Western states propose deal over beleaguered Rio Grande

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general says the state has reached a proposed settlement with Texas and Colorado in a yearslong battle over management of one of the longest rivers in North America. The agreement would need court approval, and attorneys for the federal government and two irrigation districts are objecting. The case has been pending before the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly a decade. Texas sued, claiming that groundwater pumping in southern New Mexico was reducing river flows. New Mexico argued it has been shorted on its share of the river. Colorado also has rights to the river. The terms of the proposed deal remain confidential.