Great idea for Western Water Resources management;

 

Let’s move everyone in the Rocky Mountain West back east, where many people lived in the first place.  There’s plenty of water. The summer skies aren't filled with smoke from forest fires.  There’s an established infrastructure.  These are only a few of the great perks. 

With all the empty real estate, people involved in extractive industries could move into the houses of their choice and stay tax free as long as they worked the mines and the oil and gas rigs.

The population of the Rocky Mountain States would decline by 90%, or maybe more, since these industries are highly mechanized.  By doing this we could free up billions of gallons of water that the extractive industries need for the benefit of society and industry CEOs.

The millions of gallons of water that we need to mine uranium for China and Iran would no longer be a problem.  

Fracking? That solves the water problem for them too.  If fracking taints your well water just move to one of the many vacant houses until the next rig arrives at your new digs.  Then move on.  What’s the problem?

There are other benefits.  If everyone moves back to Pennsylvania and surrounding states the mines that made a mess a hundred years ago won’t have to be cleaned up.  Duh!. . . you don’t need clean water to pump down a well.

With a little luck there may be enough water left to refill the giant Ogallala aquifer over the next 10,000 years.

If anyone resists moving, just offer them extended unemployment benefits with the promise that Congress will come up with more money if times are a little tough.

And why would anyone want to stay considering the 5 million acres of beetle killed forest just north of Interstate 70.  The scenery just ain’t what it used to be.