WEATHER CYCLES
The United States Geological Survey Earth Surface Dynamics Program has published a draft fact sheet on their analysis of the “Precipitation History of the Colorado Plateau Region, 1900-2000.” They conclude that there is evidence we are entering into another drought cycle as of 1998 similar to that which affected the southwest from 1942-1977, a 35-year drought. Temperature changes in ocean areas which correlate with precipitation in the southwest suggest that we will receive less total precipitation as snow, and a larger percentage of precipitation in extreme weather events.
The short-term cycle has a period of 4 to 7 years, in association with the Southern [Pacific] Oscillation Index (SOI), referred to as El Nino (warm surface water) and La Nina (cold surface water) in the southern Pacific between Indonesia and Peru. The long-term cycle, across many decades, is called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
Changes in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) trigger sharp transitions from one climate regime to another on the Colorado Plateau. These regimes last 2-3 decades. In this century, we had a wet regime from 1900-1941, a drought from 1942-1977, and a wet regime from 1978 – 1998, all in phase with PDO indices. The PDO and SOI interact. Cool phases of the PDO are associated with the droughts, while warm phases are associated with wet periods. The PDO began a marked downward shift in 1999, the beginning of our current severe drought. The report concludes: “Recent trends in southwest precipitation and the PDO suggest that climate of the region may become drier for the next 2-3 decades in a pattern that could resemble the drought of 1942-1977. <http://wa.water.usgs.gov/news/news.wri024176.html>
DROUGHT, CONSERVATION WILL REQUIRE PERMANENT LIFESTYLE CHANGES IN COLORADO
Below-average snowfall so far this winter offers no reprieve to take the edge off Colorado’s drought, and across the West, all those newcomers must accept that conservation measures are here to stay. USA Today; Dec. 19 <http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20021219/4713977s.htm> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6132>
COLORADO FIRM WOULD HAUL WATER FROM NEBRASKA ON TRAINS
A Colorado company wants permission to pump ground water from western Nebraska and haul it to drought-stricken Front Range cities on million-gallon trains. Denver Post; Dec. 19 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5997>
COLORADO WATER FIGHT MAY GO FROM COURT TO LEGISLATURE
One of Colorado’s most powerful lawmakers promised to intervene to keep thousands of irrigation wells operating near Greeley in an escalating water war between farmers and cities. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Dec. 31 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6131>
DROUGHT RESPONSE
In an effort to improve winter flows in the Fraser River in Grand County, the Denver Water Board has leased 1,400 af from the Climax Molybdenum Company, a subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corp, that the company has in storage. This water is to be released to Dillon Reservoir to replace inflows that Denver Water would have otherwise collected from the Fraser River Basin. The Colorado River Water Conservation District helped to facilitate this arrangement.
In another effort to relieve some of the drought impacts in the Gunnison River, the River District negotiated an arrangement with the Redlands Water and Power Co. to forego generating power this winter to allow all of the reservoirs in the basin to fill. By paying Redlands $75,000 to replace their lost power, Redlands has agreed to keep their “call” off the river through March, 2003.
WESTERN COLORADO LAWMAKERS BRACE FOR SLEW OF WATER BILLS
Legislators in Colorado’s Western Slope expect to spend considerable time next year wading through water bills, especially those with a Front Range agenda, in hopes of dealing with the drought. Boulder Daily Camera (AP); Dec. 17 <http://www2.dailycamera.com/bdc/state_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2419_1614971,00.html>
MASSIVE COLORADO WATER PROJECT COULD SPAWN MORE MODEST OPTIONS
A study of Colorado’s $5 billion “Big Straw” project to siphon Colorado River water back over the divide before it crosses into Utah would also examine other options for capturing unused water, according to panelists. Grand Junction Sentinel; Dec. 11 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5860>
NEW MEXICO PLANS TO BUY PECOS FARMLAND, SEND WATER TO TEXAS
New Mexico officials hope to buy 18,000 acres of farmland with water rights along the Pecos River, and let the water flow into Texas to satisfy the delivery obligation. Santa Fe New Mexican; Dec. 20 <http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6454837&BRD=2144&PAG=461&dept_id=367954&rfi=6>
MINNOWS RELEASED
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has released over 41,000 captive-raised silvery minnows into the Rio Grande north of Albuquerque to “test whether the fish can survive in that part of the rivers” says the El Paso Times, AP 12/11. Most of the highly endangered minnows left in the wild live in the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque. The released minnows came from eggs taken from the river in May.
