The Rundown
- Amid a legal challenge, Army Corps approves a Line 5 oil pipeline reroute.
- BLM considers revising a land management plan for southwest Wyoming to favor fossil energy and mineral production.
- EPA permits a Utah copper mine to inject fluids into an aquifer to increase mineral extraction.
- White House releases a federal agency research and development agenda.
And lastly, Mexico ends a five-year Rio Grande water delivery cycle in a deficit, while Texas officials ask for the Rio Grande dispute to be included in the North American trade agreement.
“This morning I spoke with [Agriculture] Secretary Rollins and discussed what the future looks like for the 1944 Water Treaty and asked her to continue to apply pressure to the Mexican government. My ask is that she ask them for an additional 350,000 acre-feet of water within the next six months.” – Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) speaking with CBS 4 News in the Rio Grande Valley on October 30 about Mexico’s delivery of Rio Grande water to the U.S.
In context: Trump Forces Mexico to Share More Water along the Rio Grande
By the Numbers
865,136 acre-feet: Mexico’s Rio Grande water delivery deficit for the five-year cycle that ended last month. Deliveries were about half of what is required under a 1944 treaty, but the data are only through October 24 and provisional for the entire month of October. In April, U.S. and Mexican negotiators reached a deal to address the deficit. That agreement included transfer of rights to water that is already in shared border reservoirs, plus additional future deliveries.
News Briefs
Utah Copper Mining Permit
The EPA granted an exemption that allows the Lisbon Valley Mining Company to inject fluids into a protected aquifer in southeast Utah in order to expand operations and extract more copper. The expansion will happen above and below ground.
The Bureau of Land Management already approved the mining plan, which would more than double the mine’s footprint to more than 10,200 acres. About a quarter of this acreage is considered “disturbed” land, or directly subjected to mining.
In the surface mining expansion, Lisbon Valley will be required to monitor groundwater level changes and water quality and adjust operations if springs or local water users are affected. The company expects total water use for the new open-pit mine to be 29,749 acre-feet over 20 years.
To proceed, the company also needed permission from the EPA to operate a Class III injection well. These wells involve the underground injection of a chemical solution – sulfuric acid, for copper mining – to dissolve minerals for extraction. This is called “in-situ” mining because it does not require digging a deep pit.
The Lisbon Valley project was a FAST-41 project, a federal initiative from the Obama era to accelerate infrastructure permitting.
Line 5 Reroute
The Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to Enbridge Energy for a new Line 5 route around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation, in northern Wisconsin.
Line 5 is a pipeline that carries oil and natural gas liquids 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario. Its crossing of the Straits of Mackinac, in Michigan, is also contested.
The approval of the new route in Wisconsin “will advance the President’s energy dominance agenda for America,” said Adam Telle, head of the Army Corps, in a written statement.
The reroute was prompted by a lawsuit by the Bad River Band in 2019 that sought to shut down Line 5 through its lands. The tribe has also sued to overturn the state’s decision in 2024 to approve the new Line 5 route.
Studies and Reports
R&D Priorities
The White House released its research and development agenda for federal agencies at the end of September.
The eight-page document sets out five priorities for agency funding. AI and related computing technologies, which the administration boosts, are mentioned. So is supporting the “energy dominance” narrative – but only in favored areas. Those include fossil fuels, advanced nuclear fusion and fission, geothermal, and hydropower.
On the Radar
Wyoming Land Use Plan for Energy and Minerals
Owing to the Trump administration’s aim to increase fossil energy and minerals production, the Bureau of Land Management has started the process of revising a management plan for 3.6 million acres of public lands in southwest Wyoming.
The existing management plan, approved in December 2024, offers more protections for wildlife habitat and water quality. In its reassessment, BLM will determine “whether special management is still warranted and where development may be appropriate” for critical environmental areas and potential wilderness areas.
The planning area includes the headwaters of the Green River, the largest tributary to the Colorado River.
The public comment period is supposed to end on November 3. But the BLM says it will schedule a public meeting once the government shutdown ends.
Submit comments here.
Rio Grande and North American Trade
Today, November 3, is the deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Trade Representative on the operation of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada trade agreement.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Texas has encouraged the USTR to include Rio Grande water sharing in the agreement, to use its dispute resolution process as a way to enforce accountability. The Lower Rio Grande Valley Water District Managers’ Association also asked for Rio Grande water disputes to be handled through the trade agreement.
Submit and view comments here.
Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.
