Martha McSally

Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate passed my bill, and yesterday, we passed identical House legislation to ensure this went to the President as quickly as possible. I would like to take a few minutes to thank those involved with these agreements and again highlight the importance of this historic achievement.

The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, also known as the DCP, was negotiated between the seven Colorado River Basin States to respond to this prolonged drought. It is designed to protect Lakes Mead and Powell from reaching certain critical water elevations that would trigger severe water supply and hydropower impacts, including the risk of reaching crisis levels where operational control of the Colorado River System is lost.

The set of five agreements that makes up the DCP builds off of the tools and water saving commitments made by the basin States in the 2007 Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and Mead to further address water security and respond to actual water conditions as demanded by responsible water resource management. These added savings bring the risk of the Mead hitting 1,000 feet over the next 7 years to near zero.

I am especially proud of the work done on these agreements in Arizona, which takes the biggest and most immediate reduction in water supply under the DCP. Through inclusive,

good-faith negotiations, cities, farmers, tribes, and conservations groups came together to make the tough decisions required to improve long-term water security and avert the looming water supply crisis.

I would like to thank and congratulate Governor Doug Ducey and his staff, the Arizona State legislature, Tom Buschatzke and his team at the Department of Water Resources, the CAWCD board, Ted Cooke and the CAP staff, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis and the Gila River Indian Community Tribal Council, Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairman Dennis Patch and the CRIT Tribal Council, and the dozens and dozens of ag, water, municipal, NGO, and other stakeholders, including the entire Arizona DCP Steering Committee, involved on this outstanding achievement that will improve Arizona's water security for years to come.

Work on the DCP has been underway for nearly 6 years. It has spanned the terms of two Presidents, three Interior Secretaries, and 13 Governors. The effort has seamlessly transitioned between Republican and Democrat administrations, both here in DC and out in the States, and I am proud of the swift action taken by Congress to authorize this agreement.

The Colorado River DCP Authorization Act was developed in a bipartisan and bicameral manner, and involved the Governors' representatives for each of the seven basin States. Responding to concerns of some in the House and Senate about potential unintended consequences of the legislative language proposed as part of the DCP agreements, several changes were made to provide assurances that the Nationals Environmental Policy Act applies to future Federal actions outside the scope of existing environmental analysis and compliance done in the Upper and Lower Basins.

I would like to thank Senators Cortez Masto, Gardner, and Barrasso, along with House Natural Resources Chairman Raul Grijalva and Ranking Member Rob Bishop for working with me to reach this compromise legislation.

This exact statutory language is crafted to ensure water conservation activities in the Colorado River Basin can begin in 2019 and be built in to the Annual Operations Plans for 2020. Once the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act is enacted, execution and implementation of the DCP can and should begin immediately, as all of the actions in the agreements authorized by this bill are well within the scope of existing NEPA and Endangered Species Act compliance in the Upper and Lower Basins. Specifically, the actions to be undertaken are within the analyses and range of effects reviewed in the 2007 final environmental impact statement on Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and Mead, and the EISs and ESA documents prepared for operation of the Colorado River Storage Project Act initial storage unit reservoirs. Additional environmental compliance is only applicable should future Federal actions be undertaken that are outside the range of effects analyzed in those documents or the applicable Records of Decision.

In closing, I am proud to have led my colleagues from the seven basin States to get this DCP Authorization Act passed through Congress as quickly as possible, and I thank them for their hard work and support. The Colorado River DCP Act chooses the path of water conservation, compromise, and proactive water management over and litigation, conflict, and creation of a zero sum game on the River. I understand that there will be more work to be done after we have authorized the DCP, but we have made important progress in passing this critical legislation.

Mr. President, the Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Southwestern United States. The river provides drinking water to 40 million Americans, irrigation to 5.5 million acres of farmland, and more than 4,000 megawatts of carbon-free hydropower to communities across the West in seven States.

Unfortunately, the last 19 years have been the Colorado Basin's driest on record. This long and intense drought has left the combined water stored behind Lake Powell and Lake Mead near critically low levels, putting the water supply for some of the Nation's largest cities in danger.

The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan--otherwise known as the DCP--was negotiated among the seven Colorado River Basin States to respond to this prolonged drought. It is designed to protect Lakes Mead and Powell from reaching certain critical water elevations that would trigger severe water supply and hydropower impacts, including the risk of reaching crisis levels where operational control of the Colorado River system would be lost.

