COLORADO RIVER MANAGEMENT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1983 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Yuma, Ariz. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:45 a.m., in the auditorium, Yuma Civic and Community Center, 1440 Desert Hill Drive, Yuma, Ariz., Hon. Morris K. Udall (chairman of the committee) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. This is an official hearing of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives. We are pleased to meet here today in Yuma and to have so many friends to help us out with advice and counsel, and to have so many Members of the House from Arizona, California, and Nevada gathered here to join in the discussion of one of the most important matters to the Western States. Most flood problems that you read about occur quickly. The Teton Dam may break and a wall of water rushes through town and you have property damage and people hurt but the next afternoon they would clean up the mud and the flood stage has gone by. This is a different kind of flood we are having on the Colorado River this year. It started in the spring as you recall and according to the Bureau of Reclamation extra heavy releases will be coming out of the river system as late as Christmas this year. So there is continuing threat of high releases and fear of damage and ground water problems and these things are lasting. These problems may be more important than just the immediate flood damage. We along the Colorado have been looking at the hard decisions made many years ago—those compacts and statutes that are in place to tell us how much water we are all allocated. But we still have many problems in our future, meeting our obligations to Mexico, solving the ever-present salinity problem, getting our projects built to enable us to use our share of the river, and many other questions. Before we begin today, let me make a couple of housekeeping announcements today. I am told that all of this congressional hearing today is being broadcast live on KAWC public radio, which is the voice of Arizona Western College here in Yuma County. Senator DeConcini was going to be with us but had to go to Senator Jackson's funeral in Washington and he will not be able to testify, but we will have a statement from him. Senator Goldwater has a similar problem but we will also have a statement, from him. We have a long list of witnesses today. I first want to introduce my colleagues here on the platform with me and (1) I will start on my left: Congressman Harry Reid of Nevada, Clark County. We are pleased to have him with us, a very important Member of the Congress. Sitting on my left is a member of our committee, Nick Rahall of West Virginia who has given up his time to be with us here today to learn more about these problems, and we will be calling on him from time to time. He is fortunate that he got here in the middle of a cool wave. Anything below 105 is definitely cool and we appreciate his presence. Somebody said it is as hot as the hinges of hell, but I said it is not that bad. The Governor and I discussed this, and in the event you go to hell after a full and vigorous life, you get credit for 2 days that you spent here in southern Arizona. Mr. RAHALL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. John McCain, took the seat of the legendary John Rhodes of Arizona. He is on the Interior Committee and a major force in much legislation. We are delighted to have him. Then we have Bob Stump who shares with me the honor of representing this part of Yuma County. Bob has been involved in the Columbia River problem a long, long time and I am pleased that he is sitting with us today. Alfred McCandless is a Congressman from California. Some of you have heard of California. He has many important interests along the river, and has taken a big part in the efforts in our programs on this this year. We are delighted to have him. I will make a few more preliminary remarks and then I will ask my colleagues if they wish to make statements. This year we discovered another dimension of these floods that we are talking about. Some years there will be water above and beyond the amounts needed by the users and to fill reservoirs and we will have to make decisions about how to release unexpectedly high flows. This is a record year for the Colorado. A combination of unusually heavy snowfall and snowmelt, followed by a heat wave and the late spring precipitation created a record inflow into the reservoir. It went off the charts. These events, coupled with the fact that the fill of Lake Powell was completed in 1980 and we didn't have the space we had over the last decade to put surplus water, necessitated higher releases. There was significant damage downstream to property owners and concessionaires along the river. On June 20, my colleagues and I requested that the General Accounting Office, the investigating arm of the Congress, take a look at the way the river was managed in the months of record inflow. We asked that they analyze the operating criteria which govern management of the river and determine the releases. Last week the GAO made a preliminary report to us. We have circulated this for the press. I think the two major findings from the conclusions of the GAO would be worth my reading quickly. The General Accounting Office says: Some flooding could not have been prevented on the Colorado given the level of reservoirs in January. This is the case even if the late spring snowfall, melt and runoff could have been anticipated in January. Next they say: The high flow levels will continue through the end of this year but increases in the rate of water releases are not expected barring appreciative water changes. They further say: The damaging flood control releases can be expected once in 10 or 15 years now given current product development along the river and storage control storage space. The GAO concludes that fundamental questions raised by these events are whether the Congress and the people of the States should reconsider the longstanding operating criteria for management, plans for the coming year, and closer monitoring of runoff. The Bureau of Reclamation has asked the Governors of the seven States and Congress to review the river's operating criteria and consider plans for the coming year. The weather bureau will review its forecasting procedures. Let me now introduce my colleagues who may have opening statements. First, Congressman McCain. Mr. MCCAIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to commend you as always for your decision to hold hearings on the flooding of the Colorado River during 1983 and the implications of such flooding for proper management of the Colorado River. The Colorado is the water of life for Arizona. More than almost anyone else, Chairman Udall knows this and has, along with my predecessor, John Rhodes, ably dedicated his career to the wise use of this resource on behalf of Arizona and the Nation. This morning's hearing is but another example of his foresight in this respect. I want also to express my deep sympathy those whose lives and livelihoods were harmed by the floods during 1983. I will join with other members of the Arizona delegation to see to it that the Federal Government meets its responsibilities for relief to those who were affected to the extent possible. I want to say a few words about the point of view I bring to these hearings. First and foremost, I think we need