The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced several appointments to key posts that will address water issues in the West.

Tanya Trujillo will serve as principal deputy assistant secretary for water and science, and Maria (Camille) Touton will serve as U.S. Bureau of Reclamation deputy commissioner.

Both will influence water policies that impact agricultural irrigation, among other uses. They were among 21 Interior appointees of President Joe Biden’s new administration announced Jan. 20. Additional appointees are to be named.

Idaho Water Users Association Executive Director and General Counsel Paul Arrington said many of the group’s members know Trujillo, and consider her very knowledgeable and effective. “I have heard good things about her and look forward to working with her.”

Arrington said he worked with Touton when she served as professional on a U.S. Senate committee, “and she’s fantastic. She knows these issues. I look forward to working with her now in this new role.”

IWUA “wants an agency that continues to be responsive to the needs of its customers,” Arrington said. “I don’t see that either of these appointments will change that. They will continue to be responsive, work with water users and be supportive of their needs.”

Trujillo succeeds Aubrey Bettencourt, and Touton succeeds Shelby Hagenauer.

Interior said in its release that Trujillo is a water attorney with more than 20 years of experience working on complex natural-resource management issues, and interstate and trans-boundary water agreements.

She most recently was a project director with the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Previously she served as executive director of the Colorado River Board of California. She has also served as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and as counselor to Interior’s assistant secretary for water and science.

Maurice Hall, Environmental Defense Fund associate vice president for ecosystems and water, said in a statement that the organization is “thrilled to see the Biden administration tapping Tanya Trujillo’s deep expertise to address our nation’s wicked water challenges and ensure our water supplies are more resilient to climate change.”

Hall said Trujillo’s collaborative attitude and experience with difficult water challenges “will serve our country well. We look forward to working with her to modernize our water systems so that they meet the needs of people and wildlife for generations to come.”

Touton returns to Interior after serving as  staff for the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She was staff lead on resiliency provisions enacted as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.

Earlier, she served as staff for Interior’s authorization committees working with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and House Natural Resources committees. She served as Interior’s deputy assistant secretary for water and science in the Obama administration.