[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60986-60987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19132]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR83550000, 234R5065C6, RX.59389832.1009676]


Quarterly Status Report of Water Service, Repayment, and Other 
Water-Related Contract Actions

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of contract actions.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of contractual actions that have been 
proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and are new, 
discontinued, or completed since the last publication of this notice. 
This notice is one of a variety of means used to inform the public 
about proposed contractual actions for capital recovery and management 
of project resources and facilities consistent with section 9(f) of the 
Reclamation Project Act of 1939. Additional announcements of individual 
contract actions may be published in the Federal Register and in 
newspapers of general circulation in the areas determined by 
Reclamation to be affected by the proposed action.

ADDRESSES: The identity of the approving officer and other information 
pertaining to a specific contract proposal may be obtained by calling 
or writing the appropriate regional office at the address and telephone 
number given for each region in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Kelly, Reclamation Law 
Administration Division, Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, 
Colorado 80225-0007; [email protected]; telephone 303-445-2888.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Consistent with section 9(f) of the 
Reclamation Project Act of 1939, and the rules and regulations 
published in 52 FR 11954, April 13, 1987 (43 CFR 426.22), Reclamation 
will publish notice of proposed or amendatory contract actions for any 
contract for the delivery of project water for authorized uses in 
newspapers of general circulation in the affected area at least 60 days 
prior to contract execution. Announcements may be in the form of news 
releases, legal notices, official letters, memorandums, or other forms 
of written material. Meetings, workshops, and/or hearings may also be 
used, as appropriate, to provide local publicity. The public 
participation procedures do not apply to proposed contracts for the 
sale of surplus or interim irrigation water for a term of 1 year or 
less. Either of the contracting parties may invite the public to 
observe contract proceedings. All public participation procedures will 
be coordinated with those involved in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act. Pursuant to the ``Final Revised Public 
Participation Procedures'' for water resource-related contract 
negotiations, published in 47 FR 7763, February 22, 1982, a tabulation 
is provided of all proposed contractual actions in each of the five 
Reclamation regions. When contract negotiations are completed, and 
prior to execution, each proposed contract form must be approved by the 
Secretary of the Interior, or pursuant to delegated or redelegated 
authority, the Commissioner of Reclamation or one of the regional 
directors. In some instances, congressional review and approval of a 
report, water rate, or other terms and conditions of the contract may 
be involved.
    Public participation in and receipt of comments on contract 
proposals will be facilitated by adherence to the following procedures:
    1. Only persons authorized to act on behalf of the contracting 
entities may negotiate the terms and conditions of a specific contract 
proposal.
    2. Advance notice of meetings or hearings will be furnished to 
those parties that have made a timely written request for such notice 
to the appropriate regional or project office of Reclamation.
    3. Written correspondence regarding proposed contracts may be made 
available to the general public pursuant to the terms and procedures of 
the Freedom of Information Act, as amended.
    4. Written comments on a proposed contract or contract action must 
be submitted to the appropriate regional officials at the locations and 
within the time limits set forth in the advance public notices.
    5. All written comments received and testimony presented at any 
public hearings will be reviewed and summarized by the appropriate 
regional office for use by the contract approving authority.
    6. Copies of specific proposed contracts may be obtained from the 
appropriate regional director or his or her designated public contact 
as they become available for review and comment.
    7. In the event modifications are made in the form of a proposed 
contract, the appropriate regional director shall determine whether 
republication of the notice and/or extension of the comment period is 
necessary.
    Factors considered in making such a determination shall include, 
but are not limited to, (i) the significance of the modification, and 
(ii) the degree of public interest which has been expressed over the 
course of the negotiations. At a minimum, the regional director will 
furnish revised contracts to all parties who requested the contract in 
response to the initial public notice.

Definitions of Abbreviations Used in the Reports

ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
BCP Boulder Canyon Project
Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation
CAP Central Arizona Project
CUP Central Utah Project
CVP Central Valley Project
CRSP Colorado River Storage Project
XM Extraordinary Maintenance
EXM Emergency Extraordinary Maintenance
FR Federal Register
IDD Irrigation and Drainage District
ID Irrigation District
M&I Municipal and Industrial
O&M Operation and Maintenance
OM&R Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement
P-SMBP Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program
RRA Reclamation Reform Act of 1982
SOD Safety of Dams
SRPA Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
WD Water District
WIIN Act Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act

