Touton confirmed as commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation

WASHINGTON — Camille Touton of Nevada was confirmed by the Senate connected Thursday to beryllium commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees h2o absorption of the Colorado River successful Western states.

Democratic and Republican senators approved President Joe Biden’s nominee connected a dependable vote.

Touton, of Filipino ancestry, moved arsenic a kid to Nevada. Las Vegas became her adopted location and she became funny successful water, she told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a September hearing.

She told the sheet h2o absorption successful the West is simply a large interest and priority.

“The unprecedented drought has made the task adjacent much challenging, arsenic large reservoirs are astatine their lowest levels since filling, and the projections for alleviation successful the look of clime alteration are not encouraging,” she told the hearing.

She was introduced to the sheet by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., a subordinate of the committee. Touton sailed done the confirmation process with bipartisan support, peculiarly from Western authorities Republican senators.

Touton precocious served arsenic Bureau of Reclamation lawman commissioner. She received degrees from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and George Mason University.

“She is an adept connected h2o rights and idiosyncratic who knows the laic of the onshore successful Nevada,” said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond instrumentality prof and founding module subordinate of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law.

Touton volition beryllium straight progressive successful Colorado River management, Lake Mead and h2o issues that interaction Nevada and different Western states, Tobias said.

She besides becomes the archetypal Filipino-American to clasp specified a presumption successful the Interior Department.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Touton would bring a wealthiness of cognition and acquisition to negociate h2o for existent and aboriginal generations.

Biden appointed Touton to the presumption successful January.

Contact Gary Martin astatine gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc connected Twitter.