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Estevan López
Commissioner

Estevan López is the 22nd Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, which is the largest wholesale water supplier in the United States and the nation’s second largest producer of hydroelectric power. As Commissioner, López directs an agency of more than 5,000 employees who help maintain 475 dams and 337 reservoirs that provide more than 30 million acre-feet (10 trillion gallons) of water for 31 million people in the West. The Commissioner is also responsible for Reclamation’s maintenance of 53 hydroelectric power plants that generate 40 billion kilowatt hours annually – about 15 percent of the nation’s hydropower – and provides one out of five Western farmers with irrigation water for farmland that is the source of much of the nation's produce.

Since his confirmation on December 17, 2014, Commissioner López has been a key player in ensuring the sustainability and security of water and power supplies for our economy and future generations. With a $1 billion annual appropriated budget, Commissioner López prioritizes the agency’s mission of delivering water and power while addressing potential impacts caused by drought and climate change. During his tenure, he has emphasized management tools such as basin studies and water sustainability activities including Reclamation’s WaterSMART program.

He has a leading role in efforts to address drought in the arid West and leads the Bureau’s efforts in ecological restoration in multiple western watersheds.

He is actively involved in the negotiation and implementation of Indian water rights settlements consistent with the federal trust responsibility to tribes and is an active participant in bi-national negotiations for sustainability pertaining to the Colorado River and Reclamation’s relationship with Mexico. Serving in his role as Commissioner, López is also focused on seeking new investment to address the West’s aging system of water infrastrucutre with an emphasis on prioritizing funding for operation and maintenance activities.

Prior to serving in his current role, López was the Director of New Mexico’s Interstate Stream Commission (ISC), where he oversaw water management and negotiations with other states over interstate water matters. He represented New Mexico as the Governor's Representative on Colorado River Compact matters and as Commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Compact and Canadian River Compact commissions. While at the ISC, he also served as the Deputy State Engineer. Previous public sector positions López has held include serving as County Manager and Land Use and Utility Department Director for Santa Fe County and Public Utility Engineer for the New Mexico Public Utilities Commission. He also worked for several years in the private sector as an Engineer for ARCO Alaska Inc.

A native New Mexican, López earned two Bachelor of Science degrees from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; one in chemistry and one in petroleum engineering. He is a registered Professional Engineer in New Mexico.

López and his wife Susana have two grown children, Victoria and Juan, who attend college in New Mexico.

You can see more about Commissioner López and see his video podcasts at: www.usbr.gov/commissioner.

Updated: November 10, 2015

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