As part of the high-level meeting on the Colorado River with the Trump Admin’s CA

from Rachel BeckerCalMatters

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Top California officials traveled to Washington summoned by the Trump administration for a meeting Friday as the standoff over Colorado River water supplies continues amid alarmingly dry conditions.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum summoned the governors of the seven Colorado River basin states in an unprecedented move to lead tense negotiations over how to allocate the river’s oversupply.

The stakes are high as California, Arizona and Nevada in the lower basin face off with Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico upstream over how to manage the river after this year, when current agreements expire.

Gov. Gavin Newsom was the only governor absent from the meeting, “due to a long-standing prior family commitment that was communicated to Interior officials and alternate dates for the meeting were provided,” said Tara Gallegos, the governor’s spokeswoman. Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot spoke on behalf of California at the negotiating table.

Carla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, offered CalMatters an inside look as a member of the state contingent.

This interview has been shortened and edited for clarity.

What happened at the negotiations on Friday? Who hosted the meeting and who was there?

It was a two-hour meeting organized by the Home Secretary and his senior deputies. And senior deputies have been with the seven basin states in various negotiating terms, indeed, since this federal administration took office. The secretary just impressed upon us how important it was to get something done and they were very interested to know our feedback on the different ones (federal) alternatives … and just leave that direct one-on-one communication with the governor. So we are very grateful that they did.

Negotiators have been doing it for some time. And it’s not unusual as you approach the deadline that a little pressure to speak more clearly about your interests is quite important.

The governors’ call is a major shift in the negotiations, which until now have been man’s territory, deep in the weeds of water management. What do you think is behind the change?

From what I understand, this may be the first time that all of the governors have been in the same room with the secretary on matters related to Colorado.

Everyone has a common interest in having a system that is more predictable in the future, and that forces everyone to really take a serious look at hydrology. From California’s perspective, more multi-level talk is better. It will have to, given the need to reach an agreement.

Did you hear anything new today?

Not particularly. We are indeed very happy and encouraged by the Secretary’s direct involvement. Water is California’s lifeblood. And so the opportunity for California to describe that to the other governors was really important, so we understand where we’re coming from.

Did the Governor give you and Secretary Crowfoot any special instructions as you headed for Washington?

“Roll up your sleeves. Be solution oriented.”

What did you say at the meeting? Or what Secretary Crowfoot said about California’s position?

It was less about position and more about reaffirming our commitment to an agreed outcome and a truly open hand with everyone among our colleagues from the lower and upper basin.

what does that mean

You know, a lot of listening.

So not much has been said about what California would like to see out of the deal?

Nothing we haven’t said before through our negotiators. We have a proposal on the table. We want to engage directly with the upstream countries to narrow down the issues and reach a solution.

What were the obstacles?

I wouldn’t say we broke new ground in terms of obstacles. I think there was real value in framing them from a California perspective.

Since the start of the Colorado River negotiations, Governor Newsom has been fairly quiet. He didn’t say much—I don’t think he said anything. Is this a strategy?

We have a lot of faith in our Colorado River Board negotiators and all of our individual California water rights holders. As time progresses, the intensity of the hydrology obviously creates more friction. And that made this process a bit different from previous processes. The governor very much welcomes the secretary’s request to engage the governors directly. Depending on the progress we make, I imagine our governor will have more to say in the future.

Was there any tension, given the history of antagonism between Governor Newsom and President Trump?

No, when push comes to shove on these important issues, we roll up our sleeves and seek agreement among other countries.

Will this meeting change anything?

I hope We had optimism that came out of the meeting. Solid progress. It was well worth the time and we were grateful to the Minister for bringing us all to Washington.

There is a Valentine’s Day deadline for states to reach a deal. Do you think the states will welcome it?

I guess people are pretty busy. This is our intention, is to fulfill it.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.