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. . . Page 5 WRW washn x x x Utah Hatch said the agreement guarantees mlnlmum stream flow protec- tion to 240 miles of Utah streams and rivers. A water conservation plan has to be developed by CUWCD, with local people initially plug- ged into the planning process. It must be approved by the Secretary of Interior to assure that it provides for real water conservation. New management studies totalling $50 million are authorized for a number of purposes including determining how to maximimize use of both surface and groundwater, water pricing, coordinated operations, and storage at certain times of the year to maximimize streamflows when most needed by fish and wildlife and for habitat. "We learned we can work out an agreement in which none of us gets exactly what we want, but we can come close enough to support the agreement," one negotiator told WRW. Several negotiators, in- cluding Christiansen, told WRW they regard it as a "win-win situation for everyone." They are pleased that local people have taken over the project and are doing so under strict accountability standards. CUP still has problems, however. It is in the omnibus reclama- tion water bill (HR 429) totalling $2 billion with projects for a dozen states including provisions relative to the big Central Valley Project (CVPl in California that are highly controversial. (See WRW, Series XXX, No. 13, dated 3-26-92.) Miller hopes to put in the bill the CVP reforms that failed in the Senate now that the bill is back in the House for final action. Hassles over CVP may hold up a confer- ence on the bill, and the conference may be arduous and contentious. If Sen. John Seymour, R-Calif., does not like the outcome on CVP, he is likely to ask President Bush to veto the bill. As this is an elec- tion year, and as California has more electoral votes than any other state, Mr. Bush would be strongly tempted to veto it. The Utah delegation probably can get their CUP agreement auth- orized as separate legislation, but they have not attempted to do so to date. As this would take some time, and they have not started such an effort yet, time might run out on their getting their agreement into the statute books this year. Garn is retiring from the Senate this year, so Utah will no longer have a member on the Senate Appropriations Committee to keep an eye on CUP appropriations. Owens, who provided the initial vital link between the CUP supporters and the environmentalists that re- sulted in the agreement, is running for the Senate, so the state will no longer have this experienced CUP link in the House. "It I s going to be tough for CUP," one of negotiators told WRW. with Bu/Rec out of the picture, it is not clear how CUWCD and the new mitigation commission set up in the agreement will coordinat~ an informed outsider told WRW on May 13. It is generally felt Bu/Rec is not tuned into Capitol Hill, but its engineering experience and savvy will be missed, several negotiators told WRW. **** ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW WESTERN URBAN WATER COALITION: Western urban areas are putting together a Western Urban Water Coalition that will be announced here in June, several sources told WRW this week. Urban areas from Cali- fornia, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Utah have already signed up, and they hope urban areas will soon join from Arizona and Washington.HCM