OFFICIALS TO REMOVE 30,000 TROUT FROM GRAND CANYON
Scientists intend to improve habitat for endangered native fish in the Grand Canyon by capturing and killing 30,000 brown and rainbow trout. First, the government will try to disrupt spawning by varying water levels but most trout “will be captured and euthanized, their remains used by the Hualapai Tribe as garden fertilizer.” Removing the non-native trout is part of two-year experiment to “restore some of the natural conditions” disrupted by construction of the Glen Canyon Dam three decades ago. Arizona Republic; 12/13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5898>
INTERIOR’S CALLOUSNESS ON BLACK MESA THREATENS HOPI, NAVAJO CULTURE
The Department of Interior is relying on old data and shallow reasoning in allowing Peabody Coal Co. to continue to pump water from beneath Arizona’s Black Mesa. [A column by the executive director of Black Mesa Trust and former Hopi tribal chairman.] Arizona Republic; <1/2 http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6158>
INTERIOR CUTS WATER DELIVERY TO CALIFORNIA/DEADLINE MISSED
After initially rejecting the transfer of 200,000 af of water from Imperial Irrigation District (IID) to San Diego County, the IID Board finally agreed to the transfer for $258/af only after Gov. Davis offered another $350 million in additional assurances. [It is the largest-ever farm-to-city water sale.] The state offered $150 million in loan guarantees to protect farmers who invest in conservation systems from losses if the water transfer contract is terminated later. Another $200 million was pledged to help Imperial mitigate any harm the transfer inflicts on the Salton Sea. In another significant concession, the 75-year water transfer contract between the San Diego water authority and Imperial was restructured so that it could be terminated by either party in 45 years.
These last minute changes convinced two other parties to the transfer agreement who had already approved of the terms of the transfer, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and Choachella ID, to back out of the deal. The sale is a critical component of the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) required to be executed by CA by the Interim Surplus Criteria (ISC). The ICS gives CA a “soft landing” of 15 years to reduce its use of the Colorado River from 5.2 maf to its allocation of 4.4 maf.
At a water users conference in Las Vegas last month, Sec. of Interior Gale Norton said California would be held to the limit of 4.4 million af annually without the QSA. Without an agreement, she said, the surplus supplies will be cut off immediately, with the 15-year transition period eliminated and a “hard landing” for the state resulting. If an agreement can be pieced back together, surplus deliveries can resume.
Despite the cuts in Colorado River water, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said it has enough water for about two years to meet the water needs of the 17 million people — about half the state population — it serves. Backup plans include tapping state reservoirs and short-term water purchases from Sacramento Valley rice farmers. Longer term, the water agency will increase conservation efforts, increase water storage capacity, and begin generating drinking water from desalination plants.
Using strict interpretation of the “Law of the River,” Reclamation is decreasing water deliveries to the IID by 205,000 af, considered waste, and decreasing deliveries to MWD by 415,000 af. IID has expressed its intent to challenge Reclamation’s arbitrary reduction of deliveries as a taking of their water rights.
