Wyoming eyes voluntary Colorado River conservation; UCRC gets IRA funding

State Engineer Brandon Gebhardt told the committee that the Upper Colorado River Commission has received a notice of award for approximately $100,000,000 from the Inflation Reduction Act to help develop an upper-basin contribution and conservation program. The money is intended to support voluntary conservation and implementation agreements across the upper-basin states.

Gebhardt described two aims for Wyoming’s voluntary program: first, to provide a flexible, compensated tool that helps avoid mandatory and uncompensated water-use reductions (by court order or curtailment) and second, to preserve Wyoming’s senior irrigation uses by targeting reductions where they least harm senior rights. He said the state hopes to align the voluntary program with federal funding eligibility and the provisional-credit memorandum-of-understanding approach used previously with Reclamation.

He told legislators the UCRC and states are developing implementation agreements to define eligibility and what practices qualify for funding, and that Wyoming will continue public outreach and rule development before formal public notice and comment. Gebhardt stressed the program is intended to be voluntary and compensatory as a way to reduce the risk of litigation or congressional intervention.

The committee asked whether landowners or entities were already signing up; Gebhardt said reactions have been generally positive but that potential participants want to see final rules before committing. He also noted the state is pursuing measurement and basin-study investments (about $15,000,000 in the Green River Basin) and a diversion-measurement program to support implementation.