Delegation Calls Bureau of Reclamation's Draft EIS Unworkable for Arizona, Underscore Impact on Tribes, Semiconductor and Agriculture Industries
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Arizona's Democratic congressional delegation voiced their concerns to the Bureau of Reclamation on the recently released Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
The letter from U.S. Representative Greg Stanton, Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, and Representatives Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva makes clear that none of the proposed alternatives in the current DEIS are viable for Arizona's water security.
“We cannot take our focus off securing an agreement that acknowledges the environmental realities of a region plagued by megadrought but demands equitable conservation efforts by all Basin States,” the lawmakers write. “Arizona has and will continue to do its part to protect the Colorado River, but we cannot do it alone.”
The full letter is HERE.
The delegation's letter raises the potential for devastating impacts to Arizona on multiple fronts:
- Inequitable Distribution of Reductions: The DEIS alternatives impose required reductions and conservation measures exclusively on the Lower Basin — home to approximately 75 percent of the Colorado River Basin's population and economic output — while failing to hold Upper Basin states accountable for their delivery obligations under the Colorado River Compact of 1922.
- Threats to Tribal Communities: Arizona's 22 federally recognized tribes hold significant Colorado River water entitlements critical to their economic development, public health, and infrastructure. The delegation asserts the current DEIS fails to meet the federal government's trust responsibility to tribal nations.
- Risk to National Security and the Economy: Arizona hosts the largest concentration of advanced semiconductor manufacturing investment in the nation — approximately $200 billion in announced projects since 2020 — alongside critical aerospace and defense industries. Arizona’s agricultural industry supplies essential products—including fresh produce, dairy, beef, and forage crops—that ensure regional and national food security. Cuts of the magnitude contemplated in the DEIS would jeopardize domestic chip production, military modernization, and food security.
Absent a durable seven Basin State agreement, a decision on river operations could be handed down from Interior as early as July. A plan for post-2026 river operations must be in place before October 1, to fulfill federal treaty obligations with Mexico and provide certainty for Colorado River water users as they enter a new water year.