    MISSOURI BASIN--INTERIOR REGION 5: Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 
36900, Federal Building, 2021 4th Avenue North, Billings, Montana 
59101, telephone 406-247-7752.
    New contract action:
    30. Greenfields ID, Sun River Project, Montana: Consideration for a 
preliminary lease of power privilege for Pishkun Inlet. Consideration 
for additional sites is ongoing.
    Completed contract action:
    28. PacifiCorps; Glendo Unit, P-SMBP; Wyoming: Consideration for a 
5-year excess capacity contract. Contract executed on June 6, 2023.
    UPPER COLORADO BASIN--INTERIOR REGION 7: Bureau of Reclamation, 125 
South State Street, Room 8100, Salt Lake City, Utah 84138-1102, 
telephone 801-524-3864.
    New contract actions:
    40. Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, Weber Basin Project, 
Utah: Amendment to contract No. 22-WC-40-940 to increase repayment from 
approximately $8M to $23M.
    41. The Jordanelle Special Service District; Bonneville Unit, CUP; 
Utah:

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The District desires to enter into a Section 14 of the Reclamation 
Projects Act of 1939 contract for Reclamation to dedicate a water right 
in order for the Utah State Parks to receive water at the Rock Cliff 
Recreation Area for recreational purposes.
    42. Los Ranchitos Estates, Florida Project, Colorado: Reclamation 
received a request for a long-term water service contract (25 years) to 
augment depletions from residential water uses within the subdivision. 
The proposed contract will be for 36 acre-feet of water annually.
    43. Forrest Groves Estates, Florida Project, Colorado: Reclamation 
received a request for a long-term water service contract (25 years) to 
augment depletions from residential water uses within the subdivision. 
The proposed contract will be for 43 acre-feet of water annually.
    44. Country Aire Estates, Florida Project, Colorado: Reclamation 
received a request for a long-term water service contract (25 years) to 
augment depletions from residential water uses within the subdivision. 
The proposed contract will be for 7 acre-feet of water annually.
    LOWER COLORADO BASIN--INTERIOR REGION 8: Bureau of Reclamation, 
P.O. Box 61470 (Nevada Highway and Park Street), Boulder City, Nevada 
89006-1470, telephone 702-293-8192.
    Completed contract actions:
    16. GSC Farm, LLC, and the Town of Queen Creek, Arizona; BCP; 
Arizona: Enter into a proposed partial assignment and transfer of 
Arizona fourth-priority Colorado River water in the amount of 2,033.01 
acre-feet per year from GSC to Queen Creek, amend GSC's Colorado River 
water delivery contract No. 13-XX-30-W0571 to decrease their Colorado 
River water entitlement from 2,913.3 to 69.93 acre-feet per year, enter 
into Colorado River water delivery contract No. 20-XX-30-W0689 with 
Queen Creek for 2,033.01 acre-feet per year of Arizona fourth-priority 
Colorado River water entitlement, and enter into a wheeling agreement 
between the United States and Queen Creek for the wheeling of non-
project water to be transported through the CAP for the use or benefit 
of Queen Creek. Contracts executed on April 28, 2023.
    19. Western Water, LLC and Cibola Valley IDD, BCP, Arizona: Approve 
an amendment of Western's contract service area under their contract 
No. 16-XX-30-W0619, as amended (Western Contract), to include the 
previously excluded parcels of land; namely, the eastern halves of 
Assessor Parcel Nos. 301-08-003C and 301-08-003D. The inclusion of 
these lands within the Western Contract service area will make these 
lands eligible to receive Arizona fourth-priority Colorado River water 
from Western. Western has an Arizona fourth-priority Colorado River 
water entitlement under the Western Contract for an annual diversion of 
536.48 acre-feet of Colorado River water for irrigation use within the 
Western Contract service area. Additionally, Reclamation will amend the 
District's contract service area under their contract to exclude 
Western lands. The exclusion of the Western lands from the District's 
contract service area will make the Western lands ineligible to receive 
Arizona fourth-, fifth-, and/or sixth-priority water from the District. 
The District's boundary will remain the same. Contracts executed on 
April 18, 2023.
    COLUMBIA-PACIFIC NORTHWEST--INTERIOR REGION 9: Bureau of 
Reclamation, 1150 North Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, Idaho 83706-
1234, telephone 208-378-5344.
    Modified contract action:
    16. Storage Division, Yakima Project, Washington: Contracts with 
water user entities for the repayment of reimbursable shares of the 
costs of the SOD program modification for Kachess Dam.
    CALIFORNIA-GREAT BASIN--INTERIOR REGION 10: Bureau of Reclamation, 
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825-1898, telephone 916-978-
5250.
    Completed contract action:
    9. San Luis WD, CVP, California: Proposed partial assignment of 
4,449 acre-feet of the District's CVP supply to Santa Nella County WD 
for M&I use. Contract executed on January 24, 2023.

Christopher Beardsley,
Director, Policy and Programs.
[FR Doc. 2023-19132 Filed 9-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P