Senate introduces voluntary Colorado River water conservation program with sunset
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Summary
Senate File 84, backed by the Select Water Committee and stakeholders, would establish a temporary voluntary water conservation program for the Colorado River Basin, preserve water rights with appeal processes and include a statutory sunset in 2032; the Senate referred the bill to agriculture after a 28–2 roll call.
Senators on Feb. 10 introduced Senate File 84, a bill that would create a temporary, voluntary water-conservation program aimed at addressing shortages in the Colorado River Basin.
Senator Bonner, who moved the bill's introduction, said the measure is the product of extensive interim work by the Select Water Committee and affected stakeholders and is designed to be voluntary, protect existing water rights and include an appeals process for the director's decisions. He told colleagues the program would include a sunset provision so “no additional projects will participate in this program after 2032.”
The bill’s sponsor framed voluntary participation as preferable to mandatory measures later, saying similar programs already exist in other states in the basin. Bonner also said the bill includes safeguards to ensure “neighbors are not negatively affected by anybody who is participating in the program.”
Senate leaders put the measure to an introductory roll-call vote; the clerk recorded 28 ayes, 2 no and 1 excused. The Senate referred SF84 to Committee Number 5 (Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources) for further consideration.
The bill’s immediate effect would be to authorize a temporary program and a framework for participation; the text referenced appeals of the director’s decisions and a sunset at 2032 but did not specify program funding or the number of projects that could participate. Further details, including eligibility, program rules and any funding mechanisms, are expected to be developed in committee.
The Senate will take up the measure in Committee Number 5, where committee members and affected stakeholders will have opportunities to examine operational details, including how the program would interact with existing water-rights law in Wyoming and interstate compact obligations tied to the Colorado River Basin.