NEVADA CAN’T USE EXCESS COLORADO RIVER WATER, EITHER
Nevada will lose 11 percent of its water from the Colorado River because California water officials failed to meet a Jan. 1 deadline to sign a deal to cut their take. NY Times; 1/2 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6146>
ESA AT CENTER OF CA WATER DILEMMA
The Salton Sea and a possible Endangered Species Act (ESA) exemption are in the middle of a stand-off between Imperial County irrigators, the U.S. Interior Department and Southern California water districts that could result in the cuts to amount of Colorado River water the state takes, says SF Gate, AP 12/18. The irrigators are refusing to sell part of their water allotment to reduce the state’s water needs, in part because of fears that they will be blamed for harming endangered bird species in the Salton Sea. The sea depends on farm runoff to keep the lake from becoming too saline to support fish and the 4 million migratory birds that use it as a stop over. The irrigators are asking for an ESA exemption as one of the conditions for signing the deal, “thus linking the fate of the Salton Sea to the future of California’s water supply.” [The cutbacks of water delivered to IID will mean 68,000 af less water reaching the Salton Sea.]
CA WATER TRANSFER APPLICATION WITHDRAWN
On Dec. 13, Alaska Water Exports (AWE) withdrew its application with the State Water Resources Control Board for permits to take water at the mouth of the Albion and Gualala Rivers for export to San Diego. The state’s Coastal Commission voted unanimously that the project would also require their permit, and further directed staff to file an official protest, including an analysis of international trade agreements and the application of public trust doctrines. <http://www.citizen.org/>
STUDY RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENO PLAN TO CUT DROUGHT RESERVES
A new study on global warming says water supplies could shrink in the West, casting doubts on Reno’s plan to cut drought reserves to supply water to new subdivisions. Reno Gazette-Journal; Dec. 4 <http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2002/12/03/29339.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News>
RENO-AREA GROWTH COULD DRAW ON DISTANT WATER, STUDY SAYS
A new study again recommends a controversial plan to pipe water from a lake on the California border to supply growth near Reno. Reno Gazette-Journal; Dec. 4 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5752>
IRRIGATORS WANT DELTA SMELT DELISTED
Several water authorities in California’s Central Valley are going to court to remove federal ESA protection from the Delta smelt which they maintain “slows and curtails some water deliveries to farmers” says the Contra Costa Times/Fresno Bee 12/5. The irrigators claim that the smelt, listed as a threatened species in 1993, has increased enough to warrant delisting but biologists counter that although ESA protection has aided the species’ recovery, “numbers barely met the federal government’s requirements” and that “delisting now may not be the best action.”
TRINITY RESTORATION REMAINS ON HOLD
A federal judge has ruled that diversion of nearly two-thirds of the water in northern California’s Trinity River can continue pending a new study on how restoring a small part of the flow would affect power generation and endangered species in the Sacramento River Delta, says the Eureka Times-Standard 12/13. While environmentalists, fishermen and the Hupa and Yurok tribes pushed for the restoration to aid depleted salmon and steelhead runs, the Westland Water District and a Sacramento utility fought to stop it. “Strangely, while Westlands wanted more study on the restoration’s effects on the endangered delta smelt, it also pushed to remove the fish from federal protection.”
MONTANA’S TIMING POOR FOR SETTING COALBED METHANE RULES
Ranchers and activists were anxious to see Montana officials adopt numeric water quality standards for rivers affected by coalbed methane drilling. Instead, the environmental officials deferred any standards on wastewater from coalbed methane wells until spring, but the BLM could make the process moot in the meantime. Great Falls Tribune;
12/11
<http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5853> <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2002/12/05/build/local/62-coalbed.inc>
EPA SAYS STUDY OF MILLTOWN DAM OPTIONS REVEALS NO FAVORITE
An EPA study shows that options to remove or modify Milltown Dam near Missoula, MT, are equally feasible, but the finding doesn’t consider cost or public opinion. Missoulian; Dec. 17 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5959>
NORTHERN IDAHO AQUIFER MORATORIUM REJECTED
Idaho officials rejected a moratorium on new permits to withdraw water from the Spokane aquifer but will instead develop a new management plan for the aquifer. Spokesman Review; Dec. 13
Western Water Report: January 4, 2003
Although portions of this report are used on occasion in Colorado Central Magazine, we do not publish the full report there, as we do on this website. It is prepared by Steve Glazer of Crested Butte and is distributed early each month via an email list. To subscribe to that list, email to <listserv@lists.sierraclub.org> with SUBSCRIBE RMC-CONS-WATER as the message.
