04/04/06 Keys Retires

John Keys is leaving the Bureau of Reclamation. I'm Bill Scott and next on Line on Agriculture a visit with the outgoing commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation. John Keys has spent more than three decades working for the Bureau of Reclamation That will end in less than two weeks when Keys retires as Commissioner of the federal agency. Keys says there's no connection to his retirement and Gail Norton's resignation as Secretary of Interior. KEYS "I had talked with her last summer about leaving at this time after we get through the budget cycle so it was something I have been shooting toward." A former Pacific Northwest Regional manager Keys understood the water issues of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. He has some concerns as he departs Washington DC. KEYS "The largest challenge to Reclamation and our water users is the aging infrastructure that's out there. A lot of our projects were built in the early part of the 20th Century. A lot of them are approaching 100 years old. Keeping them going and find ways to fund their repair and maintenance is a large challenge. We have been working with members of Congress trying to get a loan guarantee program going that would help some of those districts with the money that they need to make those repairs." The other challenge is supplying water for new needs, especially in the West. That's where the plan known as Water 2025 comes in. KEYS "We put up about 14 and a half million dollars for a challenge grant program. That leveraged into about 60 million dollars worth of projects on a 50-50 cost share grant or more that have produced or will produce almost 250 thousand acre feet of water a year. Tremendous return on the money and it's that kind of work we're looking to to reduce that conflict over the needs for future water." Look for a report this fall on the potential for additional water storage in the Snake River basin. Keys is headed to his home at Moab, Utah, when he retires on April 14th. He'll get there in his own plane and now have a chance to fly when he wants. KEYS "Working as a volunteer in Arches National Park, doing flights for Angel Flight, I was on the county airport board before and maybe will go back and do some of that work." John Keys gets high marks from many water user groups in the West for his work at the Bureau of Reclamation. Line on Agriculture Bill Scott