Trump signs bill formalizing Colorado River drought plan legislation

PHOENIX — President Donald Trump signed a bill Tuesday formalizing the Colorado River drought contingency plan created by seven states, including Arizona, after Congress approved it last week.

Both of Arizona’s senators, Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema, sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona introduced it in the House.

Trump called the bill, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to follow the agreements made in the plan, a “big deal for Arizona” on Twitter.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey celebrated the bill’s passing, thanking the state’s lawmakers for “working together to help secure our water future.”

Thank you @POTUS! This is GREAT NEWS and a crucial action that moves DCP one step closer to full implementation. Thank you @SenMcSallyAZ @RepRaulGrijalva and all members of AZ’s delegation for working together to help secure our water future🌵💧 #DCP #AZWater #ThingsThatMatterAZ https://t.co/jGC5uRp5he

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) April 16, 2019

Ducey signed legislation authorizing Arizona’s participation in the plan on Jan. 31 after it was overwhelmingly approved by the state Legislature.

Arizona was the only state that required legislation to join the agreement to protect the water that serves 40 million people in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California.

Arizona has the lowest-priority access to Colorado River water and will be hit hardest.

The state negotiated a separate agreement to provide other water sources and new groundwater infrastructure for farmers between Phoenix and Tucson.

The seven states spent years on the plan, aiming to keep two key Colorado River reservoirs from falling so low that they cannot deliver water or produce hydropower.

Mexico also agreed to store water in Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border if the U.S. legislation was approved by April 22.

State water managers and federal officials have cited a prolonged drought, climate change and increasing demand for the river’s flows as reasons to implement a plan that would run through 2026 when current guidelines expire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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