resources. i'm also utah's commissioner for the colorado river. the colorado river provides a significant amount of water to utah comprising 22% of the state's total water supply. this water is largely used by agriculture in the eastern part of the state, but it is also the principal supply for the central utah project, which is a trans basin diversion which conveys water to the wasatch front. that wasatch front area extends from roughly 70 miles north of salt lake city to roughly 70 miles south, and this is where most of the state's population resides. central utah project water is used for municipal and industrial purposes in this rapidly growing population center. in the future, utahns will rely on the colorado river even more heavily as reserved water right settlements with native american tribes are implemented, industry and agriculture expand, and the state's rapid population growth likely continues. for 19 years, the colorado river basin and the state of utah have been in a severe drought, one of the worst in the past 1,200 years. although lakes powell and mead appear to be operating as designed through this dry period, both are at uncomfortably low levels. the unknown is whether this drought will continue in the long term and thereby impact the river as a reliable source of water supply. so given the needs which will only increase over time, protection of this water supply for utah water users as well as for all water users in the basin is essential. the drought contingency plans that have recently been agreed to by the seven colorado river basin states will offer protection to us all. the protection afforded to utah and to the other upper division states by the drought contingency plans will enable these states to maintain compact compliance. this then protects the upper division states against involuntary curtailment of uses of colorado river water. involuntary curtailment is undesirable because it would require farmers, businesses, municipalities, tribes, and other water users to cut back or cut off their use of their colorado river water. this would be financially devastating to these groups and to the communities in which they are located due to cuts in production or having to purchase expensive replacement water. the upper basin drought contingency plan also is aimed at protecting hydroelectric power generation at glen canyon dam. millions of customers throughout the west would be impacted by a reduction in hydropowered generation. additionally such a reduction would cause a loss of power revenues. these revenues are critically important for the operation, repair, and replacement of colorado river storage project facilities. the revenues also fund a number of critical environmental programs such as the endangered fish recovery programs and the colorado river salinity control program. so this year we are looking forward to closer to normal inflow into lake powell due to the excellent snowpack we have received. this will help make up for some of the effect of the really bad last year that we had and make for a more somewhat comfortable situation with the reservoirs. it's hard to know, however, if this year will be just one more good year among so many bad ones. it is therefore wise to have a plan and implementable actions to help ensure we can keep the system operating in a way that complies with the law of the river and protects water users and the environment. utah wholeheartedly supports the drought contingency plans, the benefits they will bring, and the straightforward legislation needed to implement those plans. given the critical need, the benefits that will occur, and the hardship that will be avoided. utah asks congress to pass to make the plans a reality. thank you. >> thank you. last but not least, mr. terrell, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. chairman huffman, ranking member mcclintock, and members of the committee, i get to be the first person today to wish you a good afternoon, and i would like to thank representative cheney for the very kind introduction and get that thank you into the record. my name is pat tyrrell, and i am the wyoming state engineer and the wyoming governor's representative on the colorado river. i wish to express our state's support for the drought contingency plans. as you have heard, the colorado river basin has been experiencing severe drought since 2000, more severe than was considered during the development of our 2007 guidelines. we now know those operating rules cannot sufficiently address one of the worst drought cycles ever seen. the dcps will provide the opportunity, a bridge for the basin states, federal government, and other key stakeholders to collaborate on a longer-term set of sustainable solutions for managing the colorado river until 2026, when those earlier guidelines are replaced. the dcps reduce the probability that both lakes powell and mead will decline to critically low elevations, which could occur as early as 2021. we see two paths to respond to severe drought in the short term. one is to watch it happen and risk unilateral secretarial reaction in the basin, and dispassionate regulation of uses in the upper basin. the other way is to authorize the dcps, which lay lighter on our water users and are a product of collaboration and consensus. in either case, if drought continues, some water uses will be reduced. they must be. as a water manager, i feel compelled to offer my water users the second alternative. a drought plan developed which avoids heavy government intervention and mandatory curtailment. that is what dcp presents. the upper basin cannot fail to satisfy the 22 compacts, non-depletion obligation below lake powell. additionally, we have never had to implement the difficult curtailment provisions of the 1948 upper colorado river basin compact, but we know it would be difficult. the risk of under or overregulating is significant. the first tool in our