[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 62 (Friday, March 31, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16341-16344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4713]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Colorado River Reservoir Operations: Development of Lower Basin 
Shortage Guidelines and Coordinated Management Strategies for Lake 
Powell and Lake Mead, Particularly Under Low Reservoir Conditions

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of public availability of a Scoping Summary Report on 
the development of Lower Basin shortage guidelines and coordinated 
management strategies for the operation of Lake

[[Page 16342]]

Powell and Lake Mead, particularly under low reservoir conditions.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended, and the Council on Environmental Quality's 
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA, the 
Department of the Interior (Department) has issued a Scoping Summary 
Report on the development of Lower Basin shortage guidelines and 
coordinated management strategies for the operation of Lake Powell and 
Lake Mead, particularly under low reservoir conditions. The Scoping 
Summary Report provides a summary of the issues raised during the 
scoping process and describes the Department's current assessment of 
the proposed scope of the environmental analysis to be included in the 
draft environmental impact statement (EIS). The Department anticipates 
that the Draft EIS will be published in December 2006. The report also 
includes a summary of the issues raised and comments received during 
the scoping process. Among other things, the report identifies how the 
Department anticipates addressing these issues.
    Dates and Addresses: The Department will accept, review, and 
incorporate, as appropriate, any additional public comments on the 
information contained in the Scoping Summary Report as part of the 
development of the Draft EIS, which the Department anticipates will be 
published in December 2006. The Department would prefer that any such 
comments be received by May 1, 2006, in order to allow full 
consideration during the development of the Draft EIS. Send written 
comments to: Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado 
Region, Attention: BCOO-1000, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, Nevada 
89006-1470; faxogram at (702) 293-8156; or e-mail at 
[email protected].
    The Scoping Summary Report is available on the Bureau of 
Reclamation's Web site at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/strategies/index.html. If you would like a printed copy of the report, 
please contact Nan Yoder at telephone (702) 293-8500; facsimile (702) 
293-8156; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terrance J. Fulp, Ph.D., at (702) 293-
8500 or e-mail at [email protected]; and/or Randall Peterson at 
(801) 524-3633 or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is publishing the Scoping 
Summary Report as a voluntary effort to assist in public understanding 
of this important process. Based upon information presented in the 
report and all information submitted to the Department as part of this 
process, the Department is now undertaking preparation of a Draft EIS.

Proposed Federal Action

    The Bureau of Reclamation, acting on behalf of the Secretary of the 
Interior (Secretary), proposes to take action to adopt specific 
Colorado River Lower Basin shortage guidelines and coordinated 
reservoir management strategies to address operations of Lake Powell 
and Lake Mead, particularly under low reservoir conditions. This action 
will provide a greater degree of certainty to all water users and 
managers in the Colorado River Basin by providing more detailed 
objective guidelines for the operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead and 
by allowing water users in the Lower Basin to know when, and by how 
much, water deliveries will be reduced in drought and other low 
reservoir conditions. In addition, this action is designed to delay the 
onset and magnitude of shortages and maximize the protection afforded 
to water supply, hydropower production, recreation, and environmental 
benefits by water storage in Lakes Powell and Mead. As a result of 
analysis of comments and public input received to date, the Department 
anticipates that the elements of the proposed action will include:
    (1) Adoption of guidelines that will identify those circumstances 
under which the Secretary would reduce the annual amount of water 
available for consumptive use from Lake Mead to the Lower Division 
states (Arizona, California, and Nevada) below 7.5 million acre-feet 
(maf) (a ``Shortage'') pursuant to Article II(B)(3) of the Supreme 
Court Decree in Arizona v. California; \1\
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    \1\ The Department intends to meet any consultation requirements 
identified in Article II(B)(3) of the Supreme Court Decree in 
Arizona v. California through the ongoing NEPA process initiated by 
the Federal Register Notice of September 30, 2005 (70 FR 57322-
57323).
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    (2) adoption of guidelines for the coordinated operation of Lake 
Powell and Lake Mead that are designed to provide improved operation of 
the two reservoirs, particularly under low reservoir conditions;
    (3) adoption of guidelines for the storage and delivery of water in 
Lake Mead to increase the flexibility to meet water use needs from Lake 
Mead, particularly under low reservoir conditions. These guidelines are 
anticipated to address the storage and delivery of non-system water, 
exchanges, and water conserved by extraordinary measures; and
    (4) modification of the substance and term of the existing Interim 
Surplus Guidelines, published in the Federal Register on January 25, 
2001 (66 FR 7772-7782), from 2016 to coincide with the proposed new 
guidelines described above.
    The Secretary proposes that these guidelines will be interim in 
nature and will extend through 2025. Adoption of new guidelines along 
with modification of existing operational guidelines for a consistent 
interim period will provide the opportunity to gain valuable experience 
for operating the reservoirs under the modified operations and should 
improve the basis for making additional future operational decisions, 
whether during the interim period or thereafter.
    It is the intent of the Department to adopt and implement the above 
proposed action in a manner that is consistent with applicable Federal 
law,\2\ and further, in a manner that does not require any additional 
statutory authorization. In this regard, Reclamation proposes to 
implement the proposed action consistent with the Colorado River 
Compact of 1922, the Decree entered by the United States Supreme Court 
in the case of Arizona v. California, and other provisions of 
applicable Federal law. It is the intent of the Department that the 
proposed action will be consistent with and provide implementing 
guidance that would be used each year by the Department in implementing 
the Criteria for Coordinated Long-Range Operation of Colorado River 
Reservoirs Pursuant to the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 
September 30, 1968 (Long-Range Operating Criteria or LROC).
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    \2\ The treaties, compacts, decrees, statutes, regulations, 
contracts, and other legal documents and agreements applicable to 
the allocation, appropriation, development, exportation, and 
management of the waters of the Colorado River Basin are often 
referred to as the ``Law of the River.'' There is no single, 
universally-agreed upon definition of the ``Law of the River,'' but 
it is useful as a shorthand reference to describe this longstanding 
and complex body of legal agreements governing the Colorado River.
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Purpose and Need for the Proposed Federal Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to adopt additional 
operational strategies to improve the Department's annual management 
and operation of key Colorado River reservoirs while also providing 
mainstream users of Colorado River water, particularly those in the 
Lower Division states of Arizona, California, and Nevada, a greater 
degree

