New US plan could lead to federal action on Colorado River

By FELICIA FONSECA and KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Interior Department announced Friday that it will consider revising a set of guidelines for operating two major dams on the Colorado River. It’s the first sign of what could lead to federal action to protect the once-massive but shrinking reservoirs behind them. The public has until Dec. 20 to weigh in on three options to keep Lake Mead and Lake Powell from dropping so low they couldn’t produce power or be a reliable water source for several Western states, tribes and Mexico. One option would allow the federal government to take unilateral action, as it threatened this summer when it asked states to drastically cut their use. The states haven’t come up with a plan.