Please note that this is an archive, and some links may no longer function.
WEATHER CYCLES
The United States Geological Survey Earth Surface Dynamics Program has published a draft fact sheet on their analysis of the “Precipitation History of the Colorado Plateau Region, 1900-2000.” They conclude that there is evidence we are entering into another drought cycle as of 1998 similar to that which affected the southwest from 1942-1977, a 35-year drought. Temperature changes in ocean areas which correlate with precipitation in the southwest suggest that we will receive less total precipitation as snow, and a larger percentage of precipitation in extreme weather events.
The short-term cycle has a period of 4 to 7 years, in association with the Southern [Pacific] Oscillation Index (SOI), referred to as El Nino (warm surface water) and La Nina (cold surface water) in the southern Pacific between Indonesia and Peru. The long-term cycle, across many decades, is called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
Changes in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) trigger sharp transitions from one climate regime to another on the Colorado Plateau. These regimes last 2-3 decades. In this century, we had a wet regime from 1900-1941, a drought from 1942-1977, and a wet regime from 1978 – 1998, all in phase with PDO indices. The PDO and SOI interact. Cool phases of the PDO are associated with the droughts, while warm phases are associated with wet periods. The PDO began a marked downward shift in 1999, the beginning of our current severe drought. The report concludes: “Recent trends in southwest precipitation and the PDO suggest that climate of the region may become drier for the next 2-3 decades in a pattern that could resemble the drought of 1942-1977. <http://wa.water.usgs.gov/news/news.wri024176.html>
DROUGHT, CONSERVATION WILL REQUIRE PERMANENT LIFESTYLE CHANGES IN COLORADO
Below-average snowfall so far this winter offers no reprieve to take the edge off Colorado’s drought, and across the West, all those newcomers must accept that conservation measures are here to stay. USA Today; Dec. 19 <http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20021219/4713977s.htm> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6132>
COLORADO FIRM WOULD HAUL WATER FROM NEBRASKA ON TRAINS
A Colorado company wants permission to pump ground water from western Nebraska and haul it to drought-stricken Front Range cities on million-gallon trains. Denver Post; Dec. 19 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5997>
COLORADO WATER FIGHT MAY GO FROM COURT TO LEGISLATURE
One of Colorado’s most powerful lawmakers promised to intervene to keep thousands of irrigation wells operating near Greeley in an escalating water war between farmers and cities. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Dec. 31 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6131>
DROUGHT RESPONSE
In an effort to improve winter flows in the Fraser River in Grand County, the Denver Water Board has leased 1,400 af from the Climax Molybdenum Company, a subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corp, that the company has in storage. This water is to be released to Dillon Reservoir to replace inflows that Denver Water would have otherwise collected from the Fraser River Basin. The Colorado River Water Conservation District helped to facilitate this arrangement.
In another effort to relieve some of the drought impacts in the Gunnison River, the River District negotiated an arrangement with the Redlands Water and Power Co. to forego generating power this winter to allow all of the reservoirs in the basin to fill. By paying Redlands $75,000 to replace their lost power, Redlands has agreed to keep their “call” off the river through March, 2003.
