[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2064-2065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-187]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[DES-05-59]


Long-Term Miscellaneous Purposes Contract, Eddy County, NM

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Meeting for the 
Long-Term Miscellaneous Purposes Contract Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement, Eddy County, New Mexico.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the New 
Mexico Interstate Stream Commission (NMISC), as joint lead agencies, 
have prepared a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on the 
execution of a long-term contract based upon the 1920 Sale of Water for 
Miscellaneous Purposes Act (long-term miscellaneous purposes contract) 
with the Carlsbad Irrigation District (CID), New Mexico, and the 
subsequent conversion and delivery of the full amount of irrigation 
water addressed in the contract and any related contracts. Reclamation 
is the lead federal agency and the NMISC is a joint lead agency for 
NEPA compliance on the proposed federal action.

DATES: A 60-day public review period commences with the publication of 
this notice. Written comments on the DEIS should be submitted no later 
than Monday, March 13, 2006, to Ms. Marsha Carra, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Albuquerque Area Office, 555 Broadway NE., Suite 100, 
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102.
    Reclamation will conduct a public meeting to obtain input on the 
DEIS. The meeting will be held at the following time and location:
     Wednesday, February 8, 2006--7 to 9 p.m., Best Western 
Stevens Inn, Room Nos. 2 and 3, 1829 South Canal Street, Carlsbad, New 
Mexico.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the DEIS are available for public inspection and 
review at the following locations:
     Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Regional Office, 125 
South State Street, Room 7220, Salt Lake City, Utah 84138-1102.
     Bureau of Reclamation, Albuquerque Area Office, Attention: 
Marsha Carra, 555 Broadway NE., Suite 100, Albuquerque, New Mexico 
87102.
     New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, Attention: Elisa 
Sims, 230 West Manhattan Avenue, 2nd Floor, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501.
     Carlsbad Public Library, 101 South Halagueno Street, 
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88221.
     Carlsbad Irrigation District, 201 South Canal Street, 
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220.
    The DEIS is also available on the Internet at the following Web 
address: http://www.usbr.gov/uc/albuq/envdocs/index.html. In addition, 
interested parties may contact Ms. Aleta Powers, ERO Resources 
Corporation, 1842 Clarkson Street, Denver, Colorado 80218; telephone 
(303) 830-1188; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marsha Carra, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Albuquerque Area Office, 555 Broadway NE., Suite 100, 
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102; telephone (505) 462-

[[Page 2065]]

3602; facsimile (505) 462-3797; e-mail: [email protected] or Elisa 
Sims, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, P.O. Box 25102, Santa 
Fe, New Mexico 87504-5102; telephone (505) 827-3918; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of Reclamation's proposed 
federal action is to allow the NMISC to use Carlsbad Project water 
(Project water) for purposes other than irrigation, specifically for 
delivery to Texas. As a member of CID, the NMISC needs to use Project 
water for purposes other than irrigation to maintain long-term 
compliance with the Pecos River Compact and the United States Supreme 
Court Amended Decree in Texas v. New Mexico. Project water is available 
for lease to the NMISC under a Contingent Water Contract where: (1) 
Willing lessors temporarily forego irrigation of their lands in an 
irrigation season (fallowed land water) or (2) allotted water is not 
delivered to farms by October 31 of a given year (undelivered allotment 
water). The long-term miscellaneous purposes contract would replace a 
1999 short-term contract that Reclamation currently has with the CID 
that allows the NMISC to use Project water for miscellaneous purposes.
    Between 1987 and the present, New Mexico has satisfied its water 
delivery obligations to Texas under the Pecos River Compact (Compact) 
and Amended Decree. In some years, New Mexico has over-delivered water 
to the state line and in other years it has under-delivered. New Mexico 
has been able to satisfy its Compact obligations in large part because 
of its leasing program and the fallowing of irrigated land within CID. 
The leasing program within CID has operated under an existing short-
term miscellaneous purposes contract since 1992, which allows 
irrigation water to be delivered to the state line on behalf of the 
NMISC.
    The State of New Mexico ex rel. the State Engineer, NMISC, 
Reclamation, CID, and the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District 
entered into a Settlement Agreement on March 25, 2003, that resolves 
litigation, implements a plan to ensure delivery of water to the CID 
and New Mexico-Texas state line, and settles many water management 
issues on the Pecos River. An ad hoc committee comprised of water users 
in the Pecos River Basin was formed to develop a solution for long-term 
compliance with the Pecos River Compact and Amended Decree, resulting 
in the Settlement Agreement. In addition, the implementation of the 
Settlement Agreement is contingent upon fulfilling certain 
requirements, including the execution of a long-term miscellaneous 
purposes contract.
    On February 28, 2003, Reclamation published a notice in the Federal 
Register stating plans to execute a contract with the CID that would 
allow the NMISC to use water allotted for up to 6,000 acres, or other 
available Project water, for purposes other than irrigation. These 
6,000 acres, plus 164 acres that the NMISC currently owns within the 
boundaries of the CID, would be fallowed under this contract. Execution 
of this contract would not preclude future use of the water for 
irrigation purposes on lands owned by the NMISC. The Commissioner of 
Reclamation has granted approval to negotiate and execute a long-term 
miscellaneous purposes contract, pursuant to authority provided by the 
Sale of Water for Miscellaneous Purposes Act of February 25, 1920, 
whereby the NMISC would be limited to using or leasing a maximum of 
50,000 acre-feet of Project water per year.
    The two alternatives analyzed in the draft EIS are the Proposed 
Action Alternative which is the execution of a long-term miscellaneous 
purposes contract and approval of any related third-party contracts, 
and the No Action Alternative. The draft EIS assesses the potential 
effects that the two alternatives may have on biological, hydrologic, 
and cultural resources; social and economic settings; and Indian trust 
assets as well as any potential disproportionate effects on minority or 
low-income communities (environmental justice). The draft EIS also 
evaluates the effects of the alternatives on the State of New Mexico's 
ability to meet annual state line delivery obligations associated with 
the Pecos River Compact and Amended Decree.
    After the 60-day waiting period, Reclamation will complete a final 
environmental impact statement (FEIS). Responses to comments received 
from organizations and individuals on the DEIS will be addressed in the 
FEIS.

Public Disclosure

    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public 
disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There 
also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: November 7, 2005.
Darryl Beckmann,
Deputy Regional Director--UC Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 06-187 Filed 1-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P