dcp in the upper basin is the drought response operations about which you've heard. this agreement establishes a process where we can move stored water above lake powell down to it to protect critical elevations. if lake powell reaches critical elevations, the ability to release water is jeopardized. if we cannot get sufficient water out of that reservoir, we violate the 22 compact. if we cannot generate hydropower, many other needs and programs will be impacted. even without the agreement, the bureau of reclamation will move uncommitted storage from its upstream crsp initial unit reservoirs to prevent that from happening. the agreement provides a process for outreach to our stakeholders and it requires recovery of those reservoirs. finally as you've heard, we have committed that those operations and activities will occur under existing nipa analyses, records of decisions and other authorities. our second tool is the demand management storage agreement. demand management would allow, as you've heard, the upper basin to store conserved water for later use, much as it is done in the lower basin's ics program. if the demand management program proves feasible, the reduction of existing use in the upper basin would provide us with an important tool to ensure compact compliance. with storage at no cost to the states, our program could be crafted with involvement of stakeholders. the colorado river basin needs the dcps implemented now, and i would ask the committee to notice who is on the panel. we have seven states here, and this basin does its best when all of us sing from the same book, and we need to get something done, which is why we are here today. these plans were developed through years of collaboration with this group, compromise, and consensus and function with rigorous environmental analyses review in the permitting processes that have already been completed. the plans require the passage of federal legislation to become effective. we request your support in adopting the legislation as soon as possible so that the plans can be implemented this year. thank you. >> all right. i want to thank the witnesses. we'll now begin questions from members. mr. stanton, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much. mr. chair, it is going to take a lot of great leadership to get this over the finish line, so the director from arizona has done an incredible job bringing greatly diverse interest within the state of arizona to get to this point. a great accomplishment. our leader, our dean of our delegation, the chair of the natural resources committee, chairman grijalva who is going to get it over the finish line within this body in congress, and he's brought together obviously in a bipartisan way all of arizona leaders in this body are here in support. and then tribal leadership. tribal leadership has been critically important to get the dcp to the point where it has governor lewis is here and other tribal leaders are here in this record. dr. bushatkki, how are the tribes in arizona impacted by dcp, and maybe describe the role that our tribal leadership has played in developing arizona dcp implementation plan. >> thank you representative stanton. so first the tribes in arizona are impacted differently depending on what tribe they are. the community has a priority of water that will be largely impacted by the drought contingency plan. that tribe and nine cities within the state of arizona. but the community will take 50% of the hits in that pool of water when those cuts reach that level pursuant to the interstate dcp. so to help mitigate some of those impacts, we did create a steering committee in the state of arizona with 35 or so memb members. the steering committee put together the intraarizona plan. again, that plan involved lots of sacrifice for folks but also involved some amount of mitigation for those who were being impacted. in terms of the other tribes in arizona, when we put the steering committee together, the bureau of reclamation was one of the members along with i already mentioned in my statement, many of the members of the committee as well. the bureau worked with us to make sure they did outreach to the other tribes in arizona and held regular meetings in and around the steering committee meetings to get their feedback, to bring that feedback forth to the steering committee. so we had a very robust process. all of our steering committee meetings were open to the public. they were very well attended, and i think we came up with a really good plan in arizona to deal with the impacts of the drought contingency plan. >> i appreciate that very much. i think all of us in arizona owe a debt of gratitude to our tribal leaders for willing to be such leaders in this effort and to be team players and sacrifice for the greater good of the people of arizona. this is a short-term plan. it's a good plan. it's a solid plan. it deserves our support, but it's not intended to be a long-term plan, and we in congress should be thinking long term. director, the second question i have is what's next? what do you see as the next challenge or set of challenges on the river, and how can we in congress can be helpful to tackling it together? >> representative stanton, so we do recognize that this is a bridge, a bridge that will give us a safe haven as we move forward to renegotiate the 2007 guidelines which expire at the end of 2026, as does the drought contingency plan. in our intra-arizona discussions, we recognized that bridge in our plan within arizona. in the last three years of the plan, the mitigation reduces from 75% to 50% to zero percent in 2026. we did that to send a strong message that this is indeed a temporary plan, that we face a drier future, and that we need to address longer-term issues. and i think the venue to do that will be through the renegotiation of the 2007 guidelines. it remains to be seen what legislative package we might need out