Western states oppose plan to charge for US reservoir water

By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Attorneys general from a dozen western states want the Trump administration to halt a proposal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that could allow the agency to charge for water drawn from reservoirs it manages.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says the Water Supply Rule proposed in the waning days of the Obama administration usurps states’ authority over their own water.

Stenehjem and attorneys general from Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming sent a letter Thursday to the Trump administration asking that the proposal be withdrawn.

Stenehjem says the proposed rule has “implications for all states” but would especially be harmful to the six reservoirs of the Upper Missouri River.