The Bureau of Reclamation on Friday, October 20, published their Scoping Report for development of new reservoir operational guidelines and strategies for implementation once the 2007 Interim Guidelines expire after the 2026 operational year. The report includes a collection of the comments solicited over 60 days as well was the scoping webinar presentations. The entire 390 page document can be found here on the BOR Colorado River Basin Post 2026 Operations website.
Reclamation received almost 25,000 comments from the public, Tribes, states, federal agencies, NGOs, and others over the scoping period resulting in the proposed federal action published in the Federal Register. There aren’t any amounts specifically stated in the Scoping Report or the proposed federal action that address the Colorado Basin States allocation and conservation for 2027 and beyond, rather it generically (but officially) acknowledges a few key facts:
- 2007 Guidelines expire at the end of 2026
- 2007 Guidelines were not adequate to prevent the low reservoir conditions
- Increasing disparity of supply and demand imbalance in the Basin
- Recognition of further conservation methods
- Disparate recognition of previous Tribal concerns
Up next in the NEPA process is the Draft Environmental Impact Statement development which is where a range of alternatives will be drafted and considered based on a comprehensive environmental analysis based on the most recent and best scientific information available. This isn’t expected to be published for public comment until December 2024.
The Bureau will host an information webinar on October 24, 2023, providing a review of the comments received, the preliminary assessment of the proposed federal action, and the DEIS purpose. You can register for the webinar here.
