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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />2003 Annual Operating Plan <br /> <br />The fmal draft 2003 Annual Operating Plan (AOP) is currently in Washington, D.C., <br />undergoing review and consideration by Secretary Norton. It is my understanding that the <br />Department of the Interior (DOl) and Secretary Norton are considering the inclusion of additional <br />language in the 2003 AOP. The additional language: I) takes into account the potential payback of <br />overnms, if they occur in 2002; and 2) provides for ..nministration of2003 water use in accordance <br />with the Department's Inadvertent Overrun and Payback Policy (IOPP), if adopted, or absent <br />adoption of the IOPP, to administer water use in strict conformance with the 1964 decree in Arizona <br />v. California. I have included a copy of the latest version of the final draft 2003 AOP in the Board <br />hand-out materials for your information. This draft contains the additional language being <br />considered by the DOl. <br /> <br />Proposed Arizona Legislation Regarding Yuma Groundwater Management <br /> <br />As you are aware, the Ywna Area Water Resources Management Group (Y A WRMG) has <br />been working on a project to lower the groundwater level in Ywna Valley by increasing drainage <br />pumping. Reclamation, as a member of the Y A WRMG, has agreed to provide funding up to <br />$2,000,000 for rehabilitation of the existing wells and drilling 6 new wells and other works. In <br />exchange. Reclamation intends to get credit for up to 25,000 AF of water for offsetting a portion of <br />the water currently being diverted into the Bypass Canal from the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and <br />Drainage District. For this purpose, in February of2002, Reclamation filed an application with the <br />Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to obtain a pennit to transfer the water. To <br />process the application, a hearing was scheduled in May of 2002, in Yuma. <br /> <br />At the April Board meeting, I reported that in a letter of March 15, 2002, to Mr. Robert <br />Johnson, I requested that this issue be discussed among the Lower Division States prior to any <br />decision on how to deal with the additional drainage pwnping water because it may affect the Decree <br />Accounting and salinity in the River. At a conference call on April 26th with Reclamation, I <br />indicated that the Board did not have enough information to comment by the deadline. Based upon <br />this discussion. Reclamation agreed to request ADWR to defer the comment deadline. <br /> <br />At a follow up meeting in June of 2002 in Las Vegas, Reclamation provided additional <br />information on the project to the states representat;ves. Due to concerns raised by the states' <br />representatives, Reclamation indicated that it would not go forward until the states are comfortable <br />with implementation of the project. He also, indicated that Reclamation would negotiate with <br />ADWR to find a solution that is acceptable to the states. As a result, project implementation has <br />been put on hold until Reclamation and ADWR can reach an agreement on how to transfer the <br />pwnped drainage water. <br /> <br />Subsequently, ADWR realized that based upon Arizona's current laws, transfer of <br />groundwater from one groundwater basin to another was not permissible. At Y A WRMG's recent <br />meeting on November 21,2002, it was mentioned that the ADWR has proposed legislation to obtain <br />the authorization to be able to enter into a deal with Reclamation for the transfer of groundwater. <br /> <br />4 <br />