WESTERN COLORADO LAWMAKERS BRACE FOR SLEW OF WATER BILLS
Legislators in Colorado’s Western Slope expect to spend considerable time next year wading through water bills, especially those with a Front Range agenda, in hopes of dealing with the drought. Boulder Daily Camera (AP); Dec. 17 <http://www2.dailycamera.com/bdc/state_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2419_1614971,00.html>
MASSIVE COLORADO WATER PROJECT COULD SPAWN MORE MODEST OPTIONS
A study of Colorado’s $5 billion “Big Straw” project to siphon Colorado River water back over the divide before it crosses into Utah would also examine other options for capturing unused water, according to panelists. Grand Junction Sentinel; Dec. 11 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5860>
NEW MEXICO PLANS TO BUY PECOS FARMLAND, SEND WATER TO TEXAS
New Mexico officials hope to buy 18,000 acres of farmland with water rights along the Pecos River, and let the water flow into Texas to satisfy the delivery obligation. Santa Fe New Mexican; Dec. 20 <http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6454837&BRD=2144&PAG=461&dept_id=367954&rfi=6>
MINNOWS RELEASED
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has released over 41,000 captive-raised silvery minnows into the Rio Grande north of Albuquerque to “test whether the fish can survive in that part of the rivers” says the El Paso Times, AP 12/11. Most of the highly endangered minnows left in the wild live in the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque. The released minnows came from eggs taken from the river in May.
OFFICIALS TO REMOVE 30,000 TROUT FROM GRAND CANYON
Scientists intend to improve habitat for endangered native fish in the Grand Canyon by capturing and killing 30,000 brown and rainbow trout. First, the government will try to disrupt spawning by varying water levels but most trout “will be captured and euthanized, their remains used by the Hualapai Tribe as garden fertilizer.” Removing the non-native trout is part of two-year experiment to “restore some of the natural conditions” disrupted by construction of the Glen Canyon Dam three decades ago. Arizona Republic; 12/13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5898>
INTERIOR’S CALLOUSNESS ON BLACK MESA THREATENS HOPI, NAVAJO CULTURE
The Department of Interior is relying on old data and shallow reasoning in allowing Peabody Coal Co. to continue to pump water from beneath Arizona’s Black Mesa. [A column by the executive director of Black Mesa Trust and former Hopi tribal chairman.] Arizona Republic; <1/2 http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6158>
INTERIOR CUTS WATER DELIVERY TO CALIFORNIA/DEADLINE MISSED
After initially rejecting the transfer of 200,000 af of water from Imperial Irrigation District (IID) to San Diego County, the IID Board finally agreed to the transfer for $258/af only after Gov. Davis offered another $350 million in additional assurances. [It is the largest-ever farm-to-city water sale.] The state offered $150 million in loan guarantees to protect farmers who invest in conservation systems from losses if the water transfer contract is terminated later. Another $200 million was pledged to help Imperial mitigate any harm the transfer inflicts on the Salton Sea. In another significant concession, the 75-year water transfer contract between the San Diego water authority and Imperial was restructured so that it could be terminated by either party in 45 years.
These last minute changes convinced two other parties to the transfer agreement who had already approved of the terms of the transfer, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and Choachella ID, to back out of the deal. The sale is a critical component of the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) required to be executed by CA by the Interim Surplus Criteria (ISC). The ICS gives CA a “soft landing” of 15 years to reduce its use of the Colorado River from 5.2 maf to its allocation of 4.4 maf.
At a water users conference in Las Vegas last month, Sec. of Interior Gale Norton said California would be held to the limit of 4.4 million af annually without the QSA. Without an agreement, she said, the surplus supplies will be cut off immediately, with the 15-year transition period eliminated and a “hard landing” for the state resulting. If an agreement can be pieced back together, surplus deliveries can resume.
Despite the cuts in Colorado River water, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said it has enough water for about two years to meet the water needs of the 17 million people — about half the state population — it serves. Backup plans include tapping state reservoirs and short-term water purchases from Sacramento Valley rice farmers. Longer term, the water agency will increase conservation efforts, increase water storage capacity, and begin generating drinking water from desalination plants.
Using strict interpretation of the “Law of the River,” Reclamation is decreasing water deliveries to the IID by 205,000 af, considered waste, and decreasing deliveries to MWD by 415,000 af. IID has expressed its intent to challenge Reclamation’s arbitrary reduction of deliveries as a taking of their water rights.