of congress as a result of those negotiations. >> thank you very much, director. i should note he may have kept it off his résume when he applied for the job with the director for the state, but he was the water planning director for the city of phoenix before, and we trained him well. it's graeat to see you've gone n to bigger thank you. thanks. i yield back. >> the phoenix water distributor has risen. is that what you're saying? sorry for that. mr. biggs, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank the ranking member for letting me be here. it's good to see that the arizona contingency is here. i mean you could get a feel for how important this is by having so many arizona congressional officials here today. i thank the arizona department of water resources. thank you nfor being here. this really is a states driven issue to resolve, and we're grateful for your leadership and your participation. i give a special welcome to g governor lewis and council member ellis, who have also showed tremendous leadership on this issue. just to say, it looks like director bushatski was able to overcome having to work with the leadership in phoenix to get here today. a tough crowd, yeah. arizona is in the 21st year of a long-term drought. however, arizona has been able to sustain itself through this drought through implement of successful conservation programs and robust collaboration between tribal, community, industry and government leaders. my district is home to cities like mesa, chandler, gilbert and queen creek, who receive much of its water supply from the central arizona project, which receives its water from the colorado river. in arizona, we understand water conservation, have been leaders on this internationally as well as in this country. we've been able to build a powerful state economy in the desert because our state and its municipalities, its tribes, its counties have successfully planned for drought and water contingencies. sustainability in the colorado river is critical to maintain arizona's rapid growth and its strong agricultural economy. this dcp will provide certainty to arizonans as to what their water security will look like for future generations and indeed for the entire colorado river basin states, and i am grateful again for your leadership. director, what are other outstanding regulatory issues or concerns that are pending regarding the drought contingency plan? >> so representative biggs, in our internal arizona plan, we're heavily reliant upon the ability to create for intentionally created surplus in lake mead. the community will put 215,000 acre feet of their water into the intentionally created surplus program. we need this legislation passed to incentivize them to do that so their water might not be stranded. in the agricultural sector within central arizona project service area, they will be losing all of their colorado river water in probably the first -- after the third year of the plan. they will go back to pumping groundwater, a right they maintained. we are working with them as others are working with them through the department of agriculture to look for potential opportunities to get some funding from that organization, matching local funding from the state, the tral arizona project, and the farmers themselves to help facilitate that transition to groundwater. so those are a couple of the items that we see are very important. >> can you also walk us through how the dcp fits within the multi-species conservation program and eis for the 2007 guidelines? >> so representative biggs, again, as we negotiated the drought contingency plan between the states, we looked for flexibility with the existing compliance under the environmental impact statement. one of the areas that that flexibility arose was the ability for each of the three states in the lower basin to increase their cumulative s capacity to intentionally create surplus. helping to facilitate a tribal intentionally created surplus program within our state. we knew that had been analyzed, the total volume had been analyzed in the eis, and so we were comfortable that we were covered in that regard. on the endangered species act side, we knew that in the multi-species conservation 50-year plan, there were adaptive management components that would allow us to cover any of the impacts that might occur from the drought contingency plan. while they're still working through the details of what that might mean, i am aware that perhaps about 12 acres of back water habitat and about 15 acres of marsh habitat additionally might need to be created at a cost of about $1 million, all coming within the confines of the existing plan that's put together through all three states, not just arizona. >> thank you, director. thank you for letting an encroacher take a few minutes. thank you, mr. chairman. >> come and see us anytime, mr. biggs. we'll now go to the chairman of the natural resources committee. the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva. >> thank you very much, chairman. i think my colleague, mr. biggs, is correct. this is a -- a rare moment. there's bipartisanship that has broken out in the state of arizona here in congress, and it's a welcome sight. we hope we can see more of that in the future. i just want to briefly say -- and i think the director said this very well yesterday when we met, and he repeated it again, that this plan provides a safe haven for the basin states and for the stakeholders, that is indeed an interim step for something that is going to require the continued work of all the participants, the continued work of congress, for deeper and more meaningful assurances going forward. and, you know, business as usual is not going to be business as usual. you know, the empirical analyses that went into this plan is very, very important, and the climate analysis and the pro injections that must be part of the future planning are going to be very, very critical. so i think it's important. 