These States put in a lot of hard work and sacrifice for the good of all who rely on the river. By doing this, they avoided having the Department of Interior directing draconian measures and cuts from the Federal Government. But the plan must be codified in law. It literally takes an act of Congress to approve the DCP, and it is urgent. That is why I am on the floor today.

I am proud of the bipartisan nature of this legislation. As the Water and Power Subcommittee chair, I am leading this legislation with my Democratic ranking member from Nevada, Senator Cortez Masto. We have all 14 Senators from all 7 States--8 Democrats and 6 Republicans spanning a wide ideological spectrum--as original cosponsors. This bill is about an impending water crisis impacting Western States like Arizona. The effort to get this bill to this point is an example of bipartisanship that Arizonans and Americans are calling for. This is about the livelihood and the safety of 40 million Americans.

The Colorado River DCP Authorization Act puts sound water policy over partisan politics. People thought that never happened in Washington, DC. Today, they should be celebrating about this bill. I ask all my colleagues to join the 14 bipartisan Senators from the Colorado River Basin and support this bill.

Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1057. I further ask consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I would gladly modify my request. It seems that our House colleagues--again, both sides of the aisle--will be passing an identical version of our bill tonight. As we talked about, this is urgent. It is urgent for Arizona. It is urgent for all the seven States that rely on the Colorado River. So the fastest way we can get this legislation to the President's desk is what I support. I support this modification.

Mr. President, I want to thank you, and I want to thank Senator Cortez Masto and all of our colleagues for supporting this critical legislation. It is now going to allow immediate action to increase the water security for Arizona and all of the seven Colorado River Basin States.

We just introduced this legislation last Tuesday. By acting so quickly, the Lower Basin States will be able to immediately begin saving hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water behind Hoover Dam, and this will dramatically reduce the risk of reaching critically low reservoir levels and ensure that Mexico's water contribution to Lake Mead will be made beginning next year.

We worked hand in hand with Chairman Grijalva to develop this legislation. As I said, we have identical bills passing now in the House and the Senate on the same day. I want to thank our House colleagues, Chairman Grijalva, Ranking Member Bishop, and I want to thank all the staff on both sides of the House and the Senate. This bipartisan, bicameral effort only came into fruition because of their hard work over these last years and days to make this happen. Thanks again to everybody.

This is a really great day for the Colorado River Basin and for Arizonans.

I yield the floor.

I thank Chairman Murkowski. Yes, the Senator is exactly

right. The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, or DCP, consists of the Agreement Concerning Colorado River Drought Contingency Management and Operations and additional agreements that appear as attachments Al, A2, and B to that agreement. It is an emergency response to 19 years of severe drought and is designed to get us to 2026 without a serious crisis. In the lower basin, this will be done by increasing the contributions and providing incentives to leave water banked in Lake Mead as intentionally created surplus, among other things. My bill reflects the urgency of the situation through its directive that the Secretary of the Interior act without delay to sign the agreements upon execution by the seven Colorado River Basin States.

As Chairman Murkowski mentioned, it is expected that the Secretary will sign these agreements without delay since the actions to be undertaken are within the analyses and range of effects reviewed in the environmental documents prepared pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, ESA, and in the 2007 final environmental impact statement, EIS, on Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead; and the EISs and ESA documents prepared for operation of the Colorado River Storage Project Act initial storage unit reservoirs. Additional environmental compliance is only applicable should Federal actions be undertaken that are outside the range of effects analyzed in those documents or the applicable records of decision.

I ask Senator Cortez Masto, does she agree with this characterization of our bill?

Ms. Cortez Masto. I thank my colleague from Arizona. I agree with her assessment. I would also add that this legislation was developed to ensure water conservation activities in the Colorado River Basin are able to begin in 2019 and be built into the planning of operations for 2020. For this to happen, there can be no delay between execution of the DCP by the States and the signing and implementation by the Secretary of the Interior.

I ask Senator Gardner, is this also his understanding from the upper basin perspective?

I would like to thank Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Manchin for their time, attention, and support of this critical legislation. I also associate myself with the comments added by the bill cosponsors and thank them all for their work on this issue and their comments about this bill's effect.