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Natural Resources
Case Study: Sharing the Colorado River Responsibly |
Challenge
The flow of the Colorado River and its tributaries was first allocated by the 1922 Colorado River Compact. The Compact divides the river between the upper basin (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and the lower basin (Arizona, California and Nevada). As water becomes an increasingly scarce resource in the American West, the Compact’s unresolved legal questions have been a source of conflict among the states. There are no clear definitions of how shortages will be imposed, and the various agreements between the states actually allocate more water than exists in the river. As a result, the states have been reluctant to compromise their positions or settle on any common management regime.
Solution
Working with the seven Colorado River states, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck played a key role in negotiating and drafting a new Colorado River agreement, which was sent to the Secretary of the Interior in 2007. The agreement represents a major breakthrough in the efforts to plan for inevitable water shortages along the river. It also outlines a strategy for managing the river between now and 2025.
The new accord represents the first time that all seven states have agreed on a comprehensive plan for managing the river’s flow during times of both surplus and shortage. The agreement takes into account continued development in the upper basin, and incorporates a water accounting system with provisions for extraordinary conservation, agricultural fallowing arrangements, system efficiency projects and the importation of non-Colorado River system water. The agreement also integrates Mexico, which shares the Colorado River, into the cooperative water management system.
Brownstein has been on the front lines of this issue from beginning, and was intimately involved in the more than two years of negotiations between the states. We brought to bear over 15 years of experience in state-to-state negotiations on the river, and a deep understanding of the legal, political and public policy interplay of complex water negotiations. Our work has helped create a monumental accord that guards the valuable water resources of both existing and future communities along the Colorado River. |
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© 2008. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertisement. |