-
Click here to listen to this article -
- Nevada has filed the first lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s Colorado River plan, which orders Nevada, Arizona and California to cut water use by about 20% over the next two years and allows for much larger cuts in the future.
asserted
which → click → future
- Gov. Joe Lombardo warns the plan would severely harm the Las Vegas area, while four other states upstream avoid any mandatory reductions.
-
asserted
states → warn → reductions
The lawsuit underscores growing tensions among seven states that depend on the river.
asserted
that → underscore → river
Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s largest reservoirs, have fallen to record lows.
asserted
Mead → fall → lows
In the first salvo of what could become a prolonged court battle over Colorado River water, the state of Nevada has sued the Trump administration over its plan to impose major water cutbacks on Las Vegas.
uncertain
state → become → Vegas
The state filed the lawsuit three days after the Trump administration released the plan requiring Nevada, Arizona and California to cut water use by about 20% for the next two years.
asserted
administration → file → years
The plan allows for much larger mandatory cuts over the next decade if necessary to prevent the river’s drought-depleted reservoirs from reaching critically low levels.
asserted
plan → allow → levels
“Southern Nevada could lose more than 70 percent of its already meager Colorado River allocation,” while four other states — Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming — “are not required to contribute a drop,” Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said as he announced the lawsuit Monday.
uncertain
he → lose → lawsuit
“This isn’t about political posturing,” Lombardo said.
asserted
Lombardo → say → posturing
“This is a matter of survival for a community that represents about two-thirds of our state’s citizens and the lion’s share of its economy.
asserted
that → represent → economy
Colorado River reservoirs have dropped dramatically over the last 26 years as global warming has worsened severe drought.
asserted
warming → drop → drought
Nevada leaders said that under the plan, the state’s annual allotment of 300,000 acre-feet could be slashed to as little as 86,500, which they said would devastate Las Vegas and surrounding cities.
uncertain
they → say → Vegas
“That’s simply not a reduction that a major metropolitan area can adjust to,” said John Entsminger, Nevada’s lead negotiator and general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
asserted
Entsminger → ’ → Authority
“It would have catastrophic effects on our ability to provide a safe, reliable water supply.”
asserted
It → have → supply
The Las Vegas area gets about 90% of its water from the river.
asserted
area → get → river
It has already reduced its use by about 40% over the last 25 years by eliminating thirsty grass in many areas and outlawing front-yard lawns for new subdivisions.
asserted
It → reduce → subdivisions
“We have clearly demonstrated our ability to adapt and do more with less,” Entsminger said.
asserted
Entsminger → demonstrate → less
“However, conservation has its limits, and there is just no way to meet even the basic needs of this community with the volume of water Interior has proposed.”
asserted
Interior → have → water
The Colorado River provides water for about 35 million people in cities from Denver to San Diego, as well as 30 Native tribes and 5 million acres of farmland.
asserted
River → provide → farmland
About three-fourths of the water taken from it flows to farms via canals, producing alfalfa for cattle as well as lettuce, broccoli and other crops.
asserted
fourths → take → cattle
This year, the Rocky Mountains had the least snow on record, and the lack of snowmelt is sinking reservoir levels lower.
asserted
lack → have → levels
Over the last three years, negotiators repeatedly held talks to try to reach a seven-state agreement, but the three downstream states, California, Arizona and Nevada, deadlocked with the four upstream states.
asserted
states → hold → states
As part of its plan, the Trump administration accepted an offer by California, Arizona and Nevada to reduce the water they take by 3.2 million acre-feet between now and the end of 2028.
asserted
they → accept → 2028
California will cut its Colorado River water use by about 12%, while Arizona will take about 31% less and Nevada 28% less.
asserted
Nevada → cut → less
The Trump administration is not requiring water cuts for Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.
asserted
administration → require → Colorado
Andrea Travnicek, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for water and science, said that’s because the federal government has different “responsibilities and authorities” in the upstream and downstream states.
asserted
government → say → states
In previous agreements, however, all seven states have contributed, Entsminger said, and the federal plan represents a sharp break with that collaborative approach.
asserted
plan → contribute → approach
“Everybody that uses water from the Colorado River has a stake in using that water more efficiently, so that we can all get by with less,” Entsminger said.
asserted
Entsminger → use → less
“A plan that focuses on a minority of states ultimately has no chance of success.”
asserted
that → focus → success
Even as the state goes to court, Entsminger stressed that Nevada is open to negotiating.
asserted
Nevada → go → court
In the lawsuit, Nevada argues that the Trump administration’s plan violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the “Law of the River,” and asks the court to halt its implementation.
asserted
plan → argue → implementation
It also alleges the Interior Department failed to account for the severe damage drastic water cuts would inflict on southern Nevada’s $180-billion economy.
asserted
cuts → allege → economy
Arizona’s leaders have raised similar concerns, saying the most draconian cuts under the plan would severely harm their state.
Tom Buschatzke, Arizona’s lead negotiator, said last week that the state is “reserving our right to potentially take legal action.
asserted
state → raise → action
The Trump administration’s plan for the water-starved Colorado River is drawing criticism.
asserted
plan → starve → criticism
Arizona warns it could sue.
uncertain
it → warn → ?
Arizona faces especially large water cutbacks because the Central Arizona Project, the series of canals that run to the Phoenix and Tucson areas, isn’t nearly as old as other aqueducts, giving it low-priority water rights and putting it among the first in line for reductions.
asserted
that → face → reductions
Much or all of the water Arizona gets via the canal could be cut off under the Trump administration plan.
uncertain
Arizona → get → plan
Brenda Burman, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, called the federal plan “flawed” and said “every state that relies on the river should be part of the solution.”
Her agency said in a written statement that after 2028, the federal plan would allow for “disproportionate, unlawful, and intolerable cuts on Arizona.
asserted
plan → call → Arizona
Nevada’s case is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the state makes strong claims, though the outcome is hard to predict, said Rhett Larson, a water law professor at Arizona State University.
uncertain
Larson → end → University
“The litigation over the Colorado River isn’t just about who gets how much water, but about what the U.S. Constitution says about who does or should have the power to make that decision,” Larson said in an email.
asserted
Larson → get → email
…and 9 more, not listed.
