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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 000121 D, Human Environment 1. Indian Trust Assets u.s. Department of the Interior policy (Secretary of the Interior Order 3175) requires that actions under NEPA consider potential effects on Indian trust assets (ITAs), Reclamation's policy requires it to cany out its activities in a manner which protects IT As and avoids adverse impacts when possible, ITAs are legal interests in property held in trust by the Federal Government for the benefit of Indian tribes or individuals, Lands, mineral rights, hunting and fishing rights, and water rights are common examples of trust assets, Preferred Alternative Implementation of the Preferred Alternative has the potential to impact IT As in the following circumstances, Tribal lands located near existing underground storage facilities may benefit from higher groundwater levels associated with the direct or indirect groundwater recharge contemplated by this Rule. Higher groundwater levels may result from direct storage, with the importation and storage of Colorado River water in underground storage facilities, or from indirect storage, with the use of Colorado River water in lieu of groundwater. Benefits to IT As from such storage are expected to be temporary because the stored Colorado River water is expected to be pumped and used in the near future when the storing entity develops ICUA for the Secretary to release to the consuming entity. In Arizona only 95 percent of the stored water may be recovered from the ground, thus the ground water will gain by 5 percent, In the event that the environmental analysis of a particular SIRA were to demonstrate the potential for impacts to ITAs, as for example, concerns about the methodology for developing and/or recovering a quantity oflCUA, the Secretary would consider these factors among others under the Rule in deciding whether or not to execute a SIRA. The focus of the Preferred Alternative is on the use of State-authorized entities, including water banks, as a vehicle for off stream storage and banking of Colorado River Water. The Department believes the procedural framework for offstream storage of Colorado River water and development and release oflCUA identified by the Rule can be implemented without compromising its responsibilities toward, and in fact may lead to benefits for, the Tribes, The Department's proposed reliance on State-authorized entities is predicated, in part, on its expectation that these entities will operate in a fashion that provides an opportunity for Indian Tribes to participate in storage or similar activities. In this regard the Department notes that the State of Arizona is examining "mechanisms that will enable Indian communities that hold entitlements to Colorado River water to participate in water banking with the Arizona Water Banking Authority," Arizona Laws 1996, ch, 308, ~ 27, The Department encourages Arizona and the other Lower Division states to implement programs within the existing Law of the River that will allow the Tribes to more fully benefit from their water rights, 2]