SJR 3 — Urges the United States Bureau of Reclamation to consider certain actions, alternatives and measures for the protection and management of the Colorado River. (BDR R-349)

(ReprintedSenate withJoint amendmentsResolution adoptedNo. on May 23, 2023) FIRST REPRINT S.J.R.

33– SENATECommittee JOINTon RESOLUTIONNatural NOResources .FILE NUMBER..........

3– C OMMITTEE ON N ATURAL RESOURCES (ON B EHALF OF THE JOINTINTERIM STANDING C OMMITTEE ON NATURAL R ESOURCES ) M ARCH 6, 2023 ____________ Referred to Committee on Natural Resources SUMMARY—Urges the United States Bureau of Reclamation to consider certain actions, alternatives and measures for the protection and management of the Colorado River.

(BDR R-349) FISCAL NOTE:

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~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new;

matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

and W HEREAS , The Colorado River is also overallocated with more water committed for use than is available from the Colorado River - *SJR3_R1* – 2 – in an average year resulting in a structural deficit in the Colorado River;

and W HEREAS , The seven Colorado River Basin states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and WyomingWyomingizona, have yet to reach a consensus on a plan to decrease current water use;

and W HEREAS , In August 2022, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, on behalf of the State of Nevada, submitted a letter to the United States Bureau of Reclamation listing 12 recommendations to address the crisis on the Colorado River, including adopting methods to account for evaporation and system losses in the - 82nd Session (2023) – 2 – Colorado River and investing in long-term, durable water conservation to permanently reduce the structural deficit in the Colorado River;

and - *SJR3_R1* – 3 – W HEREAS , The recommendations of Nevada and the Consensus- Based Modeling Alternative to address the Colorado River crisis present a solid starting point for further discussions on the management of the Colorado River;

now, therefore, be it R ESOLVED BY THE SENATES ENATE AND AASSEMBLY SSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF N EVADA , OINTLYJOINTLY , That the members of the 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislature strongly support the pursuit of a collaboration- based framework to address the structural deficit in the Colorado River;

and be it further R ESOLVED , That the members of the 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislature support the inclusion of mechanisms to account - 82nd Session (2023) – 3 – for evaporation and system losses in the Colorado River in the future management of the Colorado River;

and be it further R ESOLVED , That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and transmit a copy of this resolution to the United States Secretary of the Interior, the United States Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Nevada Congressional Delegation;

H~~~~~ 23 - *SJR3_R1*82nd Session (2023)