Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Lake Powell water level drops to historic low
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Thursday, March 17, 2022
Glen Canyon Dam & Lake Powell. Photo: Bureau of Reclamation, Flickr ([link removed])

The water level at Lake Powell fell below 3,525 feet this week ([link removed]) , its lowest level since the lake filled after the federal government dammed the Colorado River at Glen Canyon more than 50 years ago. Reaching this critical threshold raises concerns about the ability to generate hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam, a power source that millions of people living in the West rely on. If the water level drops much further, it could soon hit “deadpool ([link removed]) ,” the point at which water would likely fail to flow through the dam and on to Lake Mead, another critical water source and hydropower generator for the West.

Federal water management officials are hopeful that water levels will replenish ([link removed]) in the coming months after snow melts in the Rockies, but they warn uncertainty remains as to whether Glen Canyon Dam can continue producing hydropower in the future. Recent hydrology modeling suggests there’s roughly a 1 in 4 chance ([link removed]) Lake Powell won’t be able to produce power by 2024.

Last summer, Bureau of Reclamation officials took an unprecedented step and diverted water from reservoirs in Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado for “emergency releases” to replenish Lake Powell after it dropped to its lowest level on record, impacting tourism and recreation activities across the West. Upper Basin states are currently working together on a plan ([link removed]) to avoid a similar emergency situation in the future. In January, the Bureau of Reclamation held back water that was scheduled to be released through the dam to prevent it from dipping even lower. Some states are also looking into the possibility of paying farmers, ranchers and other Colorado River users for their water to help shore up levels in Lake Powell
([link removed]) .


** Appellate court rules Biden can consider climate change in policymaking
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An appeals court has lifted a ban ([link removed]) blocking federal agencies from considering the harm climate change causes. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a Louisiana federal judge's injunction ([link removed]) that prevented the Biden administration from using a metric estimating the societal cost of carbon emissions. This figure, known as the “social cost of carbon ([link removed]) ,” is used across the federal government in various regulatory and rulemaking efforts, including issuing new drilling leases.

The move was hailed by climate advocates. “Today’s decision by the 5th circuit sent a strong message that the rule of law cannot be short circuited to score political victories,” Hana Vizcarra, an attorney for the environmental law firm Earthjustice, said in an email. ([link removed]) "It puts the government back on track to address and assess climate change.” Under President Barack Obama, the government estimated ([link removed]) that each ton of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere would cause $37 in societal damages. The Trump administration subsequently lowered that number significantly, concluding that the risks from burning fossil fuels amounted to between $1 and $7 per ton
([link removed]) . President Joe Biden revived the metric on his first day in office, setting it at $51 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions, adjusting it for inflation.

The decision means that the Biden administration can consider the economic cost of climate change as it writes new rules, and strengthen existing ones, a boon for President Biden’s goal of c ([link removed]) utting emissions in half by the end of the decade ([link removed]) compared to 2005 levels. However, the ruling also raises questions ([link removed]) about whether the administration will resume federal oil and gas leasing, which was paused after a judge blocked the government from considering the cost of climate change.
Quick hits


** How big business took over Oregon's first protected aquifer
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Oregon Public Broadcasting ([link removed])


** Tired of crowds? Visit Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument instead of Zion
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Appeals court decision clears the way for road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Lake Powell water level drops to historic low
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Colorado Sun ([link removed]) | Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])


** Appellate court rules Biden can consider climate change in policymaking
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed])


** Editorial: The political battle over Bears Ears should not stop a win-win land swap
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Biden to sign bill establishing Colorado's Camp Amache National Historic Site into law
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Opinion: We can't drill our way to energy independence
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Reno Gazette Journal ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” This is a campaign that’s been manufactured against Sarah Bloom Raskin by the fossil-fuel industry for the sin she’s committed of telling the truth about the dangers of carbon emissions. And, as usual, the fossil-fuel industry is hiding behind a bunch of phony front groups to hide their hand.”
—U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, The New Yorker ([link removed])
Picture this


** @USGS ([link removed])
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Just a sunset at Saguaro National Park [link removed] ([link removed]) #sunset ([link removed]) #Arizona ([link removed]) Photo from Elieen Mattil National Park Service

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