PHOENIX—Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton released the following statement in response to the consensus-based proposal to protect the stability of the Colorado River by conserving at least 3 million-acre-feet of system water through the end of 2026: 

“Today’s agreement among the Lower Basin states is a workable path forward—and though it does not resolve questions over the long term, it does provide all Colorado River users with a short-term solution that gives us much-needed time to solve the challenges ahead.  It represents collaboration and compromise from all parties—and the Department of the Interior should accept it without delay.

While this agreement is welcome, it uses drought dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act to quite literally buy time. It’s imperative that Interior not let a moment go to waste in deploying the remainder of funds under the Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest in long-term conservation efforts.”