2026 is not that far away. so the work -- we finish this and then suddenly we find ourselves back and, you know assured water can't be a little box we check off. it's got to be indeed, by definition, assured. i think that is what makes development in our respective states so important. but also i think there's a public health aspect to it as well. there's a jobs aspect to it as well. and there's an environmental aspect to it as well. and all of us, all these states that are part of this plan are blessed with having growing economies in many cases, but also blessed with some environmental jewels that are rare and only found in this area. and i think that it can be balanced by the work ahead. i do want to congratulate everyone, mr. huffman, for the work put in, and the urgency you brought to the discussion and certainly in all the meetings i've had with respective stakeholders that have come in, that urgency has been there. relieve pressure and plan for the future i think is well put, director, and i think that should be at least for myself the working phrase that i'm going to use. we bought some time, and the time down the road is going to be what we do with the time we have till 2026 is going to be very, very critical. thank you. as i said before, for expediting this hearing and i look forward to working with you and how we can move it through committee and the floor in the very near future. thank you, sir. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the chair recognizes the ranking member for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i do have to marvel at a remarkable achievement. in all my years, i have not found a more controversial issue than water, and certainly there's no politically diverse group of states than represented before the committee today. i don't know how you came to agreement on this, and i can only stand in awe of the fact that you did. my question is what happens if congress starts tinkering with your work. how fast does it begin to unravel? mr. tyrell, as a soon to retire member, maybe you can give us some insight into that. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman, representative mcclintock. we would hope that that wouldn't happen obviously because those words were pretty carefully crafted. but we understand it can. i think what would happen is we would take the words home and look and see. we still need to execute the dcp documents after legislation is completed. we would go home with that as our next task, look at that language, and then make the decision, go or no go at that point, or come back. but i would hope we'd be moving down the road. >> it appears to me at the moment you have seven states all in agreement on this plan. >> yes. >> and it would appear to me that any changes that congress made in this plan would then basically complicate matters enormously as you go back to your various states and digest those changes. >> absolutely. >> and is time of the essence on this? i guess we don't know. >> could be. >> i believe time is of the essence. certainly in our view, we know that the water year this year looks good, but as commissioner burman showed, one good year does not solve a 19-year drought. if we want to avail ourselves of the commitments and contributions of mexico by the time the august 24-month study comes out, we need action by the end of april is what we're looking at. >> mr. nelson, i need to ask a politically incorrect question that's been nagging at me. we keep hearing about the imperial irrigation district and the importance of the salton sea. my recollection is the salton sea was a terrible accident that occurred in 1905. in millennial-ese, wtf. why are we obsessing on it? >> you're absolutely correct, mr. mcclintock, that the salton sea was created in 1905 when the california development company was working on a diversion of the colorado river for irrigation purposes in the southwest. that dam -- their berm broke and the water for two years poured into the salton sink, which is the basin that the agricultural drain water and floodwaters of the coachella and imperial valleys go to. >> does it hold any significant economic or environmental importance? >> so when you- >> other than the fact it's just there by accident? >> so when you look at the long-term history, in other words, longer than 100 years, you find that the colorado river actually drained into the sea of cortes or when it was silted up by arizona sending over their sand to california, it would berm up, and the water would slow down, and the water would actually change course and move into the ancient lake coija. and you can see those marks only the mid-sides in the coachella valley and just how high those lake levels were. so in other words in ancient history, the coachella valley was a part of the delta. and so this water feature is violately important to the pacific flyway. it's important to the community in terms of the agricultural community has used it. >> it was important in ancient times. >> yes, sir. >> and it's become important because we accidentally re-created it in modern times. but in the grand scheme of things, i still don't understand its ponimportance. we can do a whole another hearing on that. wu pulse flows out of glen canyon, buy passing the turbines, losing the hydroelectricity, are we still doing that? >> i believe you're talking about the high flow experiments that were -- >> yes. >> yes. those are occurring about annually, and they do -- there's benefit. there's interest in the science involved with that, and so those continue. >> all right. