Colorado lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to offer payments to Native American tribes that are unable to use their full share of the Colorado River, arguing the groups should be compensated for reducing pressure on the drought-stricken waterway.
Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, along with Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, issued the plea Monday in a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation.
“We strongly encourage you to explore other avenues for Colorado’s Tribal Nations to pursue funding related to drought response, recognizing that they are currently forgoing their water use not by choice, but resulting from a history of inequity reflected in their long-term lack of infrastructure,” the elected officials wrote.
Both the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe had planned to seek federal funding — a portion of the $4 billion Congress designated for drought mitigation efforts in the Inflation Reduction Act — for forgoing the use of rights to the Colorado River the tribes claim under a 1988 settlement.
