{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-neguse-colorado-delegation-announce-support-colorado-river-districts", "Rep. Neguse, Colorado Delegation Announce Support for Colorado River District\u2019s Application for Funding to Complete Shoshone Water Rights Purchase", "2024-10-07", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Joe Neguse", "N000191", "neguse.house.gov", "neguse", "https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Lafayette, CO \u2014 Today, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse joined Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and members of the state\u2019s congressional delegation in writing to the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) in support of the Colorado River Water Conservation District\u2019s (CRWCD) application for federal funding to purchase two of the oldest water rights on the Colorado River mainstem in Colorado, known as the Shoshone Permanency Project. The lawmakers offered their support as part of an ongoing BOR funding opportunity to provide environmental benefits in response to drought, which remains open for additional projects in Colorado and the rest of the Upper Colorado River Basin.\n\n\u201cThe Colorado River District\u2019s mission is to promote the protection, conservation, use, and development of the water resources of the Colorado River water basin for the welfare of the state of Colorado. Preserving the Colorado River\u2019s historical flow regime as intended by the Shoshone Permanency Project will benefit the Colorado River ecosystem every year, and especially in dry years,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nThe letter continues: \u201cThis strong show of funding reflects the local recognition of the Shoshone Water Rights\u2019 importance to the health of western Colorado\u2019s environment and local economies. We recognize the Shoshone Permanency Project\u2019s complex nature and ongoing technical review, but believe the opportunity to protect historical Colorado River flows deserves your attention.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the letter is available HERE.\n\n\u201cFor the future of water, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and our way of life on the Western Slope and for the entire state of Colorado, the time to permanently secure the Shoshone water rights is now. At the state legislature this year, we made a $20 million investment in this effort, our local partners have offered over $36 million and I am so grateful for our federal partners, Congressman Joe Neguse and Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, for doing everything they can to ensure the federal government becomes a key partner in this effort, \u201d said Dylan Roberts, State Senator, Chair of the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.\n\nThe 1902 Senior and the 1929 Junior Shoshone Water Rights currently held by Xcel Energy are used to generate power at the Shoshone Power Plant and then return it to the river. Communities across Western Colorado have already committed over $55 million, and are applying to BOR for funding from the Upper Colorado River Basin Environmental Drought Mitigation program to help complete the purchase and create stability for communities, water and recreational users, and the environment. The Upper Colorado River Basin Environmental Drought Mitigation program funding opportunity is open for application through November 22, 2024, and the lawmakers welcome other applicants to contact their offices on the opportunity to provide support.\n\nAs part of the Shoshone Permanency Project, CRWCD will seek a change in these rights to include an alternate beneficial use and preserve the historical flow regime. The state process for changing these decreed water rights is distinct from any federal funding review or outcome, and will proceed separately. As acknowledged in the letter, data collection and analysis related to the Shoshone water rights\u2019 historic use is ongoing and important to the state of Colorado\u2019s formal review.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-neguse-colorado-delegation-announce-support-colorado-river-districts"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.765560194849968, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}