On Friday, October 28, the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) announced the initiation of an expedited process for developing a “Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)” on proposed revisions to the December 2007 Record of Decision relating to the Colorado River Interim Guidelines. The SEIS will lay out options to address the troubling operating conditions facing the river system now and in the future. Public comments submitted by December 20 will be reflected in the draft SEIS to be released next spring, with the final expected in late summer. Revisions to the current interim operating guidelines will apply as early as 2023-2024. Current operating rules date to the 2007 guidelines as amended in 2019. When reservoir levels fall below specified elevations, larger and larger cuts in water allocations are taken. Those rules will expire after 2026, and most observers believe immediate action is needed because the 2026 deadline for negotiating new rules is too late.

Signaling their intention to act within two years to protect the river, Reclamation proposed to examine three options: (1) a consensus-based framework for agreement among the basin states, (2) unilateral federal revision of river system operating rules, or (3) no action. Although the states failed to reach agreement on water cuts during negotiations over the past summer, the Department of the Interior (DOI), Reclamation’s parent department, prefers the framework option. Reclamation’s press release quoted DOI Secretary Deb Haaland’s statement, “The Interior Department continues to pursue a collaborative and consensus-based approach to addressing the drought crisis afflicting the West. At the same time, we are committed to taking prompt and decisive action necessary to protect the Colorado River System and all those who depend on it.” According to DOI, option 2 (unilateral revision of operating rules) may include consideration of a hybrid approach in which federal action complements any interstate agreement “that may not sufficiently mitigate current and projected risks.” With this announcement, Reclamation is warning states that if the federal government is forced to impose rules, the process could be painful. Arizona’s Department of Water Resources director, Tom Buschatzke, thinks that federal pressure is needed. He is quoted in the Los Angeles Times saying, “We need a little bit of a stick. I actually wish they had started sooner.”

Press Release