PHOENIX — Arizona U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton emphasized that Arizona does not want Interior Secretary Doug Burgum making the decision when it comes to the state’s share of Colorado River water.
“We do not want that to happen for a variety of reasons,” Stanton told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Evening News on Monday. “There’s a really good chance he could make a decision that is not good for Arizona. But more importantly — almost inevitably — it will end up in litigation. If it ends up in litigation, this could be 10 or more years before we actually get a final decision and we’ll sort of be in no man’s land in the meantime.”
Burgum and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation had to work on a water rights settlement after the seven Colorado River basin states were unable to come to an agreement by the Feb. 14 deadline…