House panels debate water storage, public land bills

A Natural Resources subcommittee hearing displayed persistent disagreements over how to manage water in the West.

House Natural Resources Committee lawmakers clashed Tuesday on how best to salvage dwindling water resources in the drought-stricken West. They also weighed a roster of public land bills.

During a hearing of the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, Republicans said the Biden administration is part of the problem on water storage.

A memo released by GOP leaders ahead of the hearing blamed the administration for “opposing some new storage or handcuffing new or expanded facilities with red tape.”

The memo cited several projects in California that would build or expand reservoirs or raise dams, including the Sites Reservoir and Shasta Dam.

But the top Democrat on the subcommittee, Jared Huffman of California, said that many Republican solutions — like wanting to build or expand dams but blaming environmental laws — are costly and are a "stubborn mythology."

“Attacking environmental laws may be great politics in some places, but it’s not a serious response to complex Western water challenges,” Huffman said.

He argued that "21st-century solutions" like groundwater storage, water reuse, recycling and even desalination are more cost-effective.

The hearing comes as the West is experiencing weather whiplash. Years of drought gave way this winter to a deluge of rain and snow in California, filling reservoirs and other storage facilities.

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By:  Jonathan Miller
Source: E&E Daily

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