By Rachel Becker, CalMatters
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Top California officials traveled to Washington D.C., summoned by the Trump administration for a Friday meeting as a standoff over the Colorado River’s water supplies continues amid alarmingly dry conditions.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum called in the governors from the seven Colorado River basin states in an unprecedented move to referee fraught negotiations about how to portion out the river’s overtapped supply.
The stakes are high, as California, Arizona, and Nevada in the lower basin clash with Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico upstream over how to govern the river after this year, when the current agreements end.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was the only governor absent from the meeting, “due to a longstanding prior family commitment, which was communicated to Interior staff, with alternative dates made available for the meeting,” said Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for the governor. Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot spoke for California at the negotiating table.
Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, offered CalMatters an insider’s look as a member of the state’s contingent.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
What happened at negotiations Friday? Who hosted the meeting, and who was there?
It was a two-hour meeting hosted by the secretary of the interior and his top deputies. And the top deputies have been with the seven basin states in various negotiation settings, really, since this federal administration took office. The secretary just impressed upon us how important it is to get something done, and they were very interested in understanding our feedback on the various (federal) alternatives … and just get that direct communication going one on one with the governor. So we’re very grateful that they did that.
Negotiators have been at it for a while. And it’s not uncommon that when you get closer to a deadline that a little bit of pressure to speak with more clarity about your interests is pretty important.
Calling in the governors is a major shift in negotiations that, so far, have been the territory of people deep in the weeds of water management. What do you think is behind the change?
It is my understanding this may be the first time governors have been all in a room with the secretary on issues related to the Colorado.
Everybody has a common interest in having a system that’s more predictable into the future, and that is forcing everyone to really take a hard look at the hydrology. From the California perspective, more talking at multiple levels is better. It’s going to be necessary, given the need to come to an agreement.
Did you hear anything new today?
Not particularly. We are really, really glad and encouraged by the secretary’s direct engagement. Water is the life blood for California. And so an opportunity for California to describe that to the other governors was really important, so we understand where each other’s coming from.
Did the governor give you and Secretary Crowfoot any special instructions as you headed to Washington?
“Roll up your sleeves. Be solutions oriented.”
What did you say at the meeting? Or what did Secretary Crowfoot say about California’s position?
It was less about position and more about reiterating our commitment to a negotiated outcome and really an open hand with everybody amongst our lower basin and upper basin colleagues.
What does that mean?
You know, a lot of listening.
So not much said about what California would like to see out of a deal?
Not anything that we haven’t said before through our negotiators. We have a proposal on the table. We are wanting to engage directly with the upper basin states to narrow the issues and come to resolution.
What were the sticking points?
I wouldn’t say we plowed any new ground as to the sticking points. I think there was real value in having them articulated from California’s perspective.
Since the beginning of the Colorado River talks, Gov. Newsom has been pretty quiet. He hasn’t said much — I don’t think he’s said anything. Is that a strategy?
We have a lot of faith in our negotiators in the Colorado River board and all of our individual water rights holders in California. As time has progressed, the intensity of the hydrology is clearly creating more friction. And so that’s made this process a little different from previous processes. The governor very much welcomed the secretary’s entreaty to engage the governors directly. Depending on the progress that we make, I would imagine that our governor would have more to say in the future.
Was there any tension, given Gov. Newsom and President Trump’s history of antagonism?
No, when push comes to shove on these important issues, we roll up our sleeves and seek to find agreement amongst the other states.
Will this meeting change anything?
I hope so. We had optimism coming out of the meeting. Solid progress. Very worth our while, and we were grateful to the Secretary for bringing us all to Washington.
There’s a Valentine’s Day deadline for the states to reach a deal. Do you think the states will meet it?
I imagine people are pretty busy. That’s our intent, is to meet it.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
