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The water level at Lake Powell fell below 3,525 feet this week, 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,” 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 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 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 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.
Appellate court rules Biden can consider climate change in policymaking
An appeals court has lifted a ban 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 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,” 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. "It puts the government back on track to address and assess climate change.” Under President Barack Obama, the government estimated 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. 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 cutting emissions in half by the end of the decade compared to 2005 levels. However, the ruling also raises questions 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.
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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.”
