Hageman Introduces Bill to Protect the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Harriet Hageman introduced legislation that would require the Bureau of Reclamation to analyze the economic consequences of drawing from the customer-funded Basin Fund to implement the experimental actions called for in the July 2024 SEIS Record of Decision – which would result in Reclamation having to incorporate these costs into its annual budgeting.

Representative Hageman stated, “Once again, misguided policy is driving up the cost of energy for Western states – in this case for hydropower. There will be significant costs associated with cutting hydropower generation at Glen Canyon Dam to address smallmouth bass below the dam, to be paid for by utility customers. These costs are draining the customer-funded Basin Fund, from which operations, maintenance, and other expenses are paid, further exacerbating the challenge. Taxpayers are again left to pay for the consequences of unsound endangered species and climate policies.”

Background:

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Colorado River Long Term Experimental Management Plan SEIS Record of Decision (ROD) was signed on July 5, 2024, with Reclamation implementation beginning just 3 days later, on July 8.  The ROD calls for bypass flows at Glen Canyon Dam, meaning higher flows to combat the presence of predatory smallmouth bass that threaten the federally protected humpback chub. These higher flows bypass hydropower generators in order to cool the river temperature below the dam to attempt to disrupt smallmouth bass downstream.

The lost hydropower generation must be replaced with power purchased on the open market at expensive prices in the middle of summer peak electricity demand. The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) makes these purchases from the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund (Basin Fund), which is funded by power revenues; or, in other words, customer funded.

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Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director