McCain: Renegotiate the Colorado River Compact
Here's the reaction to John McCain's recommendation that the seven Colorado River Basin states renegotiate the Colorado River Compact, from The Durango Herald. From the article:
"He will not get a more fierce fight from a United States senator than he will have from me," said Bob Schaffer, McCain's fellow Republican and the party's Senate candidate. Schaffer's opponent, Democrat Mark Udall, also piled on McCain. "On this issue he couldn't be more wrong. Nothing is more crucial for Colorado than water, and I oppose any suggestion that the federal government should get involved in how we share it with Arizona, California or any other state," Udall said in a prepared statement.
McCain spokesman Tom Kise said Friday that McCain was talking about the long-term, given his belief that global warming is real and can affect the water supply. "We're not talking about short-term here. His comments are based on his fundamental understanding of the challenges faced by Western states," Kise said...
"I think that there's a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, certainly adjust to the new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource," McCain said. If the governors are talking, though, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter isn't in on the conversation. "It would be folly, foolhardy and unnecessary" to redo last year's agreement among the seven states on using the river under drought conditions, said Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer. Kise said McCain was not advocating a reopening of the 2007 agreement.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's spokes-man, Matt Chandler, said the Illinois senator thinks it would be unwise to reopen the compact. "At a minimum, it would pit these basin states against one another in extended negotiations, instead of facilitating cooperative efforts to address the significant water supply challenges facing the arid West. That's not the kind of leadership we need," Chandler said in an e-mailed statement.
Colorado has never used all the water that the 1922 compact gave the state, at least on paper. California and Arizona, on the other hand, have exceeded their allotments to serve their larger populations.
More coverage from The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article:
Doug Kemper, executive director of the Colorado Water Congress, said there has already been dialogue between Western governors about how to implement the compact. Reopening the compact, Kemper said, is another issue entirely. "I believe our board would be strongly opposed to reopening the compact," Kemper said. "We believe that this was something that was negotiated and we've relied on for our water-supply planning."
John Redifer, a member of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and political science professor at Mesa State College, said McCain's position makes sense in light of Arizona's needs, but not as a national policy. "I wonder if he is running for president of the United States or for something in Arizona when he makes those statements," Redifer said. "I'm really kind of surprised that someone running for president...that needs to carry the state of Colorado would make a statement like that."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
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