Reps. Biggs and Stanton say Colorado River states need drought mitigation funding now

Arizona Congressmen Andy Biggs and Greg Stanton joined forces this week to request the release of drought mitigation funding.

Congress set aside $4 billion in 2022 for drought mitigation efforts as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. But that funding is set to expire in September, and not all of it has been released.

Stanton said bureau leaders, including acting Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Scott Cameron, recently implied the funding is being held back to encourage the seven basin states that rely on the Colorado River to come to a water-sharing agreement.

“Reclamation leadership, in front of numerous congressional staff, indicated they want to use these resources as a carrot, if you will, to get an agreement done between the states,” Stanton said.

The basin states have not come to an agreement among themselves, and have blown past multiple deadlines to come up with a new water deal.

Biggs and Stanton sent a joint letter urging the Bureau of Reclamation and the executive branch’s Office of Management and Budget to spend the rest of the money now, to the tune of at least $500 million.

Stanton is a Democrat and Biggs is a Republican. By working together, Stanton said they want to make it clear that this is not a partisan issue, but something that the entire river basin desperately needs.

“We’re in a really difficult spot on the river. It's really been a bad year, so we need those resources now to get important projects that will help shore up the health of the river. We need to get those resources out now before the money runs out,” Stanton said.

He said he doesn’t know if other states are making similar demands, but said his and Biggs’ request isn’t just about Arizona.

“This is for the overall health of the river,” he said.

As far as what kinds of projects the money could fund, there are several. The lawmakers specifically referred to the inactive Yuma Desalting Plant in southern Arizona.

Biggs has mentioned before that he wants to get the plant up and running again to augment the state’s water supply, which could potentially offset Arizona’s reliance on the Colorado River.