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Water Management Study: Upper Rio Grande Basin projected long-term agricultural and municipal needs of the region." The Commission's current priorities are consistent with this objective and look only at increasing the quantity of water for irrigation and urban use and at reducing water-quality constraints that restrict these uses! The Commission has not initiated any surveys ofthe river's environmental condition or any National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. Although it has an advisory committee on environmental issues, the voting members have a primary interest in promoting agricultural and urban water consumption. 3. Rio Grande Alliance , ;-; State and federal officials from Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado as well as tribal representatives and non-governmental organizations gathered in El Paso in July, 1996, to provide guidance in the development of the Rio Grande Alliance. The Alliance, according to the mission statement adopted at the El Paso gathering, "exists as an international forum to support collaboration among the diverse groups of the Rio Grande Basin concerned with the protection, improvement, and conservation of natural resources and human health (Rio Grande Alliance 1996). ,~; I,: .' ;~: The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) initiated the Alliance after spending two years discussing the idea of the Alliance with over 250 different federal, state and local agencies, non-governmental organizations, and residents of the Basin. In response to the concerns raised by many of the stakeholders, the Alliance hopes to realize three accomplishments: (1) provide a forum where decisionmakers and agencies can coordinate their work and thus reduce overlap; (2) increase communication between individuals that may not otherwise have the opportunity to speak with one another; and (3) help communities find solutions to their environmental problems by researching and locating resources to fit their needs. The specific goals of the Alliance defined at the coordinating meeting include: ;,.:. i': , ~, r;, ~~ ,:..... (. i.-. ... , The priorities include: (1) providing year-round surface water supply of suitable quality for both El Paso and the irrigation districts; (2) identifying and analyzing improvements needed in the existing regional conveyance system to remove bottlenecks or reduce "losses"; (3) identifying new conveyance facilities needed to deliver water efficiently; and (4) identifying and analyzing the water treatment facilities and any aquifer storage and recovery facilities that can be planned, constructed, and managed by these agencies (Archuleta 1995). , '~'- ". ~Z 116 " ,. f) ;., n'" (, '~J ~ \..: v , ,,. p.~ r~~ t;.,;