Major amendments expected
The Arizona Legislative Council will likely further complicate Gov. Doug Ducey’s efforts to pass a plan aiming to prevent levels in Lake Mead from falling below thresholds that would trigger catastrophic reductions in Arizona’s water allocation, reports Arizona Capitol Times.
It’s all about forbearance.
Arizona legislators “almost certainly” cannot authorize a state agency to “forbear” the use of water from the Colorado River, the council stated.
“The Legislature may not authorize DWR [Dept. of Water Resources] to forbear the use of Colorado River water that goes unused because such action infringes on the rights of the CAWCD [Central Arizona Water Conservation District] to control the use of waters in Lake Mead,” the council memo stated.
Ducey is pushing for a statewide forbearance program, whose aim is to permit Arizona to conserve more water in Lake Mead, something his office argues is “absolutely necessary,” Cap Times reports.
Under the proposal, entities with rights to use Colorado River water may submit a conservation project to the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, who is then vested with the authority to forbear the use of that much volume from the state’s Colorado River water allocation.
“Lawyers disagree on these issues regularly,” Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said in an email to the newspaper. “On this report, due to attorney-client privilege with the Legislature, Legislative Council did not include the perspective of ADWR [Arizona Dept. of Water Resources].
But in the council memo, it’s stated the governor’s proposal “appears to conflict with CAWCD’s exclusive authority to use excess water as it determines,” saying it would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Contracts Clause and Supremacy Clause, as well as contravene the U.S. Interior Secretary’s authority, he wrote.
The council’s arguments could sway legislators against supporting Ducey’s plan.
Kirk Adams, the governor’s chief of staff, said the governor’s office wants to work with key legislators to add amendments and make “some major changes.”
