Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives acted on legislation that should bring a sigh of relief to multiple Wyoming residents. This effort capped a bicameral effort by Senator Craig Thomas and Representative Barbara Cubin to extend storage contracts between irrigators in Wyoming and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for Glendo Reservoir water.
"I am very pleased Congress was able to act on legislation to extend these contracts before they were set to expire on May 1st," said Representative Cubin. "People depend on having water from the Glendo Reservoir to make their livelihood. It would have been a disaster for these folks if the contracts had not been extended."
Thomas said, "With the upcoming summer months waiting in the wings, people in Southeastern Wyoming, especially our farmers and ranchers, need to be secure in knowing that the necessary water is available. Drought has plagued our state in recent years, and the failure of this bill might have been a man-made drought. It's a relief that it has passed and the people who depend on the water can get along with their business.
"I was pleased to join with Sen. Thomas and Representative Cubin as a cosponsor of this bill. It's important to protect endangered species, but we need to do it without endangering the livelihood of the Wyoming residents who need this water," said U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi.
In 2005, Thomas and Cubin introduced identical bills to extend the existing Glendo water contracts until December 31, 2007. Currently, Glendo is among seven Bureau of Reclamation dams on the North Platte River being considered for critical habitat designation related to threatened and endangered species.
Glendo water contract renewals have been delayed due to these ongoing endangered species evaluations.
"While this is only a temporary fix, it bides us some time to work together and get a comprehensive, permanent fix in place. I will continue to work with Rep. Cubin and others to ensure that our Wyoming producers aren't hung out to dry," Thomas said.
However, legislation approved by the House yesterday will extend contracts for two years, providing continued water service while the environmental regulatory process is completed.
"By extending the contracts until the end of 2007, users will also have time to negotiate new water service or repayment contracts if that's necessary," said Cubin. "As Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado work to finalize a cooperative agreement on species recovery, we had to ensure Wyoming water users will not go without water service."
S. 592, The Glendo Unit of the Missouri River Basin Extension Act, which passed the Senate last November, passed the House by voice vote on April 25, 2006. The bill will now be handed over to the President to be signed into law.