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from colorado, mr mr. naguse, before you got here, we had every member from the arizona delegation, and they actually made a motion and changed the name of the river to the arizona river. >> i suspected that might happen. but you get the last word on this. >> i appreciate that, mr. chairman. thank you for hosting this important hearing. the colorado river drought contingency plan is obviously an important proposal that needs to be discussed not only for my home state of colorado, the other six basin states, but also for the country. i also want to thank the witnesses for appearing today for their testimony, in particular my friend and former colleague mr. eklund, whom we served together in the governor's cabinet many years ago. so it's good to see you. drought is a problem that impacts every state and every district in the country, but is especially magnified in the western united states, and that's why it's critical that congress discuss this plan and ensure that the health and long-term sustainability of the river is preserved. water is of course the lifeblood of colorado. to the chairman's point, we are the headwater state because water water that starts in the mountains close down the states so we are excited to be speaking on this panel about an issue that impacts so many communities into my home state in particular. i want to think the witnesses with respect to their service. there is a lot of vested interest in stakeholders, not just the governmental entities of authorities but numerous conservationists and environmental organizations. one organization in my district led by regarding the drought contingency plan, i want to focus on a narrative discussion. for mr. eklund or any witnesses, i'm trying to understand with respect to the drought contingency plan what prior acts of congress and potentially other permitting processes so environmental impact statements or records of decision, does or what the drought contingency plan superseded to the extent that it were approved by congress? in particular i think folks are interested to know whether or not it would impact the record of decision with the experimental management plan. >> thank you congressman. i can answer that pretty bluntly, it doesn't impact, and importantly the tools we are talking about operating within the framework of and am existing laws including biological opinions that were formed underneath that and the esa. >> thank you for that clarification. as i understand, the bureaus 2012 colorado river basin study indicates that climate change could lead to a decrease of 7.4 million acres flowing into the colorado river. the drought contingency plan tends to offer solutions with respect to this issue but as i understand, the plan estimates about 1 million acre-feet in the basin which is what it would deliver in addition to water purchased from agricultural interest. i am curious about if you can perhaps share more around the negotiations that happen between respective states around whether there are other comprehensive solutions that could address the delta. >> i know it's something that we suspect collectively want to address. >> i will field the question first and yield the colleagues appear. i believe that we started on this journey to address the situation on the river as a result of the really catastrophic situation that we saw in the period from 2002- 2004. we asked them to model the reservoirs and tell us what would happen if the next 10 year period looked like the last and tell us what the results were. what they told us is that there was a significant downturn that we would have to deal with shortages in the lower basin and of course in the upper basin, the compromising of our bucket, if you will, lake powell. those were the issues that were very apparent to us. we went ahead and started the discussions and what they can do to make sure the system is stable and hopefully more resilient. in the upper basin we are doing the same thing with the elevation of lake powell. it's less about trying to control something that we know we cannot and trying to maintain those reservoirs in a manner that it gets the most out of them. i see that my time is expired. i would say thank you for that answer and as we move forward, i appreciate this hearing giving the committee an opportunity to engage before the legislation comes before us for our consideration. i encourage you all to have conversations to continue to engage conservationists and different stakeholders in the broadest sense because the delta is large. according to the bureau of reclamation's data, it is something that's incredibly important to the future of the western united states and my home state of colorado. engaging in groups like save the colorado and others would be an important part of your work. >> i want to thank all the witnesses and everyone else who has joined us today. this has been a helpful hearing to spotlight the importance for the american southwest. i think you've heard from members of both sides that we appreciate the great, hard work that you've done to get us this far and now the work moves to members of congress in moving this forward. thank you for your testimony. members may have additional questions for the witnesses and we will ask that you respond to those in writing. members must submit witness questions within three business days and the hearing record will be held open for 10 business days. if those in her for the business, this committee stands adjourned. thank you. we shift now to a discussion on private property rights, public land and eminent domain procedures. one of the speakers focuses on how construction of a southern border wall could impact a catholic church and its community located in the town of mission texas. the event is hosted by new america. >> hi everyone and welcome. we are going to go ahead and get started. we still have some folks shuffling in but we will go ahead and get started. my name is yuliya panfil and i'm the director of the future of property rights program at new america. we like to think the pulitzer center on crisis reporting for being our partner in this

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