Months ago, in the face of "unacceptably high" risk to
the Colorado River's complex system of reservoirs, US Bureau of
Reclamation Commissioner, Brenda Burman, indicated that if the
seven Colorado River Basin States could not agree to a drought
contingency plan (DCP), then the federal government would post a
notice in the federal register seeking comments from the states on
the best course of action, and then unilaterally decide how to
manage the river under fast-approaching shortage conditions. On
March 19, 2019, with the endorsement of the US Department of the
Interior, the seven Basin States and key stakeholders formally submitted the Colorado
River Basin DCP to Congress for immediate implementation. In
response to their March 19 letter, Congress invited the Basin
States' representatives to testify on March 28, 2019 on the
need for the DCP.
