PHOENIX—U.S. Congressman Greg Stanton (D-AZ) released the following statement as states failed to reach an agreement for Post-2026 Operational Guidelines for the Colorado River:
“Today is the federally imposed deadline for the seven Colorado River basin states to agree on new operating rules for 2026 and beyond. This deadline has arrived without a resolution. Forty million Americans depend on this river for water, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
The Lower Basin states—Arizona, California, and Nevada—have put forth a serious proposal committing to reduce consumption significantly through deep, permanent cuts. But our upstream neighbors continue clinging to century-old legal positions that ignore today's reality. Any proposal that doesn’t require every basin state to share in conservation is pure fantasy.
Meanwhile the president hasn’t even put forward a new nominee to lead the Bureau of Reclamation after yanking the last one over Upper Basin objections.
We are running out of time. The Lower Basin has done our part, offering a framework where cuts are automatic, predictable, and shared. The question now is whether the Upper Basin states will meet us halfway, or whether they'll continue pretending the river can deliver water it simply doesn't have.”