Nevada 2023 Regular Session

Nevada Senate Bill SJR3 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	- 82nd Session (2023)
4	4	Senate Joint Resolution No. 3–
5	5	Committee on Natural Resources
6	6
7	7	FILE NUMBER..........
8	8	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION—Urging the United States Bureau
9	9	of Reclamation to consider certain actions, alternatives and
10	10	measures for the protection and management of the Colorado
11	11	River.
12	12	WHEREAS, The Colorado River is the most vital water source in
13	13	Nevada and much of the western United States, sustaining the life
14	14	and livelihood of 7 western states, 22 Indian tribes and Mexico; and
15	15	WHEREAS, The Colorado River supports the needs of 40 million
16	16	people in the United States and Mexico, irrigates over 5 million
17	17	acres of land, generates hydropower for several million people and
18	18	supports recreational and tourism industries; and
19	19	WHEREAS, Ninety percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply
20	20	comes from the Colorado River via Lake Mead; and
21	21	WHEREAS, Facing unprecedented drought and aridification, the
22	22	Colorado River is in crisis with Lake Mead currently at 28 percent
23	23	capacity; and
24	24	WHEREAS, The Colorado River is also overallocated with more
25	25	water committed for use than is available from the Colorado River
26	26	in an average year resulting in a structural deficit in the Colorado
27	27	River; and
28	28	WHEREAS, The seven Colorado River Basin states of Arizona,
29	29	California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming
30	30	have yet to reach a consensus on a plan to decrease current water
31	31	use; and
32	32	WHEREAS, The Federal Government intends to take unilateral
33	33	action regarding the management of the Colorado River if the
34	34	Colorado River Basin states do not present a reasonable plan for
35	35	water management; and
36	36	WHEREAS, The Southern Nevada Water Authority and the
37	37	Colorado River Commission, on behalf of the State of Nevada, have
38	38	urged all users of the Colorado River in every state and sector to
39	39	work together towards a solution to the water crisis and to reduce
40	40	water demands to reflect the hydrological reality of the Colorado
41	41	River Basin; and
42	42	WHEREAS, In August 2022, the Southern Nevada Water
43	43	Authority, on behalf of the State of Nevada, submitted a letter to the
44	44	United States Bureau of Reclamation listing 12 recommendations to
45	45	address the crisis on the Colorado River, including adopting
46	46	methods to account for evaporation and system losses in the
47	47	– 2 –
48	48
49	49
50	50	- 82nd Session (2023)
51	51	Colorado River and investing in long-term, durable water
52	52	conservation to permanently reduce the structural deficit in the
53	53	Colorado River; and
54	54	WHEREAS, In November 2022, the United States Bureau of
55	55	Reclamation announced its intention to prepare a supplemental
56	56	environmental impact statement for the December 2007 Record of
57	57	Decision entitled “Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower
58	58	Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and
59	59	Lake Mead”; and
60	60	WHEREAS, In December 2022, the Southern Nevada Water
61	61	Authority and the Colorado River Commission, on behalf of the
62	62	State of Nevada, submitted a proposed alternative to the United
63	63	States Bureau of Reclamation for consideration in the supplemental
64	64	environmental impact statement process that presented
65	65	recommendations to address the structural deficit in the Colorado
66	66	River; and
67	67	WHEREAS, In January 2023, representatives of Nevada joined
68	68	with the representatives of five other Colorado River Basin states to
69	69	submit to the United States Bureau of Reclamation a Consensus-
70	70	Based Modeling Alternative to help stabilize the water levels of
71	71	Lake Mead and Lake Powell and asked the Bureau to consider and
72	72	model the Consensus-Based Modeling Alternative in the
73	73	supplemental environmental impact statement process; and
74	74	WHEREAS, The recommendations of Nevada and the Consensus-
75	75	Based Modeling Alternative to address the Colorado River crisis
76	76	present a solid starting point for further discussions on the
77	77	management of the Colorado River; and
78	78	WHEREAS, The current Colorado River crisis is dire but solvable
79	79	if the Colorado River Basin States, the Federal Government and
80	80	Mexico cooperate to address the crisis; and
81	81	WHEREAS, Federal money and other funding mechanisms can
82	82	aid with short-term water management and prevent the future
83	83	depletion of the already depleted Colorado River, but the long-term
84	84	sustainability of the Colorado River system requires the investment
85	85	of additional money to implement permanent reductions in demand
86	86	for Colorado River water; now, therefore, be it
87	87	RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF
88	88	NEVADA, JOINTLY, That the members of the 82nd Session of the
89	89	Nevada Legislature strongly support the pursuit of a collaboration-
90	90	based framework to address the structural deficit in the Colorado
91	91	River; and be it further
92	92	RESOLVED, That the members of the 82nd Session of the
93	93	Nevada Legislature support the inclusion of mechanisms to account
94	94	– 3 –
95	95
96	96
97	97	- 82nd Session (2023)
98	98	for evaporation and system losses in the Colorado River in the
99	99	future management of the Colorado River; and be it further
100	100	RESOLVED, That the members of the 82nd Session of the
101	101	Nevada Legislature hereby urge the United States Bureau of
102	102	Reclamation to amend existing federal regulations to prohibit the
103	103	inefficient delivery, application or use of any water from the
104	104	Colorado River by all sectors and users of water from the Colorado
105	105	River to limit unnecessary water losses on the Colorado River; and
106	106	be it further
107	107	RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and
108	108	transmit a copy of this resolution to the United States Secretary of
109	109	the Interior, the United States Commissioner of the Bureau of
110	110	Reclamation and the Nevada Congressional Delegation; and be it
111	111	further
112	112	RESOLVED, That this resolution becomes effective upon
113	113	passage.
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