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<br />:-- -Ju...10.1997 4: 16PM <br /> <br />NO.480 P.5/9 <br /> <br />reductions. They now have 8.5 percent of the depleti ns they were <br />anticipating In the full project. However, the settlement of th Colorado Ute <br />Indian water rights claims secures the rights the irrigato have now - <br />particularly in the La Plata and Animas valleys. Without the settlement, the <br />Indians could have gone back to court and sought to take he water rights <br />currently held by non-Indians in those valleys, because the I dlans have the <br />most senior water rights. This settlement allows existing sas to continue <br />unchanged. In other words, the irrigators who expected to enefit from the <br />ALP have agreed to trade that possible future for a secure present. <br /> <br />11. Can the depletions be moved around so other parties an use them? <br /> <br />Yes, if the states of Colorado and New Mexico agree to pro ures to allow <br />others In the San Juan Basin to use the depletion allocation . For example, <br />if the states agree on the procedures, the SJWC mlgh agree to allow <br />another entity holding .paper" walar in the San Juan Bas; to use some of <br />the SJWC's depletlons if they are not all needed at a parti ular time. <br /> <br />12. Will the SJWC obtain ownership of its part of Permit o. 2883, which <br />cu.....ntiy Is held by the U.S.? <br /> <br />Yes. Under the Agreement in Concept, ownership of the C's part of the <br />permit, 30,600 AFY, will be transferred to the Commission This transfer of <br />ownership will put the SJWC in the same position that the Colorado parties <br />are in. The Southwestern Water Conservation District Boa holds its pennit <br />for Its part of the ALP water, apparently because, aCCOrdln to Sam Maynes, <br />the SWCO Board applied for the water before the federal government did. <br />In our case, the SJWC was not formed until March 5, 1986, and so there was <br />no way It could have applied for the permit in 1959, wh n the Bureau of <br />Reclamation did. Also, the New Mexico municipal and indu ial r'M&I'') uses <br />of ALP water were not added until later. 1966, In on of the Bureau's <br />revisions of the project. So the water was not allocate to the cities and <br />other entities until then. <br /> <br />13. Are there other reasons the Commission wants the <br /> <br /> <br />Yes. Right now it is helcl by the federal government. We elieve that legally, <br />the government cannot do anything with that permit excep use it for the ALP <br />project purposes, since it is a state water permit, but It makes us very <br />nervous for the federal government to hold it. especially a we begin relying <br /> <br />SJWC QU on ALP Ag-2:eement :U1 Concept <br />July 9, 1997 <br />Page 4 <br />