The Interior Secretary on Thursday warned that if the seven Colorado River states don't come to a shortage-sharing agreement by Nov. 11 the federal government will step in.
Interior would "be intensely, consistently and constantly involved in discussions with the representatives of the seven basin states to forge a path forward together on the Colorado," Secretary Doug Burgum said in a message relayed by the department, reports the Hill.
"He really wants to have the department help you arrive at a seven-state solution," Scott Cameron, senior adviser to Burgum, told Colorado River commissioners from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico.
"Having said that, though, in the, we hope, highly unlikely and unfortunate event that there is no seven-state agreement, then he is prepared to act," he added.
Members of the Upper Colorado River Commission, which represents Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, on Thursday said they could be close to a deal.
"The basin states have been exploring an explicit supply-driven operational framework based on the natural flow of the river," said Becky Mitchell, who serves as both Colorado's Colorado River commissioner and acting chair of the Upper Colorado River Commission, per Politico.
"If done correctly, it should provide the opportunity for the Upper and Lower basins to manage themselves, with the only real point of agreement being the [Lake] Powell release," she added.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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