Wyoming Water: U.S. Rep. Hageman discusses policy, partnership at WWA annual conference
The Wyoming Water Association (WWA) held their annual meeting and conference at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Casper from Oct. 29-31.
The three-day conference was themed “Every Drop Counts: Policy, People and the Path Forward” and featured presentations from a variety of speakers, including U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) who delivered comments on water policy, infrastructure management and federal partnership during the final day of the conference.
Policy updates
To begin, Hageman touched on two relevant pieces of policy – the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act and House Joint (HJ) Resolution 104.
“Earlier this year, I introduced the Colorado Basin System Conservation Extension Act to reauthorize the system conservation program,” Hageman began.
The act extends the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s (BuREC) pilot projects to increase water levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin and Lake Mead due to drought conditions through Fiscal Year 2026.
According to Hageman, the legislation is not a cure to issues caused by ongoing drought in the Colorado River Basin area – which spans approximately 250,000 miles in parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – but a necessary step toward ensuring proper time to continue to allocate resources and navigate policy.
“While we still must find a long-term solution to the Colorado River situation, this program allows us much-needed time to do so,” Hageman emphasized. “By keeping this program wide, we are giving our producers, communities and states the tools to adapt and conserve without surrendering control.”
Hageman also discussed the “major victory” of HJ Resolution 104, which successfully overturned a resource management plan (RMP) proposed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 2024 that would have had a significant negative impact on coal mining in the Powder River Basin.
Although the resolution’s subject matter involved coal, Hageman argued relevance to water policy as it was the first time Congress has ever applied the Congressional Review Act (CRA) procedure to an RMP.
“Congress exercised its statutory authority under the CRA to disapprove this rule,” she explained. “By exercising this authority to block BLM from destroying our coal industry, we have now set this precedent for similar actions in the future – actions which may very well involve management of our water resources.”
For example, this process could be applied in the future should the U.S. Forest Service issue a damaging land management plan with the potential to cut off water supplies, Hageman explained.
Managing infrastructure
Hageman then focused her comments on infrastructure management, underscoring its vast importance to the future of water stewardship and usage in the West.
“Rivers, lakes, reservoirs, dams, canals, laterals, ditches and tunnels sustain and provide increasingly more valuable water resources to our citizens, our agricultural producers and our energy and manufacturing sectors in our small business communities,” Hageman remarked. “As we look to the future, modernizing our infrastructure must remain one of the highest priorities.”
Recalling her past experience working with the Casper Irrigation District and Shoshone Irrigation District, Hageman said the question of funding infrastructure is a constant topic of discussion.
She emphasized, even though this question can be daunting, weighing the impact of action or nonaction upon future generations must remain a priority.
“We have to think about what we leave for people 100 years from now,” Hageman argued. “What are we building, and what are we doing to maintain our infrastructure?”
Federal partnerships
Finally, Hageman offered perspective on utilizing the federal government as partners in securing infrastructure and working on water resource projects throughout the West.
“While I may challenge federal overreach, I also believe our federal government can be a positive partner for water resource projects,” Hageman commented, noting the positive work of the BuREC and effectiveness of the Reclamation Act in securing beneficial outcomes for water resource projects with the examples of the Pathfinder, Flaming Gorge and Buffalo Bill dams as positive instances of federally-assisted infrastructure.
“I would like to see the Reclamation Act dusted off and BuREC work with our states and local communities to build additional projects to meet our demand into the future – both here in Wyoming and elsewhere in the West,” Hageman continued.
In closing, Hageman reminded the audience about her ability as a member of Congress to submit community project funding requests on behalf of government or nonprofit entities, noting roughly $25 million has been approved for infrastructure projects in Wyoming this year.
Last year, Hageman’s team was able to secure nearly $3.5 million for the Bitter Creek Flood Control Restoration Project in Rock Springs. This project decreases flooding, provides recreational trail access, increases sustainable maintenance and restores the natural ecosystem.
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
