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00181~ 58988 Federal Register / Vol. 64. No. 210 I Monday. November 1. 1999/ Rules and Regulations " consuming entity. or (ii) will develol? (he qu;mtHy orJCUA requested by the consuming entity under 9414.3(0, We renumbered HI 4 ,3 (a)(9) as > ~414,3(al(16) and changed the indemnification 10 relate to acti.ons of the non-Federal parties to a Storage and InterstiHe Release Agreement. We renumbered 9414.3(a)(l0) as 94143(a)(l7). This final rule also includes a new .9 414.3(e) thai addresses the need for a valid contract with the Secretary in accordance with SectIon 5 of the BCP A. Tile release or dive~ion of Colmaco River water for storage under this part must be supported by a Section 5 water delivery contract. except for the storage of Anicle U{D) (of [he Decree) water by Federal or tribal entitlement holders. The release or dIversion of Colorado River water that has been developed or will be developed as lCU^ under this part must also be supported by a Section 5 water delivery contract. This section states that the Section 5 water delivery contract requirement of tile BCP A may be sCltisfied by direct contracts with the Secretary, or by valid subcontracts with entitlement holders authorized to enter into subcontracts, or in the case of a consuming entity, by the Storage and Interstate Release Agreement itself. When a valid contract is in place to support the release or diversion of Colorado River water for storage, no additional authority will be required by the Secretary to authorize the storage, through a 5rorage and Interstate Release Agreement or other\vise. We also have added. new 9414.3(1) that allows antlciparory releases of ." ICUA before the actual de\'eJopment of leVA by the storing entity. This . additioil was made baseCi on comments received that the demand patterns for Colorado Rivef\Nater in the lower basin vary widely. The times when the storing entity and lhe consuming cnt\ty de\nand water will not necessarily be concurrent. Thus, the consuming entity may ha\'€ a need for leUA before the storing entity wou\a decre<tse its diversions of Colorado River water in order to develop the ICUA. We added 9414,3(1) to the rule to ..\low the consuming entity to have the use of ICUA before its development by the storing entity. These anticipatory releases can only be made in the same year in which lCUA will be developed. A.dditionally, before an anticipatory release, fhe storing entity must certify to the Secretary thatlCUA will be developed beFore the end of the year in order to support an early release. . Fjnc.mcial cOl1sideraUons. We added a new ~4l4.3(b) which Slates Lhat the: Secrelary will not execute a Storage a~d '. Interstate Release Agreement that has adverse impacts on the financial. interests of the United State:;. This section also provides that fmancial arrangements between and among non- Federal parties relating to the Storage and Interstate Release Agreement need not be included in the Storage and Interstate Release Agreement. Those financial arrangements can be set forth 1n separate agreements to whi.ch the Secretary will not be a party, should Ihe parties 50 desire. . Involvement oflhe Secrelary. As noted above, we modified S 414.30{a) to provide that the Secrewry will be a party to Storage and lnlef5tate Rele~se Agreements. We-.modified ~414.3{c) to sped fy: - (J) That the Regional Director for the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower CclQo;ado Re.g\on (Regional Director) has the authority to execute a Storage and Interstale Release Agreement on behalf of the Secretary; (2) "That the Secretary will notify the public of the Secretary'5 intent to participate in negotiations to develop a Storage and Interstate Release Agreement and provide a means For public input: (3) That the factors [Q be considered in reviewing a proposed Storage and Interstate Release Agreement include poteIlUallmpacts on Iribal interests, including trust resources, and potential impacts on the Upper Division Slates and comments from the Stille agency responsible for Colorado River matters; and (4) That after consideration of the listed factors, the Secretary TTIJY execute or decide not to execute a Storage and Interstate Release Agreement. . Stored water. We modified formtr ~ 41'4.3(c) to conform the wording to~ changes made in other parts of the rule, and separated the concepts [hat now appear in 9414,3(a)(6) and 9414,3(a)(1O), SecUon-by-Seclion Analysis of the Rule , Section 4 14.1 furpos:. This section explains Ihat part 414 contains the procedures for authorized entities in the Lower Division States to follow for entering into Storage and Interstate Re!ea~ A.greements with tile Secretary for ofFstream storage of Colorado River water and For the development and release of lCUA on an interstate basis in the Lower Division States. This rule is expected to be a f1rsl step toward improving the efficiency associated with management of the Colorado River in the Lower Basin. The rule is intended to be permissive in nalure and facililate voluntary water transactionS. Section 4 t4.2 Definition,> of Ter_ms Qsed in This Part - This section defines terms that are used in part 414. The following terms are based on and are to be interpreted consistent with the Decree; bl.lSic apportionment, Colorado River water, consumptive use. Decree, mainsrream. surplus apportionment, and Llnused apportionment. The temlS Colorado River Basin, Colorado River System, Lower Division Sta.t€S, and Upper Division States are defined in the compact. Most of the other terms were defined for the purposes of this rule to establish a common understanding. Section 414.3 Storage and lnterstat..e Release Agreemel~ts This section idenUfies the details that must be specified in a Storage and Interstate Release Agreement regarding the storage of Colorado River warer off of the mainstream and the development and release of ICUA. This section provides for verification of the quantity of water stored under a Storage and . Interstate Release Agreement and verification of (he quantity oflCUA developed. It also commits the Secretary to release lCUA to the consuming entity after the storing entity has cer(ified to the Secretary, and (he Secretary has verified, that the quantity of ICUA requested by the consuming entity has been developed or will be developed in that year. The release must be in accordance with the terms of the agreement and as permiUed by taw. This section also specifies the factors lhat the Secretary wiJI consider in determi.ning whether to execute a Storage and Interstate Release Agreement. This section allows the assignment of all or a portion of an authorized ent\\/5 interest in a Storage and Interstate Release Agreement to other authorized entities and provides for the satisfaction of the water delivery contract requirement of Section 5 of the BCPA, This section prescribes the limited circumstances under which ICUA can be releas.ed LO a consuming entity before the development of lCUA by the storing entity. ~ection 414.4 Reporting Reqllirement~ and Accounting Under Storage anq Interstate Release Agreement~ This section specifies the reponing. requirements Ihat storing entitles must follow and stipulares that this water will be accounted for in the records maintained under Article V of the Decree.