Rep. Greg Stanton says Arizona does not want Interior Sec. to make Colorado River water decision

PHOENIX — Arizona U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton emphasized that Arizona does not want Interior Secretary Doug Burgum making the decision when it comes to the state’s share of Colorado River water.

“We do not want that to happen for a variety of reasons,” Stanton told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Evening News on Monday. “There’s a really good chance he could make a decision that is not good for Arizona. But more importantly — almost inevitably — it will end up in litigation. If it ends up in litigation, this could be 10 or more years before we actually get a final decision and we’ll sort of be in no man’s land in the meantime.”

Burgum and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation had to work on a water rights settlement after the seven Colorado River basin states were unable to come to an agreement by the Feb. 14 deadline.

On Tuesday, Stanton submitted more than 1,800 comments from Arizonans on ideas that the federal government released on the possible future of the Colorado River.

“Many of (the ideas) are not good for the people of the state of Arizona,” Stanton said.

Rep. Greg Stanton believes Colorado River water cuts should equal

According to Stanton, Arizona is more at risk for cuts because of a 1963 Supreme Court decision that the 2.8 million acre-feet of water it is owed every year ranks lower than the amount that California is owed.

The congressman’s position is that any cuts should be shared equally between the Upper and Lower Basin states.

“Under many of the ideas that have been presented, Arizona in particular would take vastly disproportionate cuts,” Stanton said. “That is terrible, not just for Arizona, for America.”

Stanton cited the cutting-edge manufacturing that the Grand Canyon State is building as why it would be bad for the nation, adding that Intel’s and TSMC’s semiconductor chips are going into military artillery currently being used in the Middle East.

“They’re trying to protect American lives. We are doing such advanced work. It is critical for American national security,” Stanton said. “We should take our fair share of cuts, but not our disproportionate share, so we continue to grow in this most important industry.”

The congressman added that the data centers don’t require as much water as many people think because they recycle almost every drop.

Stanton listed the conservation that Arizona does as another reason the state should only have its fair share of cuts.

“We have grown so much in the last 50 years here in this Valley,” Stanton explained. “We use less water, not per capita, we use less water in total now than we did 50 years ago. We are doing the job in Arizona on conservation. We are a model for the country on less water usage, doing more with less.”

The congressman highlighted that agriculture and farming areas particularly are at risk in Arizona.

“We don’t even want to get to that point though,” Stanton said. “Our feeling is that in 1922, all of the states agreed half Upper Basin, half Lower Basin. Stick with that agreement and Arizona’s going to be ok.”

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