(The Center Square) - Nevada sued the Trump administration Monday over its two-year plan to reduce water usage from the Colorado River.
The move comes after the U.S. Department of Interior announced on Friday that Nevada, California and Arizona would be expected to make up all of a 2.5 million acre-feet water usage reduction from the Colorado River over the next two years. No cuts are being imposed on the four other Colorado River states: Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.
“This isn’t about political posturing; this is a matter of survival for a community that represents about two-thirds of our state’s citizens and the lion’s share of its economy,” Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
Lombardo and his staff weren't available Monday for an interview.
Nevada’s lawsuit comes in reaction to the Department of Interior’s much-anticipated Record of Decision from Friday, which outlined the next two years of water management on the Colorado River.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in the Nevada U.S. District Court. It asked the courts to pause the water cuts put into place by the Record of Decision until, “numerous legal and technical shortcomings are resolved,” such as an economic review of the water cuts’ impact on the Southern Nevada economy.
“I’ve spent over 25 years negotiating on the Colorado River – with one of the main goals being to stay out of court,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Nevada’s lead negotiator for the Colorado River since 2014,
Environmental advocates have previously called a legal battle over the Colorado River negotiations a lose-lose situation for all parties involved.
But Entsminger told The Center Square that several parties had pointed out a lack of economic reviews in the Interior’s Record of Decision. He noted Nevada had told the Department of Interior it had serious problems with the plan prior to their lawsuit.
One of the biggest decisions from the Record of Decision was the demanded 1.25 million acre-feet in reduced water usage from the Colorado River per year for both 2027 and 2028, with all of the reductions to come from Arizona, California and Nevada – known as the Colorado River’s Lower Basin.
The three states would also be expected to voluntarily store an additional 700,000 acre-feet of water over the two years to help protect the region’s vulnerable dam system. Additionally, further water cuts could be required if water levels are too low to operate basic dam functions.
The decision partially copies a proposal by the Lower Basin states from earlier in the year to make up the necessary water cuts, but does not include any cuts from the Upper Basin states, while adding the dam storage requirements.
Entsminger said that Southern Nevada could lose up to 71% of its Colorado River allocation under the Record of Decision guidelines. “There would be a lot of health and human safety concerns.”
Across the Colorado River Basin, the Department of Interior plan received mixed reactions from the seven Colorado River states that rely on the water source. The four Upper Basin states, spared from any water cuts, celebrated the announcement.
In California, the Colorado River Board of California Chairman JB Hamby called the Record of Decision, “some badly needed near-term certainty at a moment of extraordinary risk,” in a statement. The Colorado River Board of California did not respond to questions from The Center Square on Nevada’s lawsuit, but said in its Record of Decision statement that the Upper Basin states needed to shoulder more of the water cuts weights.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources similarly applauded the decision for creating an immediate plan amid the river’s uncertainty, while also calling for greater sacrifices from the Upper Basin states.
In response to questions from The Center Square on Nevada’s lawsuit, ADWR Spokesperson Shauna Evans said the state was evaluating their next actions.
“In fairness, people are probably digesting a pretty significant decision,” Entsminger said of the other Colorado Basin state’s lack of statements since Nevada’s lawsuit. He said he did not reach out to any of the other states to give warning of the lawsuit, but did reach out immediately after it was filed.
Nevada’s statement said there was still no hearing scheduled for the lawsuit, and Entsminger refused to give a timeline.
“Things like this can take a long time, and things like this can wrap up pretty quickly,” he said.
Despite the lawsuit, Entsminger said Nevada was still open to a solution outside of the courtroom. “If people of good will get back to the negotiation process, we’re happy to meet them.”
The Department of Interior refused to comment for this story because of the pending litigation.