a thorough and dispassionate review of the facts concerning the flooding. What happened, and why did it happen? There is too much at stake in terms of Arizona's interest in the proper management of the river for us to leave any stones unturned in our review of the events of 1983 and their implications for the future management of the Colorado River. I want to see the river managed to provide a stable and reliable water supply for the central Arizona project. I think this goal has important implications for the management of the river. It means that conservation storage must be given very heavy weight in decisions about proper river management. I think the current operation of the river gives the correct amount of weight to this objective. I would oppose any change which in any way threatens the possible supplies of water for CAP, the central Arizona project. The Colorado River is managed for many purposes and it would be pleasant to think that all of these purposes could be fully met all of the time. But anyone who has seen the raging destruction this river can create understands that while it has been tamed by farsighted water resource development, it cannot be tamed completely for all purposes and for all times. The managers of the river are going to have to make hard choices. They must achieve a balance that best serves the interests of all the users of the river without unnecessarily or unfairly sacrificing the interest of any significant segment of river users. Given the complexity of the river, and the nature of the many uses to which it is put, this will inevitably be an arduous task. I think it is important for the public to understand just how tough this job is. I think we have to be wary of superficial criticism, of the cheap shot, in reviewing the actions taken by those who manage the river. Finally, I think it is important that the committee recognize that we are not dealing with anything like a clean slate in considering river operations in 1983. First, all of the basin States have been given several opportunities over the past decade to formally review and criticize the overall management of the river, and they chose not to avail themselves of these opportunities. I note that these opportunities for review have been available when the basin States were fully aware that higher flows on the Colorado were a distinct possibility as the reservoir system reached the point of maximum storage. The basin States have apparently generally been fairly satisfied with the Department's management of the river. Second, in 1982 the Corps of Engineers conducted a searching review, again with full public consultation, of the flood control criteria for the river and redefined the proper level of flood control for the river. I want to emphasize that the Corps of Engineers made its decision after giving extensive consideration to the interests of all significant users of the river, and to the distinct possibility of some flood damage to those interests. As I stated previously, it is not possible to manage the river in a manner which will satisfy all unconstrained uses of the river. The river is a finite resource, however much we might wish it were otherwise. I think the committee ought to obtain the details of all the events surrounding the flooding with great care. I think we ought to exercise equally great care in avoiding a rush to judgment. We should avoid needless second-guessing of the careful and complex decisionmaking process which has been used to manage the river. If we manage the river to avoid downstream flows during the highest flow year on record, we will inevitably sacrifice important interests of river users. Chief among them may be the interests of future users of the central Arizona project. It would be ironic indeed if the major Federal investment in CAP, for which the Arizona delegation has ably worked over the past several decades, were rendered useless by a lack of water. Mr. Chairman, I have two unanimous consent requests if I may. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman will state them. Mr. MCCAIN. One is to include the statement of Richard Cheney, who regrets he could not be here. The CHAIRMAN. Without objection. [EDITOR'S NOTE.-The prepared statement of Hon. Richard Cheney referred to above may be found in app. I.] [Mr. Cheney subsequently submitted a letter to Chairman Udall dated September 28, 1983, with attachments, transmitting additional information concerning the hearings of September 7 and 8, 1983. That letter with attachments may be found in appendix I following Mr. Cheney's prepared statement. See table of contents for page numbers.] Mr. MCCAIN. Also, in view of the importance of these hearings and the fact that the hearings are being held during the district work period when many Members have prior commitments and cannot attend, I ask that the record of the hearings be held open for 2 weeks after Congress reconvenes when a copy of the transcript is available to Members of Congress for review. And two, that Members of Congress be allowed to insert statements in the record such as to reflect the views of Members or add information or comments. All such insertions will be marked in order to show it is a later insertion as is done with the Congressional Record. I.] The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, so ordered. Mr. MCCAIN. Thank you. [Prepared statement of Hon. John McCain may be found in app. The CHAIRMAN. Incidentally, we are making a permanent record of the hearings. The decisions made by the Bureau and the key water people will have to rely on the record we are making today and we will try to get this printed as soon as we can to distribute it later this year. Mr. McCAIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Stump. Mr. STUMP. Mr. Chairman, I do have comments, but with your permission I will submit my remarks for the record. The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the gentleman's statement will be inserted in the record. [Prepared statement of Hon. Bob Stump may be found in app. I.] Mr. STUMP. I would like to commend you and the other members for coming today to help us out in these hearings and anything I can do to work with you, believe me I will. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. Congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia. Let me thank you for those couple days of reprieve you have given me. I felt I deserved them after having driven through one of Arizona's electrical thunderstorms last week on the way from Phoenix to Yuma. I might say it took me a while to realize that driving on the long, flat roads here in Arizona when you see a car coming your way at night you have 20 minutes and 20 miles in which to pass a truck, if that is what you are waiting to do, not 20 seconds like in West Virginia. Let me commend Chairman Udall for giving me the opportunity to come here to Arizona to participate in these hearings on the operation and management of the Colorado River. I represent an area in southern West Virginia that has many flood-related problems. We have individuals living in flood plains, individuals who have lived there all their lives, their grandparents and great grandparents have lived there and they know no other place to live. So I share the sympathy and concerns for those who have had their livelihoods and lives wrecked because of flooding problems and I look forward to hearing from individuals involved in making |