Raley announces resignation from position with Interior Department

[NVMojo]

another one bites the dust ...

Assistant Interior Secretary Bennett Raley, who helped broker several historic agreements among the states that share Colorado River water, announced his resignation Wednesday.

Raley joined the Interior Department in July 2001 and served as lead federal negotiator on the 2003 Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement, which provided surplus water for Nevada and forced California to live within its allotment of river water after years of taking more than its share.

Earlier this year, Raley helped broker an unprecedented banking agreement under which Nevada is sending some of its Colorado River water to California in exchange for future rights to some of California's allotment.

In a statement Wednesday, Interior Secretary Gale Norton called Raley "the linchpin of this administration's Western water policy, tackling some of the most contentious issues facing the region during a prolonged period of drought."

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Dec-02-Thu-2004/news/25389615.html

[Hand]

1. Must have been too moderate n/t

[hatrack]

2. Either that, or a good time to leave

With Powell at 36% and Mead at 48% of capacity, it's a good time to NOT be in charge of water allocation among Arizona, California and Nevada. A really, really good time to not even be near the Interior building.