United States, Mexico to Collaborate
On Addressing Colorado River Actions

LOS ANGELES, The Department of Interior announced Aug. 13 that U.S.
and Mexican authorities agreed to collaborate on issues related to the
Colorado River, which flows through both countries.

The Department of Interior said in a statement, "U.S. and Mexican
authorities have agreed that cooperative, innovative, and holistic
measures should be considered to ensure that the Colorado River is able
to continue to meet environmental agricultural, and urban demands of
both nations."

River management is governed by the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Treaty on the
Utilization of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and Rio Grande, which is,
in turn, administered by the binational International Boundary and Water
Commission.

The statement said the commission's U.S. and Mexico sections should take
the lead "to expedite discussions in coming weeks to further Colorado
River cooperation." Areas of focus enumerated by the department included:

- study of the hydrological system and the impacts of climate change,
"including the effects of the ongoing historic Colorado River drought";

- environmental priorities, such as habitat protection or
enhancement in the Colorado River Delta;

- water conservation, storage, supply augmentation, and seawater desalination; and

- potential efficiencies in river water deliveries.

Sally Spener, spokeswoman for the U.S. Section, International Boundary
and Water Commission, said the above issues have been addressed in
recent years and that the announcement amounts to an expression of
"renewed commitment."

The practical effects will be an expedited scheduling of binational
meetings on the part of the commission sections and the different
workgroups formed to address river issues between the two countries.

"We don't expect anything specific tomorrow, but any breakthroughs will
be announced in coming weeks," Spener said.

Advocates Weigh Pros, Cons

"We're pleased to see that the administration is reinforcing the idea that Colorado River management at the border deserves a closer look right now." Jennifer Pitt, senior research analyst at Environmental Defense, told BNA Aug. 14. "And we are pleased to see it broaden the site beyond the strict, narrow criteria of the shortage problem."

The Interior statement, she noted, "puts the Colorado River Delta front and center."

A 75 percent reduction in flows to the delta since 1921 has caused
considerable erosion and threatened its capacity for supporting marine
and avian life (104 DEN A-7, 6/01/04).

Pitt was en route to San Diego for a discussion with local interests sparked by the announcement. "We hope to get a hearing from federal
authorities on both sides of the border," she said.

Attorney Malissa McKeith of Los Angeles-based Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard
& Smith was less sanguine.

"The International Boundary and Water Commission is the same
nontransparent, antiquated process that brought us the All-American
[Canal] lining project," she told BNA Aug. 15. "Since Congress has
blocked the rights of private citizens to the courts, Mexico has no
choice but to accept whatever crumbs the U.S. offers."

McKeith represented a Mexicali, Mexico, commercial group in an
unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to block the lining of the All-American
Canal, which runs along the border on the U.S. side (69 DEN A-3,
4/11/07).

The lawsuit claimed the loss of escaped water from the earthen canal
seeping into Mexican aquifers would affect agricultural commerce and
environmental stability alike in that country.

In 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a
request for an injunction on the project (Consejo de Desarollo Economico
de Mexicali v. Norton, 9th Cir., No. 06-16345, injunction 8/24/06).

But the disposition of the case was altered when President Bush signed a
tax bill (H.R. 6111) with a provision requiring the project to proceed,
"notwithstanding any provision of law" (246 DEN A-5, 12/22/-06).

Think Tank, Not Wildly Optimistic.

Michael Cohern, senior research associate with the Oakland, Calif.-based
think tank Pacific Institute, said the group "welcomes the focus on the
Colorado River, Mexico, and the river's delta but is not wildly optimistic."

He said the planned discussions provide an opportunity for the
consideration of the "intentionally created surplus" concept, which is
part of the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages
and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and Mead currently under
review by the Bureau of Reclamation.

"It allows Las Vegas, which has no shortage of money, to invest in
efficiency improvements in Mexico in exchange for increased water
deliveries," he explained. "We'd like to see it expanded to Mexico and to nongovernmental organizations."

The expansion, he said might permit a nongovernmental organization to
make a conservation investment in exchange for water that could then be
dedicated to the river delta's benefit or give Mexico storage rights in Lake Mead, given its lack of surface water storage capacity.

"That's a reasonable expectation to have from this initiative," he said, although familiar national obstacles must still be overcome such as the Mexican perception "that rich U.S. interests are coming in and buying up all their water."

By Stephen Siciliano