SALT LAKE CITY — A legislative analysis presented to lawmakers on Tuesday recommended consolidating the Colorado River Authority of Utah under the umbrella of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
The entity was created four years ago by Governor Spencer Cox to advocate for Utah's interests when it comes to the Colorado River. During a budget analysis before the legislature's natural resources appropriations subcommittee, the recommendation to consolidate the agency into DNR was presented.
But after hearing from the Colorado River Authority of Utah's executive director, many lawmakers resisted the recommendation.
"Is Utah better off now on the Colorado River, than four years ago when the authority was created?" executive director Amy Haas told the committee.
"I'm going to answer that how I see it," replied Rep. Scott Chew, R-Jensen, the subcommittee's House chair. "Utah is, in my opinion, a leader in this discussion in what’s happening on the river."
Haas said she did not see a lot of duplication between the authority and sister agencies within the Department of Natural Resources. Instead, she told lawmakers, they operate within "discreet lanes in the water world."
"I think it’s totally appropriate they stay independent," said Sen. Scott Winterton, R-Roosevelt.
"They have too many agencies it it, anyway," Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, said of DNR. Of the authority, he added: "They've got a task to do. We want them to do the best they can."
But members of the subcommittee did express some heartburn over a program the Colorado River Authority of Utah is offering — paying farmers not to grow crops and instead send the water downstream. The budget analysis did recommend some better tracking to ensure they know where the saved water is going.
