Rio Grande Compact commission meets in El Paso Friday
Children scream with laughter as they play under the Picacho Avenue bridge while the Rio Grande slowly fills with water. Releases from Caballo Dam provide water during irrigation season. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM)
It’s that time of year again when Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and the federal government meet to discuss the Rio Grande.
This year, Texas takes its turn to host the meeting, which is being held at the Plaza Hotel in El Paso.
The Rio Grande Compact Commission includes Colorado State Engineer Kevin Rein, New Mexico Engineer Mike Hamman, Texas Commissioner Bobby Skov, and a non-voting member of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation who chairs the meeting.
Where to watch
The meeting will be available both in-person and online. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park, 106 W. Mills Ave El Paso, Texas. To watch online, join the Zoom meeting here or use the following: Meeting ID: 850 9376 4214 A copy of the agenda can be found here.
Passcode: 823246
The meeting opens this year with a very different Rio Grande. Unlike last spring, the river is not overflowing with a glut of surprise snowmelt. It’s also a strange start to the irrigation season which has already started for El Paso, but not yet for southern New Mexico farmers.
The meeting will include reports from each state on the condition of the river, and presentations from federal agencies on endangered species and construction projects.
Portions of the meeting will be dedicated to updating commissioners on current legal challenges on the river. The largest is the case before the U.S. Supreme Court trying to end a decade of litigation over the Rio Grande before Texas and New Mexico.
Lawyers for Texas and New Mexico presented their case in oral arguments in March, asking for the justices to accept a deal ending the dispute, over federal objections. That case is still awaiting an opinion from the high court, which is expected sometime in June.
A lawsuit filed in November 2022 over the federal government’s management of the river and its impact to the endangered silvery minnow will see more traction this year.
Conservation nonprofit WildEarth Guardians sued both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in federal district court.
In the complaint, WildEarth Guardians alleged a 2016 plan approved by the federal government allows river management that has “irreversible and irretrievable effects” on three endangered species. This includes the Rio Grande silvery minnow, the Southwestern willow flycatcher and the Yellow-billed cuckoo.
That case was on hold for settlement talks through March. According to an April 8 hearing, nearly a year of negotiations failed to bring together a deal. Another confidential mediation session is set for May, but if that falls through, court filings may begin anew in the case.
Last year, the Rio Grande Compact commission voted unanimously to direct its legal and engineering advisors to determine how six Pueblos in the Middle Rio Grande can address the commission.
This followed two years of public comment from a coalition of San Felipe, Santo Domingo, Cochiti, Santa Ana, Sandia and Isleta Pueblos calling for a “seat at the table” on river management, instead of being represented through the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
This year’s agenda does not list a specific item on that topic.
A copy of the engineer advisor’s report did not contain any additional information on future presentations from the Pueblos.
The post Rio Grande Compact commission meets in El Paso Friday appeared first on Source New Mexico.
