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Feds issue decision on operating plan for Rio Grande

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials have signed off on a plan that spells out how the Rio Grande will be allocated and delivered to users in southern New Mexico and Texas over the next three decades. The Bureau of Reclamation announced that the record of decision regarding the river's operating agreement was signed Thursday and that accounting and operation of the system will continue as it has for the past several years. A decision is still pending on renewal of a contract to store water from the San Juan-Chama project in Elephant Butte Reservoir in southern New Mexico. Approval of the operating agreement followed a review of potential environmental effects. Officials acknowledged that projected climate change will have greater effects on water resources than any of the other alternatives that were considered.