Mark Kelly

In my early days in the Navy, I spent time with the hose and the AFFF, putting out fires for training, not realizing at the time that chemical was going to do so much harm to groundwater across the Country.

So this is a significant addition?

So is it your opinion that this transfer of land to La Paz County would be a more expeditious process?

On October 4, 2021, I missed the vote No. 403 on confirmation of Jonathan Meyer to be General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes on his confirmation. ____________________

As a matter of equity, ensuring that tribes are able to lease water off their reservations seems only fair.

Partnerships with farmers, state and local governments, and other water users are key to making this all work.

Well, let's continue to work together to make sure we have the best possible outcome here.

I welcome the more conservative approach that Reclamation has decided to use.

I'm a big believer in that because we need to know what we are up against here.

The longer we wait to take those actions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the more you have to conserve.

We believe that is a prime example of what climate change is doing.

I want to commend you and all Arizona state stakeholders for developing a state-specific drought mitigation plan.

At Lake Powell, only two of its boat ramps can still safely unload motorized boats.

Some climate scientists call this a megadrought. Tree ring and soil data indicate that we are experiencing the worst drought in 1,200 years.

We have this old saying in Arizona that whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.

So there is significant motivation, then, for conservation?

I think it is incumbent upon us as water managers to use that more conservative approach and plan for the drier years rather than the wetter years.

Arizona gets hit the hardest. We stand to lose 18 percent of our annual Colorado River water allocation beginning next year.

We need to prepare for this much sooner than we anticipated.

Lake Mead is the nation's largest man-made lake. It stores Colorado River water behind the Hoover Dam.

Through this type of Federal investment we can make all of the long-term economic and health benefits of electrification affordable and accessible to all Americans.

Beginning next year, Arizona will lose 18 percent of our Colorado River water supply, and we get 40 percent of our water from the Colorado River.

Last month we passed, in the Senate, the bipartisan infrastructure bill. It fully funds the DCP and provides another $8 billion to repair our aging Western water infrastructure.

Fortunately, Arizona is prepared for these initial cutbacks under the Drought Contingency Plan that Congress authorized in 2019.

Do you think they need any new authorities or any additional funding to make sure that they have the tools necessary to do this rather complex task of cleaning up these Superfund sites in the West?