Nevada sues to block federal Colorado River plan

Nevada filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, August 24, 2026, challenging the Trump administration's new plan for managing the drought-stricken Colorado River, marking the first legal challenge to a policy that mandates significant water cuts for lower basin states while imposing no mandatory reductions on upper basin states. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, targets the Department of the Interior, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and its commissioner, Aubrey Bettencourt.

The legal action comes three days after the Department of the Interior finalized its 10-year operating plan on Friday, August 21. The plan requires Nevada, Arizona, and California to reduce their water deliveries from the river by approximately 21% for the years 2027 and 2028. It also allows for potentially steeper cuts, nearly doubling the reductions, for the period after 2028 if reservoir levels remain critically low. The four upper basin states-Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming-face no mandatory cutbacks under the new framework.

Nevada's lawsuit alleges the administration violated administrative law, environmental law, and the complex...