[[Page 16343]]

of predictability with respect to the amount of annual water deliveries 
in future years, particularly under low reservoir conditions.
    The need for the proposed action is based on a number of important 
considerations including the following reasons:
     The Colorado River flows through the driest portion of the 
continental United States and is the primary source of water to a 
region that has experienced continued population growth over recent 
decades.
     The Colorado River is of strategic importance in the 
southwestern United States for water supply, hydropower production, 
flood control, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and other 
benefits. In addition, the United States has a delivery obligation to 
the Republic of Mexico for certain waters of the Colorado River 
pursuant to the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty.
     The Colorado River Basin experienced the worst five-year 
drought in recorded history in 2000 through 2004. This drought has 
impacted system storage, while demands for Colorado River water 
supplies have continued to increase. During the period from October 1, 
1999, to October 1, 2004, storage in Lakes Powell and Mead fell from 
47.6 maf (approximately 95% of capacity) to 23.1 maf (approximately 46% 
of capacity). This drought was also the worst sustained drought 
experienced in the Colorado River Basin at a time when all major 
storage facilities were in place, and when use by the Lower Division 
states met or exceeded the annual ``normal'' apportionment of 7.5 maf 
pursuant to Article II(B)(1) of the Decree. Moreover, entering the five 
year drought period with Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoir storage 
capacity at 95% fortuitously provided for sufficient water supplies to 
meet basin demands. This may not be the case in the future. Among other 
factors, these conditions led the Department to conclude that 
additional management guidelines are necessary and desirable for the 
efficient, and coordinated, management of the major mainstem Colorado 
River reservoirs.
     In the future, low reservoir conditions will likely not be 
limited to drought periods because of anticipated future demands on 
Colorado River water supplies. Projected future increases in Colorado 
River water demands are expected to increase the frequency and 
magnitude that Colorado River reservoirs are drawn down to low 
reservoir conditions.
     As a result of actual operating experience and through 
reviews of the LROC and preparation of Annual Operating Plans, 
particularly during recent drought years, the Secretary has determined 
a need for more specific guidelines, consistent with the Decree and 
other applicable provisions of Federal law, to assist in the 
Secretary's determination of annual water supply conditions in the 
Lower Basin. The increased level of predictability is needed by the 
entities that receive Colorado River water to better plan for and 
manage available water supplies, and to allow such entities to better 
integrate the use of Colorado River water with other water supplies 
that they rely on. To date, storage of water and flows in the Colorado 
River Basin have been sufficient so that it has not been necessary to 
reduce Lake Mead annual releases below 7.5 maf; nor has the Department 
yet identified when water supplies would be reduced, by how much, or 
who would experience specified reductions.
     After public consultation meetings held in the summer of 
2005, the Secretary has also determined the desirability of developing 
additional operational guidelines that will provide for releases 
greater than or less than 8.23 maf from Lake Powell.
     To further enhance this coordinated reservoir approach, 
the Secretary has also determined a need for guidelines that provide 
water users with the opportunity to conserve, store, and take delivery 
of water in and from Lake Mead for the purposes of enhancing existing 
water supplies, particularly under low reservoir conditions.
     Lastly, the Secretary has determined the need to modify 
and extend the Interim Surplus Guidelines to coincide with the duration 
of the proposed new guidelines. This will provide an integrated 
approach for reservoir management and more predictability for future 
Colorado River Basin water supplies.

