LAS VEGAS—Outgoing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told Colorado River resource managers that he expects no major changes in federal management of the river under President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to be his successor.
Kempthorne told the Colorado River Water Users Association annual conference Wednesday in Las Vegas that he has worked with U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar over the past 2 1/2 years, and the Democratic senator from Colorado understands Western water issues.
Obama on Wednesday named Salazar as the nation’s 50th interior secretary, pending Senate approval.
Kempthorne said Salazar faces challenges overseeing the use of the Colorado River amid drought, climate change and increased pressure from farms, businesses, cities and homes in a region where 30 million people live.
“I don’t believe it’s a partisan issue,” the Bush appointee said following his keynote remarks.
Salazar will have to keep California, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico from costly litigation and “fruitless acrimony” over Colorado River resources, Kempthorne said.
He added that talks also were underway with Mexico over issues concerning the river water supply and ecology.
Kempthorne, a former Idaho governor, distributed plaques to water resource managers to commemorate a water shortage-sharing agreement he signed during last year’s conference.
The sweeping pact provided new rules for jointly operating the twin reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Powell during extended dry spells such as the one that has gripped the Southwest since 2001.
Kempthorne called the agreement the most important relating to the river since the original 1922 compact that divided the Colorado River water resources among the seven states.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal,
