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Committee advances voluntary Colorado River conservation program, funds two staff
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee voted to pass Senate File 84, a voluntary water‑conservation program for Wyoming’s portion of the Colorado River Basin that authorizes two state engineer positions to administer applications and monitoring. The committee recorded a 7‑0 roll call.
The House Appropriations Committee on Monday voted to advance Senate File 84, a bill to create a voluntary water‑conservation program for Wyoming’s portion of the Colorado River Basin and to fund two full‑time staff to run it.
The bill’s presenter summarized the measure as one that “creates a voluntary water conservation program for water users in Wyoming's portion of the Colorado River Basin,” allowing water‑right holders "to temporarily reduce consumptive use without risking abandonment" while requiring state engineer approval and prohibiting injury to other water rights. Participation is limited to five consecutive years, after which water rights return to full use.
Brandon Gebhardt, the Wyoming state engineer, told the committee the office is requesting two positions tied to the bill: one based in Cheyenne and one in Division 4, the southwestern portion of the state, to stand up the program, perform injury analyses and verify notices. He said the work will include “a lot of analysis” and tracking small projects across a roughly 300‑mile basin. On funding, the state engineer said, “It's $510,000 for the biennium. And that is coming out of general fund. And uh that splits out to $255,000 per year.”
Committee members pressed for fiscal details and estimates of application volume; the state engineer said the program might begin with a smaller number of applications and that experience from a prior System Conservation Pilot suggested about 25 applications per year for that simpler program, though he cautioned the injury analyses for this program would be more complex.
Witnesses from the mining and agricultural sectors supported the bill during public comment. Travis D. Tie of the Wyoming Mining Association and Craig Ruud of We Soda emphasized the importance of water to trona and soda‑ash production, and Jim McGagna of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association said the voluntary approach could preserve agricultural lands while protecting downstream rights through robust notification and complaint mechanisms.
Representative Haroldson moved the measure, seconded by Representative Sherwood. The committee approved the bill on a roll call vote reported as seven aye, zero no.
The committee will forward the bill as recommended; no further amendments were adopted in this floor of discussion.