NEVADA CAN’T USE EXCESS COLORADO RIVER WATER, EITHER
Nevada will lose 11 percent of its water from the Colorado River because California water officials failed to meet a Jan. 1 deadline to sign a deal to cut their take. NY Times; 1/2 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=6146>
ESA AT CENTER OF CA WATER DILEMMA
The Salton Sea and a possible Endangered Species Act (ESA) exemption are in the middle of a stand-off between Imperial County irrigators, the U.S. Interior Department and Southern California water districts that could result in the cuts to amount of Colorado River water the state takes, says SF Gate, AP 12/18. The irrigators are refusing to sell part of their water allotment to reduce the state’s water needs, in part because of fears that they will be blamed for harming endangered bird species in the Salton Sea. The sea depends on farm runoff to keep the lake from becoming too saline to support fish and the 4 million migratory birds that use it as a stop over. The irrigators are asking for an ESA exemption as one of the conditions for signing the deal, “thus linking the fate of the Salton Sea to the future of California’s water supply.” [The cutbacks of water delivered to IID will mean 68,000 af less water reaching the Salton Sea.]
CA WATER TRANSFER APPLICATION WITHDRAWN
On Dec. 13, Alaska Water Exports (AWE) withdrew its application with the State Water Resources Control Board for permits to take water at the mouth of the Albion and Gualala Rivers for export to San Diego. The state’s Coastal Commission voted unanimously that the project would also require their permit, and further directed staff to file an official protest, including an analysis of international trade agreements and the application of public trust doctrines. <http://www.citizen.org/>
STUDY RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENO PLAN TO CUT DROUGHT RESERVES
A new study on global warming says water supplies could shrink in the West, casting doubts on Reno’s plan to cut drought reserves to supply water to new subdivisions. Reno Gazette-Journal; Dec. 4 <http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2002/12/03/29339.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News>
RENO-AREA GROWTH COULD DRAW ON DISTANT WATER, STUDY SAYS
A new study again recommends a controversial plan to pipe water from a lake on the California border to supply growth near Reno. Reno Gazette-Journal; Dec. 4 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5752>
IRRIGATORS WANT DELTA SMELT DELISTED
Several water authorities in California’s Central Valley are going to court to remove federal ESA protection from the Delta smelt which they maintain “slows and curtails some water deliveries to farmers” says the Contra Costa Times/Fresno Bee 12/5. The irrigators claim that the smelt, listed as a threatened species in 1993, has increased enough to warrant delisting but biologists counter that although ESA protection has aided the species’ recovery, “numbers barely met the federal government’s requirements” and that “delisting now may not be the best action.”
TRINITY RESTORATION REMAINS ON HOLD
A federal judge has ruled that diversion of nearly two-thirds of the water in northern California’s Trinity River can continue pending a new study on how restoring a small part of the flow would affect power generation and endangered species in the Sacramento River Delta, says the Eureka Times-Standard 12/13. While environmentalists, fishermen and the Hupa and Yurok tribes pushed for the restoration to aid depleted salmon and steelhead runs, the Westland Water District and a Sacramento utility fought to stop it. “Strangely, while Westlands wanted more study on the restoration’s effects on the endangered delta smelt, it also pushed to remove the fish from federal protection.”
MONTANA’S TIMING POOR FOR SETTING COALBED METHANE RULES
Ranchers and activists were anxious to see Montana officials adopt numeric water quality standards for rivers affected by coalbed methane drilling. Instead, the environmental officials deferred any standards on wastewater from coalbed methane wells until spring, but the BLM could make the process moot in the meantime. Great Falls Tribune;
12/11
<http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5853> <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2002/12/05/build/local/62-coalbed.inc>
EPA SAYS STUDY OF MILLTOWN DAM OPTIONS REVEALS NO FAVORITE
An EPA study shows that options to remove or modify Milltown Dam near Missoula, MT, are equally feasible, but the finding doesn’t consider cost or public opinion. Missoulian; Dec. 17 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=5959>
NORTHERN IDAHO AQUIFER MORATORIUM REJECTED
Idaho officials rejected a moratorium on new permits to withdraw water from the Spokane aquifer but will instead develop a new management plan for the aquifer. Spokesman Review; Dec. 13