States using water from the Colorado River were expected by Monday to submit a “consensus plan” for long term water sharing and conservation plans. However, according to The Hill, “the river system’s two main contingents — the Upper and Lower basins — submitted their own competing plans”:
“The two contingents sent separate submissions on Wednesday to the Bureau of Reclamation, which is overseeing the update of the guidelines via the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). As part of the NEPA process, the agency must analyze proposed alternatives within an environmental impact statement (EIS). The bureau had warned the parties that if they did not file a consensus-backed alternative by Monday, federal officials could proceed independently, with the intention of publishing an EIS by December.”
This means that the federal government – rather than the states themselves – would make critical decisions about long-term water rights and usage plans for River. However, even though the deadline has passed, if the states do find common ground, they could still file their plan with the Bureau of Reclamation.
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