Results of Scoping Input

    The description of the Proposed Federal Action and the Purpose and 
Need for the Proposed Federal Action described in this Notice and in 
the Scoping Summary Report available at Reclamation's Web site noted 
above, was refined to reflect information and comments received during 
the scoping meetings and in written and oral scoping comments submitted 
to the Department.\3\ The Proposed Federal Action has been crafted to 
reflect, among others, three important considerations that were 
identified by commentors:
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    \3\ The Scoping Summary Report also addresses in Section 5.0 
those issues raised during scoping that have been determined to be 
beyond the proposed scope of the EIS. 10
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    (1) Importance of Encouraging Conservation of Water: Many comments 
submitted to the Department focused on the importance of encouraging 
and utilizing water conservation as an important tool to better manage 
limited water supplies and therefore minimize the likelihood and 
severity of potential future shortages. See e.g., comment G-0003, 
``Conservation Before Shortage'' proposal submitted to the Department 
on July 18, 2005, which is available in its entirety in Appendix W of 
the Scoping Summary Report. Water conservation can occur through a 
number of approaches that will be identified in the Draft EIS, 
including: Extraordinary conservation, forbearance, financial 
incentives to maximize conservation, dry-year options, and associated 
storage and recovery methodologies and procedures to address 
conservation actions by particular parties.
    (2) Importance of Consideration of Reservoir Operations at all 
Operational Levels: Comments submitted to the Department urged the 
Department to consider and analyze management and operational 
guidelines for the full range of operational levels at Lake Powell and 
Lake Mead. See e.g., comment S-2006, ``Basin States' Preliminary 
Proposal Regarding Colorado River Interim Operations'' submitted to the 
Department on February 3, 2006, which is available in its entirety in 
Appendix Q of the Scoping Summary Report. It was suggested that this 
approach is integral to the prudent development of new low-reservoir 
operational guidelines, as the approach and management of these 
reservoirs at higher elevations has a direct impact on available 
storage, thereby affecting the likelihood and severity of potential 
future shortages.
    (3) Term of Operational Guidelines: Comments submitted to the 
Department urged the Department to consider interim, rather than 
permanent, additional operational guidelines. See e.g., comment letters 
L-2002 through 2006 submitted to the Department by several Arizona 
municipalities which are available in their entirety in Appendix W of 
the Scoping Summary Report. In this manner, the Department would have 
the ability to use actual operating experience for a period of years, 
thereby facilitating a better understanding of the operational effects 
of the new guidelines; modifications would then be made, if necessary, 
during or preferably at the end of the interim period. In particular, 
the

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Department was also urged to consider adopting additional operational 
guidelines for both low and higher reservoir elevations for a 
consistent period of years. At this time, it is important to note, the 
Department has detailed operational guidelines for declaration of 
surplus conditions at higher elevations of Lake Mead through 2016, but 
does not have similar detailed operational guidelines for either Lake 
Powell or the lower operational levels of Lake Mead.

Public Disclosure

    Written comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, will be made available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that their home address be withheld from public 
disclosure, which will be honored to the extent allowable by law. There 
may be circumstances in which respondents' identity may also be 
withheld from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish to 
have your name and/or address withheld, you must state this prominently 
at the beginning of your comment. All submissions from organizations, 
business, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: March 18, 2006.
Robert W. Johnson,
Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.

    Dated: March 16, 2006.
Rick L. Gold,
Regional Director, Upper Colorado Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
 [FR Doc. E6-4713 Filed 3-30-06; 8:45 am]
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